Newcastle's St James' Park will host Magic Weekend for a record seventh time in 2023, with six matches in the Betfred Super League taking place on June 3 and 4; all matches will be live on Sky Sports
Sunday 16 October 2022 11:00, UK
Magic Weekend will be returning to Newcastle in 2023, hosting an entire round of Betfred Super League fixtures on the first weekend in June.
St James' Park will host the event for a record seventh time on June 3 and 4, with all six matches live on Sky Sports as well.
The announcement comes a day after England kicked off the Rugby League World Cup with a 60-6 victory over Samoa in front of 43,119 spectators at the home of Newcastle United.
"We are delighted to announce the return of Magic Weekend to Newcastle," Super League chief commercial officer Rhodri Jones said.
"It is a firm favourite with fans and a date that players look forward to in the calendar."
"I'd also like to thank Sky Sports, Newcastle United and Newcastle City Council for their continued support of the event."
Next year's Magic Weekend gets underway with a repeat of the 2019 fixture at Anfield between Hull Kingston Rovers and Salford Red Devils (1pm). The game at Anfield was a close one, with the Robins winning by two points.
Wigan Warriors will then take on Catalans Dragons (3.45pm) in the middle game on the opening day in the first meeting of these sides at Magic. The Saturday will conclude with a West Yorkshire derby between Leeds Rhinos and Castleford Tigers (6pm).
Newly-promoted Leigh Centurions return to the Magic Weekend line-up for their third appearance and will open up things on Sunday when they take on Wakefield Trinity (12.30pm).
Reigning Super League champions St Helens play Huddersfield Giants (2.45pm) for the second time at Magic. They met once before back in 2016 when the Giants put in a dominant display to win 48-20.
The final game of the weekend sees recently appointed Hull FC head coach Tony Smith face one of his old clubs in Warrington Wolves (5pm).
"Magic Weekend has been a huge success at St James' Park, and we are delighted to be welcoming the event back for the seventh time," Newcastle United CEO Darren Eales said.
"We want to continue attracting major events to the stadium and I'd like to thank Super League, our team at Newcastle United and our partners across the city for their ongoing support."
Saturday, June 3: 1.30pm - Salford Red Devils vs Hull Kingston Rovers; 3.45pm - Wigan Warriors vs Catalans Dragons; 6pm - Leeds Rhinos vs Castleford Tigers.
Sunday, June 4: 12.30pm - Wakefield Trinity vs Leigh Centurions; 2.45pm - St Helens vs Huddersfield Giants; 5pm - Hull FC vs Warrington Wolves.
