User:Northern Wonder

Userboxes

This user is English.

enThis user is a native speaker of the English language.

This user lives in Yorkshire.

LDSThis user supports Leeds Rhinos

RLThis user loves Rugby League

SLThis user enjoys watching
Super League

NRLThis user enjoys watching the
National Rugby League

This user is a participant in
WikiProject Rugby league

League table

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Leigh Centurions (P)	18	14	0	4	686	407	+279	28	Semi-final
2	Whitehaven	18	14	0	4	552	312	+240	28
3	Hull Kingston Rovers	18	10	0	8	466	428	+38	20	Elimination Semi-final
4	Oldham	18	10	0	8	482	503	−21	20
5	Featherstone Rovers	18	9	1	8	500	491	+9	19
6	Doncaster Dragons	18	9	1	8	468	502	−34	19
7	Batley Bulldogs	18	8	0	10	503	534	−31	16
8	Rochdale Hornets	18	7	1	10	472	587	−115	15
9	Halifax	18	7	0	11	426	482	−56	14	Qualification for Relegation Playoff
10	Keighley Cougars (R)	18	1	0	17	366	708	−342	2	Relegated to National League Two

Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Div 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Barrow Raiders	18	14	1	3	521	346	+175	29	Semi-final
2	York City Knights	18	13	0	5	630	308	+322	26
3	Sheffield Eagles	18	12	0	6	569	340	+229	24	Elimination Semi-final
4	Swinton Lions	18	12	0	6	547	460	+87	24
5	Workington Town	18	10	0	8	597	479	+118	20
6	Hunslet Hawks	18	10	0	8	475	394	+81	20
7	Chorley Lynx	18	7	2	9	460	522	−62	16
8	London Skolars	18	3	1	14	361	583	−222	7
9	Dewsbury Rams	18	3	1	14	284	595	−311	7
10	Gateshead Thunder	18	1	0	17	298	715	−417	2

Source: [2]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;

Third Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Leeds	34	26	1	7	334	98	+236	53	Joined the NRFU Second Division
2	Manningham	34	14	5	15	141	170	−29	33
3	Keighley	34	27	2	5	270	92	+178	56
4	Wakefield Trinity	34	18	2	14	263	196	+67	38
5	Holbeck	34	20	5	9	213	83	+130	45
6	Dewsbury	34	8	5	21	123	245	−122	21
7	York	34	11	4	19	111	190	−79	26
8	Normanton	34	12	4	18	160	228	−68	28
9	Bramley	34	16	4	14	179	151	+28	36
10	Castleford	34	9	4	21	105	268	−163	22
11	Heckmondwike	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Resigned from league
12	GOO	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	SBR	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	LIV	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;

2nd div small

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Promotion, qualification or relegation
1	Featherstone Rovers (C, P)	28	24	1	3	966	352	+614	49	Promoted to First Division Qualified for Divisional Premiership second round
2	Oldham (P)	28	20	1	7	753	503	+250	41
3	Huddersfield	28	15	0	13	565	548	+17	30	Qualified for Divisional Premiership second round
4	Rochdale Hornets	28	14	0	14	622	607	+15	28
5	London Crusaders	28	12	2	14	534	562	−28	26
6	Swinton	28	10	0	18	409	636	−227	20
7	Carlisle	28	6	3	19	454	721	−267	15
8	Bramley	28	7	1	20	328	732	−404	15

Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

League leaders

British rugby league League Leaders'

Country	England France
History
First award	1906–07
Most wins	St. Helens (15 titles)
Most recent	2023 Wigan Warriors (14th title)

The British rugby league League Leaders are the team finishing top of the league at the end of the regular season when a playoff system is used to crown the league champions.

History

For the first six seasons of the Championship, first past the post was used to crown the Champions. However, as the competition grew and added more teams not every club was able to fulfil all their fixtures, this creating an uneven fixture list. Due to some teams playing more games than others it was decided ahead of the 1906–07 season that the Championship would be decided by a playoff.

The club finishing top of the table at the end of the regular season would become known as the League Leaders and the winners of the Playoffs would be crowned the Champions.

Between 1906 and 1973 there were only four seasons when the playoff system was not used (excluding unofficial completions during the First and Second World Wars)

It wasn’t until 1964 that the league leaders were awarded with an official trophy, the RFL Championship League Leaders Trophy. This was awarded for 9 seasons until the playoffs were abolished in 1973. For the following 25 seasons the team finishing top were crowned Champions.

In 1998 the RFL decided to reintroduce a playoff system despite the first two seasons of Super League being decided by first past the post. No official trophy was awarded until 2003 when the league leaders were given the League Leaders Shield.

Season
	League Leaders	Runners up
1895–96	Manningham	Halifax
1896–1901: County Championships
1901–02	Broughton Rangers	Salford
1902–03	Halifax	Salford
1903–04	Bradford F.C.	Salford
1904–05	Oldham	Bradford F.C.
1905–06	Leigh	Hunslet
1906–07	Halifax	Oldham
1907–08	Oldham	Hunslet
1908–09	Wigan	Halifax
1909–10	Oldham (2)	Salford
1910–11	Wigan (2)	Oldham
1911–12	Huddersfield	Wigan
1912–13	Huddersfield (2)	Wigan
1913–14	Huddersfield (3)	Salford
1914–15	Huddersfield (4)	Wigan
1915–1918: Official competition suspended due to First World War
1918–19 County Championship
1919–20	Huddersfield (5)	Hull F.C.
1920–21	Hull Kingston Rovers	Hull F.C.
1921–22	Oldham (3)	Wigan
1922–23	Hull F.C.	Huddersfield
1923–24	Wigan (3)	Batley
1924–25	Swinton	Hull Kingston Rovers
1925–26	Wigan (4)	Warrington
1926–27	St Helens Recs	Swinton
1927–28	Swinton (2)	Leeds
1928–29	Huddersfield (6)	Hull Kingston Rovers
1929–30	St Helens	Huddersfield
1930–31	Swinton (3)	Leeds
1931–32	Huddersfield (7)	St Helens
1932–33	Salford	Swinton
1933–34	Salford (2)	Wigan
1934–35	Swinton (4)	Warrington
1935–36	Hull F.C. (2)	Liverpool Stanley
1936–37	Salford (3)	Warrington
1937–38	Hunslet	Leeds
1938–39	Salford (4)	Castleford
1939–1945 Official competition suspended due to Second World War
1945–46	Wigan	Huddersfield
1946–47	Wigan	Dewsbury
1947–48	Wigan (5)	Warrington
1948–49	Warrington	Wigan
1949–50	Wigan (6)	Huddersfield
1950–51	Warrington (2)	Wigan
1951–52	Bradford	Wigan
1952–53	St. Helens (2)	Halifax
1953–54	Halifax (2)	Warrington
1954–55	Warrington (3)	Oldham
1955–56	Warrington (4)	Halifax
1956–57	Oldham (4)	Hull F.C.
1957–58	Oldham (5)	St. Helens
1958–59	St. Helens (3)	Wigan
1959–60	St. Helens (4)	Wakefield Trinity
1960–61	Leeds	Warrington
1961–62	Wigan (7)	Wakefield Trinity
1962–63	Swinton	St. Helens
1963–64	Swinton	Wigan
1964–65	St. Helens (5)	Wigan
1965–66	St. Helens (6)	Swinton
1966–67	Leeds (2)	Hull Kingston Rovers
1967–68	Leeds (3)	Wakefield Trinity
1968–69	Leeds (4)	St. Helens
1969–70	Leeds (5)	Castleford
1970–71	Wigan (8)	St. Helens
1971–72	Leeds (6)	Bradford
1972–73	Warrington (5)	Featherstone Rovers
1973–74	Salford	St. Helens
1974–75	St. Helens	Wigan
1975–76	Salford	Featherstone Rovers
1976–77	Featherstone Rovers	St. Helens
1977–78	Widnes	Bradford Northern
1978–79	Hull Kingston Rovers	Warrington
1979–80	Bradford Northern	Widnes
1980–81	Bradford Northern	Warrington
1981–82	Leigh	Hull F.C.
1982–83	Hull F.C.	Hull Kingston Rovers
1983–84	Hull Kingston Rovers	Hull F.C.
1984–85	Hull Kingston Rovers	St. Helens
1985–86	Halifax	Wigan
1986–87	Wigan	St. Helens
1987–88	Widnes	St. Helens
1988–89	Widnes	Wigan
1989–90	Wigan	Leeds
1990–91	Wigan	Widnes
1991–92	Wigan	St. Helens
1992–93	Wigan	St. Helens
1993–94	Wigan	Bradford Northern
1994–95	Wigan	Leeds
1995–96	Wigan	Leeds
1996	St. Helens	Wigan
1997	Bradford	London
1998	Wigan (9)	Leeds
1999	Bradford (2)	St. Helens
2000	Wigan (10)	St. Helens
2001	Bradford (3)	Wigan
2002	St. Helens (7)	Bradford
2003	Bradford (4)	Leeds
2004	Leeds (7)	Bradford
2005	St. Helens (8)	Leeds
2006	St. Helens (9)	Hull F.C.
2007	St. Helens (10)	Leeds
2008	St. Helens (11)	Leeds
2009	Leeds (8)	St. Helens
2010	Wigan (11)	St. Helens
2011	Warrington (6)	Wigan
2012	Wigan (12)	Warrington
2013	Huddersfield (8)	Warrington
2014	St. Helens (12)	Wigan
2015	Leeds (9)	Wigan
2016	Warrington (7)	Wigan
2017	Castleford	Leeds
2018	St. Helens (13)	Wigan
2019	St. Helens (14)	Wigan
2020	Wigan (13)	St Helens
2021	Catalans	St Helens
2022	St Helens (15)	Wigan
2023	Wigan (14)	Catalans

Club	Wins	Runners up	Winning Years
St. Helens	15	10	1929-30, 1952-53, 1958-59, 1959-60, 1964-65, 1965-66, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2022
Wigan Warriors	14	18	1908-08, 1910-11, 1923-24, 1925-26, 1947-48, 1949-50, 1961-62, 1970-71, 1998, 2000, 2010, 2012, 2020, 2023
Leeds Rhinos	9	9	1960-61, 1966-67, 1967-68, 1968-69, 1969-70, 1971-72, 2004, 2009, 2015
Huddersfield Giants	8	3	1911-12, 1912-13, 1913-14, 1914-15, 1919-20, 1928-29, 1931-32, 2013
Warrington Wolves	7	8	1948-49, 1950-51, 1954-55, 1955-56, 1972-73, 2011, 2016
Oldham	5	3	1907-08, 1909-10, 1921-22, 1956-57, 1957-58
Salford Red Devils	4	8	1932-33, 1933-34, 1936-37, 1938-39
Swinton Lions		3	1924-25, 1927-28, 1930-31, 1934-35
Bradford Bulls			1951-52, 1999, 2001, 2003
Hull F.C.	2	4	1922-23, 1935-36
Halifax Panthers	1	3	1906-07
Hull Kingston Rovers		2	1920-21
Castleford Tigers			2017
Hunslet F.C.		1	1937-38
Catalans Dragons			2021
St Helens Recs		0	1926-27
Wakefield Trinity	0	3
Batley Bulldogs		1
Liverpool Stanley
Featherstone Rovers

Current clubs

Club	First season in top division	First season in Super League	Seasons in top division	Seasons in Super League	Titles (Most recent top division title)
Castleford Tigersa	1926-27	1996	91	27	0 (N/A)
Catalans Dragons	2007	2007	18	18	0 (N/A)
Huddersfield Giantsc	1895-96	1998	90	27	7 (1961-62)
Hull FCc	1895-96	1998	107	27	6 (1982-83)
Hull Kingston Rovers	1902-03	2007	89	17	5 (1984-85)
Leeds Rhinosabc	1895-96	1996	113	29	11 (2017)
Leigh Leopardsc	1895-96	2005	71	5	2 (1981-82)
London Broncosa	1981-82	1996	24	21	0 (N/A)
Salford Red Devils	1901-02	1997	82	26	6 (1975-76)
St Helensabc	1895-96	1996	113	29	17 (2022)
Warrington Wolvesabcd	1895-96	1996	115	29	3 (1954-55)
Wigan Warriorsabc	1895-96	1996	113	29	23 (2023)

Notes

^a: Founding member of the Super League

^b: Appeared in every Super League season since 1996

^c: One of the original 22 RFL teams

^d: appeared in every top flight season since 1895-96

Current Champions

RFL Champ history

1895–1905: Foundations

Main article: History of rugby league

Following the 22 rebel clubs’ decision to split from the Rugby Football Union, the newly formed Northern Rugby Football Union formed its own league which kicked off in 1895 with Manningham winning the first Championship.

As a result of a successful first season, eight more clubs resigned from the RFU and joined the Northern Union. After concerns over travel and the uncertainty of being able to organise a 30 team league it was decided from 1896 that the competition would be split into two separate County Championships in Yorkshire and Lancashire.

The County Championships were played until 1901 when 12 clubs resigned from their respective leagues to form a new league called the Northern Rugby Football League. The new league was initially met with protest from the Yorkshire Senior Competition, however after negotiations with the NRFL it was agreed a Second Division would be established for clubs to join with promotion and relegation between the two divisions.

By 1905 the Second Division had been abolished with clubs merging to create a single division. Due to not every club completing their fixtures, positions were decided by win percentage rather than points.

1906-1920: Introduction of Championship Final

Due to the 1905-06 season being decided by win percentages due to the uneven fixture list, it was decided the Championship would be decided by a playoff. The new Championship Final was inaugurated in the 1906-07 season with the top four clubs entered the playoffs. The first final was held at Fartown between League Leaders Halifax and Oldham with Halifax running out 18-3 winners.

By the 1910s Huddersfield began to dominate the Championship, finishing League Leaders four years in a row and winning three titles.

Despite the First World War starting in 1914, the RFL did not suspend the league until the following year. A Wartime Emergency League was organised in 1915-16 with clubs mostly playing other clubs in close proximity to reduce travel. Due to this the league was not considered an official competition and clubs winning the league are not considered official titles.

Following the end of the war in 1918 no national competition took place in 1918-19 and clubs took part in their County Championships. The Championship officially restarted the next year in 1919-20.

Inter War years: 1920-1945

Following the First World War the Championship continued as it had before with the title being decided by the Championship Final. Between 1920 and 1940, nice different clubs won the Championship.

The 1939-40 season was suspended due to the outbreak of the Second World War. Sport was eventually allowed to restart and the RFL organised another Wartime Emergency League where clubs were organised into County Championships with the winners of the Yorkshire and Lancashire leagues playing a two legged final in which Bradford Bulls beat Swinton. Like previous Wartime Emergency Leagues these titles did not count as official Championships. The same structure was repeated again until 1941-42 where clubs played in a single league with a playoff at the end of the season.

1945-1960: Post War years

Following the end of the Second World War the Championship restarted normally as it had done before with 27 teams taking part.

The league continued to grow and be competitive. By the 1950s the league grew to 31 teams with only Wigan and Warrington being able to win back to back titles.

1962-1973: Failed Second Division

By 1961 the 30 club Championship was deemed too big and was split into two divisions for the first time since 1905. The bottom 14 Championship teams in 1961-62 went on to create the new Second Division the following season.

The introduction of an even league meant the Championship Final was abolished and the League Leaders were crowned Champions. Swinton were the first clubs to be crowned Championship by finishing top of the league since the 1900s with Hunslet and Keighley promoted from the Second Division. Swinton retained their title the following season, however there was no promotion or relegation with the RFL deciding to merge the two divisions back into a single Championship.

The Championship Final was resurrected in 1964-65 with an expanded playoff format. Leeds began to dominate the division in the late 60s and early 70s, finishing League Leaders four years in a row between 1966-1970 the first club to do so since Huddersfield in the 1910s. They were unable to win as many Championships however, winning two of the four they made it to with their 1973 final being a shock defeat to Dewsbury.

1962-1973: Failed Second Division

By 1961 the 30 club Championship was deemed too big and was split into two divisions for the first time since 1905. The bottom 14 Championship teams in 1961-62 went on to create the new Second Division the following season.

The introduction of an even league meant the Championship Final was abolished and the League Leaders were crowned Champions. Swinton were the first clubs to be crowned Championship by finishing top of the league since the 1900s with Hunslet and Keighley promoted from the Second Division. Swinton retained their title the following season, however there was no promotion or relegation with the RFL deciding to merge the two divisions back into a single Championship.

The Championship Final was resurrected in 1964-65 with an expanded playoff format. Leeds began to dominate the division in the late 60s and early 70s, finishing League Leaders four years in a row between 1966-1970 the first club to do so since Huddersfield in the 1910s. They were unable to win as many Championships however, winning two of the four they made it to with their 1973 final being a shock defeat to Dewsbury.

1973-1988: Reintroduction of Second Division

By 1973 the RFL had once again decided a 30 team league was too large and reintroduced the Second Division. The bottom 14 clubs of the 1972-73 season split to form the new Second Division. As was done the last time the were two divisions the Championship Final was done away with.

This period in the leagues history was the longest it had gone without a playoff to decide the Champions. Featherstone Rovers and Widnes became the last new teams the win the title.

The structure largely stayed the same with 16 clubs, four of who were relegated each year until 1985-86 when only three were relegated due to the expansion of the Second Division. Four clubs were again relegated in 1986-87 with only two promoted from the second tier due to the First Division being reduced to 14 clubs.

list of British rl 2nd tier champions

English League (2nd tier)
Rugby Football League Second Division (1902–1996) Division One (1996–1998) Premiership (1999–2002) National League One (2003–2007) Championship (2008–present)
Country
England France
Founded
1902
Number of teams
12
Current champions
London Broncos (2023)
Most successful club
Leigh Leopards (8 titles)

History

Following the first rugby league season in 1895, the national competition was dissolved with clubs opting to play county league competitions due to the cost of travel. In 1901, 14 clubs came together to reform a national championship. The following season, 22 clubs from the Yorkshire and Lancashire Championships opted to join the national Championship with clubs being organised into two divisions for the first time.

The first incarnation of a Second Division only lasted for three seasons with clubs being reorganised into one National Championship again in 1905. The Championship would not be split again until 1962 when a 14 team division was created. This however only lasted for two seasons.

Come 1974 the Second Division was reformed for a third time with 14 clubs where the top four teams were promoted to the First Division. In 1990 only three teams were promoted with the bottom 13 clubs being relegated to form a new Third Division. This had a major impact on the 1991-92 season with the second tier only being made up of eight clubs playing 28 games with two teams promoted and two relegated. There was no relegation in 1992-93 with the Third Division being abolished and the remaining clubs rejoining the Second Division.

The 1994-95 became to be one of the most controversial seasons in the sports history. With the Rugby Football League and bSkyb agreeing to form a Super League competition in 1996, a league restructure began. The bottom 9 clubs were relegated to reform the Third Division. Despite finishing seventh, London Broncos were chosen over league champions Keighley Cougars to be promoted to the First Division and effectively be included in the first season of Super League. The following 1995-96 season was shortened due to the sports switch from winter to summer and no clubs were promoted or relegated.

In 1996 the Second Division was rebranded as Division One, featuring eleven teams with the bottom two relegated and the winners being promoted to Super League. The following 1997 season the top two were promoted and in 1998 promotion and the league title was decided by a playoff for the first time, in which Wakefield Trinity beat Featherstone Rovers.

The second tier was rebranded again in 1999 as the Premiership but was more commonly known as the Northern Ford Premiership due to sponsorship. The Third Division was for a third time abolished and the Premiership featured 18 teams again with a playoff and Grand Final. Hunslet and Dewsbury Rams made the Grand Final in 1999 but neither could be promoted due to their stadiums not meeting Super League minimum standards. This was again the case in 2000 when Dewsbury Rams won the final although runners up Leigh Leopards were also denied promotion. The following two years Widnes Vikings and Huddersfield Giants were both promoted.

For the 2003 season the league was split again with the creation of a 10 team second and third tier, now known as National League One and National League Two. Again the winners and promotion were decided by a playoff and Grand Final. By 2009 promotion was scrapped in favour of licensing and the league was rebranded as the Championship. The league retained the Grand Final but the winning team was not promoted

RFL Second Division (1902-1996)

Year	Champions	Pts	Runners up	Pts
1902-03	Keighley	56	Leeds	53
1903-04	Wakefield Trinity	55	St. Helens	49
1904-05	Dewsbury	46	Barrow	44
1905-1962: No Second Division
1962-63	Hunslet F.C.	44	Keighley	42
1963-64	Oldham	43	Leigh	34
1964-1973: No Second Division
1973-74	Bradford	48	York	42
1974-75	Huddersfield	42	Hull Kingston Rovers	41
1975-76	Barrow	43	Rochdale Hornets	41
1976-77	Hull F.C.	45	Dewsbury	40
1977-78	Leigh	42	Barrow	42
1978-79	Hull F.C. (2)	52	Hunslet F.C.	43
1979-80	Featherstone	44	Halifax	41
1980-81	York	46	Wigan	43
1981-82	Oldham (2)	60	Carlisle	56
1982-83	London	55	Wakefield Trinity	52
1983-84	Barrow (2)	64	Workington	50
1984-85	Swinton	49	Salford	43
1985-86	Leigh (2)	66	Barrow	54
1986-87	Hunslet	50	Swinton	47
1987-88	Oldham (3)	47	Featherstone	44
1988-89	Leigh (3)	52	Barrow	43
1989-90	Hull Kingston Rovers	50	Rochdale Hornets	48
1990-91	Salford	53	Halifax	48
1991-92	Sheffield	43	Leigh	42
1992-93	Featherstone (2)	49	Oldham	41
1993-94	Workington	46	Doncaster	45
1994-95	Keighley (2)	48	Batley	46
1995-96	Salford (2)	35	Keighley	28

Division One (1996-1998)

Year	Champions	Pts	Runners up	Pts
1996	Salford (3)	36	Keighley	30
1997	Hull F.C. (3)	37	Huddersfield	32
Year	Champions	Score	Runners up
1998	Wakefield Trinity (2)	24-22	Featherstone

Premiership (1999-2002)

Year	Champions	Score	Runners up
1999	Hunslet (2)	12-11	Dewsbury
2000	Dewsbury (2)	13-12	Leigh
2001	Widnes	24-14	Oldham
2002	Huddersfield (2)	38-16	Leigh

National League One/ Championship (2003-present)

Year	Champions	Score	Runners up
2003	Salford (4)	31–14	Leigh
2004	Leigh (4)	32–16	Whitehaven
2005	Castleford	36–8	Whitehaven
2006	Hull Kingston Rovers (2)	29–16	Widnes
2007	Castleford (2)	42–10	Widnes
2008	Salford (5)	36–18	Crusaders
2009	Barrow (3)	26–18	Halifax
2010	Halifax	23–22	Featherstone
2011	Featherstone (3)	40–4	Sheffield
2012	Sheffield (2)	20–16	Featherstone
2013	Sheffield (3)	19–12	Batley
2014	Leigh (5)	36–12	Featherstone
2015	Leigh (6)	N/A	Bradford
2016	Leigh (7)		London
2017	Hull Kingston Rovers (3)		London
2018	Toronto		London
2019	Toronto (2)	24–6	Featherstone
2020	Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Leigh elevated to Super League
2021	Toulouse	34–12	Featherstone
2022	Leigh (8)	44–12	Batley
2023	London (2)	18-14	Toulouse

Winners

	Club	Wins	Runners up	Winning Years
1	Leigh Leopards	8	5	1977-78, 1985-86, 1988-89, 2004, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2022
2	Salford Red Devils	5	1	1990-91, 1995-96, 1996, 2003, 2008
3	Featherstone Rovers	3	7	1979-80, 1992-93, 2011
	Barrow Raiders		3	1975-76, 1983-84, 2009
	Oldham		2	1963-64, 1981-82, 1987-88
	Hull Kingston Rovers		1	1989-90, 2006, 2017
	Sheffield Eagles			1991-92, 2012, 2013
	Hull F.C.		0	1976-77, 1978-79, 1997
4	Keighley Cougars	2	3	1902-03, 1994-95
	London Broncos			1981-82, 2023
	Dewsbury Rams		2	1904-05, 2000
	Wakefield Trinity		1	1903-04, 1998
	Huddersfield Giants			1974-75, 2002
	Hunslet		0	1986-87, 1999
	Castleford Tigers			2005, 2007
	Toronto Wolfpack			2018, 2019
5	Halifax Panthers	1	4	2010
	Hunslet F.C.		1	1962-63
	York			1980-81
	Swinton Lions			1984-85
	Workington Town			1993-94
	Bradford Bulls			1973-74
	Toulouse Olympique			2021
6	Batley Bulldogs	0	3	N/A
	Rochdale Hornets		2
	Whitehaven
	St Helens		1
	Wigan Warriors
	Carlisle
	Doncaster
	Crusaders

List of Finals

Season	Winners	Score	Runners-up	Venue	Attendance
1896–97	Batley	10 – 3	St Helens	Headingley, Leeds	13,492
1897–98	Batley (2)	7 – 0	Bradford FC		27,941
1898–99	Oldham	19 – 9	Hunslet	Fallowfield, Manchester	15,763
1899–1900	Swinton	16 – 8	Salford		17,864
1900–01	Batley (3)	6 – 0	Warrington	Headingley, Leeds	29,563
1901–02	Broughton Rangers	25 – 0	Salford	Athletic Ground, Rochdale	15,006
1902–03	Halifax	7 – 0	Salford	Headingley, Leeds	32,507
1903–04	Halifax (2)	8 – 3	Warrington	The Willows, Salford	17,041
1904–05	Warrington	6 – 0	Hull Kingston Rovers	Headingley, Leeds	19,638
1905–06	Bradford FC	5 – 0	Salford		15,834
1906–07	Warrington (2)	17 – 3	Oldham	Wheater's Field, Salford	18,500
1907–08	Hunslet	14 – 0	Hull FC	Fartown, Huddersfield	18,000
1908–09	Wakefield Trinity	17 – 0	Hull FC	Headingley, Leeds	23,587
1909–10	Leeds	7 – 7	Hull FC	Fartown, Huddersfield	19,413
	Leeds	26 – 12	Hull FC		11,608
1910–11	Broughton Rangers (2)	4 – 0	Wigan	The Willows, Salford	8,000
1911–12	Dewsbury	8 – 5	Oldham	Headingley, Leeds	15,271
1912–13	Huddersfield	9 – 5	Warrington		22,754
1913–14	Hull FC	6 – 0	Wakefield Trinity	Thrum Hall, Halifax	19,000
1914–15	Huddersfield (2)	37 – 3	St Helens	Watersheddings, Oldham	8,000
1919–20	Huddersfield (3)	21 – 10	Wigan	Headingley Leeds	14,000
1920–21	Leigh	13 – 0	Halifax	Wheater's Field, Salford	25,000
1921–22	Rochdale Hornets	10 – 9	Hull FC	Headingley, Leeds	32,596
1922–23	Leeds (2)	28 – 3	Hull FC	Belle Vue, Wakefield	29,335
1923–24	Wigan	21 – 4	Oldham	Athletic Ground, Rochdale	41,831
1924–25	Oldham (2)	16 – 3	Hull Kingston Rovers	Headingley, Leeds	28,335
1925–26	Swinton (2)	9 – 3	Oldham	Athletic Ground, Rochdale	27,000
1926–27	Oldham (3)	26 – 7	Swinton	Central Park, Wigan	33,448
1927–28	Swinton (3)	5 – 3	Warrington		33,909
1928–29	Wigan (2)	13 – 2	Dewsbury	Wembley Stadium, London	41,500
1929–30	Widnes	10 – 3	St Helens		36,544
1930–31	Halifax (3)	22 – 8	York		40,365
1931–32	Leeds (3)	11 – 8	Swinton	Central Park, Wigan	29,000
1932–33	Huddersfield (4)	21 – 17	Warrington	Wembley Stadium, London	41,874
1933–34	Hunslet (2)	11 – 5	Widnes		41,280
1934–35	Castleford	11 – 8	Huddersfield		39,000
1935–36	Leeds (4)	18 – 2	Warrington		51,250
1936–37	Widnes (2)	18 – 5	Keighley		47,699	8 May 1937
1937–38	Salford	7 – 4	Barrow		51,243
1938–39	Halifax (4)	20 – 3	Salford		55,453
1940–41	Leeds (5)	19 – 2	Halifax	Odsal, Bradford	28,500
1941–42	Leeds (6)	15 – 10	Halifax		15,250
1942–43	Dewsbury	16 – 9	Leeds	Crown Flatt, Dewsbury	10,470
	Dewsbury	0 – 6	Leeds	Headingley, Leeds	16,000
1943–44	Bradford Northern	3 – 0	Wigan	Central Park, Wigan	22,000
	Bradford Northern	8 – 0	Wigan	Odsal, Bradford	30,000
1944–45	Huddersfield (5)	7 – 4	Bradford Northern	Fartown, Huddersfield	9,041
	Huddersfield (5)	6 – 5	Bradford Northern	Odsal, Bradford	17,500
1945–46	Wakefield Trinity (2)	13 – 12	Wigan	Wembley Stadium, London	54,730
1946–47	Bradford Northern (2)	8 – 4	Leeds		77,605
1947–48	Wigan (3)	8 – 3	Bradford Northern		91,465
1948–49	Bradford Northern (3)	12 – 0	Halifax		95,050
1949–50	Warrington (3)	19 – 0	Widnes		94,249
1950–51	Wigan (4)	10 – 0	Barrow		94,262
1951–52	Workington Town	18 – 10	Featherstone Rovers		72,093
1952–53	Huddersfield (6)	15 – 10	St Helens		89,588
1953–54	Warrington	4 – 4	Halifax		81,841
	Warrington (4)	8 – 4	Halifax	Odsal, Bradford	102,569
1954–55	Barrow	21 – 12	Workington Town	Wembley Stadium, London	66,513
1955–56	St Helens	13 – 2	Halifax		79,341
1956–57	Leeds (7)	9 – 7	Barrow		76,318
1957–58	Wigan (5)	13 – 9	Workington Town		66,109
1958–59	Wigan (6)	30 – 13	Hull FC		79,811
1959–60	Wakefield Trinity (3)	38 – 5	Hull FC		79,773
1960–61	St Helens (2)	12 – 6	Wigan		94,672
1961–62	Wakefield Trinity (4)	12 – 6	Huddersfield		81,263
1962–63	Wakefield Trinity (5)	25 – 10	Wigan		84,492
1963–64	Widnes (3)	13 – 5	Hull Kingston Rovers		84,488
1964–65	Wigan (7)	20 – 16	Hunslet		89,016
1965–66	St Helens (3)	21 – 2	Wigan		98,536
1966–67	Featherstone Rovers	17 – 12	Barrow		76,290
1967–68	Leeds (8)	11 – 10	Wakefield Trinity		87,100
1968–69	Castleford (2)	11 – 6	Salford		97,939
1969–70	Castleford (3)	7 – 2	Wigan		95,255
1970–71	Leigh (2)	24 – 7	Leeds		85,514
1971–72	St Helens (4)	16 – 13	Leeds		89,495
1972–73	Featherstone Rovers (2)	33 – 14	Bradford Northern		72,395
1973–74	Warrington (5)	24 – 9	Featherstone Rovers		77,400
1974–75	Widnes (4)	14 – 7	Warrington		85,098
1975–76	St Helens (5)	20 – 5	Widnes		89,982
1976–77	Leeds (9)	16 – 7	Widnes		80,871
1977–78	Leeds (10)	14 – 12	St Helens		96,000
1978–79	Widnes (5)	12 – 3	Wakefield Trinity		94,218
1979–80	Hull Kingston Rovers	10 – 5	Hull FC		95,000
1980–81	Widnes (6)	18 – 9	Hull Kingston Rovers		92,496
1981–82	Hull FC	14 – 14	Widnes		92,147
	Hull FC (2)	18 – 9	Widnes	Elland Road, Leeds	41,171
1982–83	Featherstone Rovers (3)	14 – 12	Hull FC	Wembley Stadium, London	84,969
1983–84	Widnes (7)	19 – 6	Wigan		80,116
1984–85	Wigan (8)	28 – 24	Hull FC		97,801
1985–86	Castleford (4)	15 – 14	Hull Kingston Rovers		82,134
1986–87	Halifax (5)	19 – 18	St Helens		91,267
1987–88	Wigan (9)	32 – 12	Halifax		94,273
1988–89	Wigan (10)	27 – 0	St Helens		78,000
1989–90	Wigan (11)	36 – 14	Warrington		77,729
1990–91	Wigan (12)	13 – 8	St Helens		75,532
1991–92	Wigan (13)	28 – 12	Castleford		77,386
1992–93	Wigan (14)	20 – 14	Widnes		77,684
1993–94	Wigan (15)	26 – 16	Leeds		78,348
1994–95	Wigan (16)	30 – 10	Leeds		78,550
1996	St Helens (6)	40 – 32	Bradford Bulls		75,994
1997	St Helens (7)	32 – 22	Bradford Bulls		78,022
1998	Sheffield Eagles	17 – 8	Wigan Warriors		60,669
1999	Leeds Rhinos (11)	52 – 16	London Broncos		73,242
2000	Bradford Bulls (4)	24 – 18	Leeds Rhinos	Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh	67,247
2001	St Helens (8)	13 – 6	Bradford Bulls	Twickenham Stadium, London	68,250
2002	Wigan Warriors (17)	21 – 12	St Helens	Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh	62,140
2003	Bradford Bulls (5)	22 – 20	Leeds Rhinos	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff	71,212
2004	St Helens (9)	32 – 16	Wigan Warriors		73,734
2005	Hull FC (3)	25 – 24	Leeds Rhinos		74,213
2006	St Helens (10)	42 – 12	Huddersfield Giants	Twickenham Stadium, London	65,187
2007	St Helens (11)	30 – 8	Catalans Dragons	Wembley Stadium, London	84,241
2008	St Helens (12)	28 – 16	Hull FC		82,821
2009	Warrington Wolves (6)	25 – 16	Huddersfield Giants		76,560
2010	Warrington Wolves (7)	30 – 6	Leeds Rhinos		85,217
2011	Wigan Warriors (18)	28 – 18	Leeds Rhinos		78,482
2012	Warrington Wolves (8)	35 – 18	Leeds Rhinos		79,180
2013	Wigan Warriors (19)	16 – 0	Hull FC		78,137
2014	Leeds Rhinos (12)	23 – 10	Castleford Tigers		77,914
2015	Leeds Rhinos (13)	50 – 0	Hull Kingston Rovers		80,140
2016	Hull FC (4)	12 – 10	Warrington Wolves		76,235
2017	Hull FC (5)	18 – 14	Wigan Warriors		68,525
2018	Catalans Dragons	20 – 14	Warrington Wolves		50,672
2019	Warrington Wolves (9)	18 – 4	St Helens		62,717
2020	Leeds Rhinos (14)	17 – 16	Salford Red Devils		N/A
2021	St Helens (13)	26 – 12	Castleford Tigers		40,000 (Restricted attendance)
2022	Wigan Warriors (20)	16 – 14	Huddersfield Giants	Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London	51,628

All Time Super League table

( Seasons correct to 22)

• Correct up to end of 2021 season
• Does not include games in The Qualifiers

Pos.	Club	Seasons	P	W	D	L	Pts
1	St. Helens	27	711	507	15	189	1,027
2	Wigan	27	716	477	24	215	972
3	Leeds	27	699	433	18	248	884
4	Warrington	27	705	372	14	319	758
5	Hull F.C.	25	669	324	22	323	669
7	Castleford	25	659	306	20	333	632
6	Bradford	19	509	308	17	184	617
8	Huddersfield	24	635	277	15	343	569
9	Wakefield	24	630	234	7	399	471
11	Salford	24	615	212	8	395	424
12	Catalans	17	440	211	11	218	433
10	London	20	538	195	20	323	410
13	Hull KR	15	367	155	10	202	320
14	Widnes	11	292	97	8	187	202
15	Halifax	8	209	76	4	129	154
16	Sheffield	4	97	37	3	57	77
17	Gateshead §	1	30	19	1	10	39
18	Crusaders* §	3	81	21	0	60	38
19	Oldham	2	44	13	2	29	28
21	Leigh	3	73	10	1	62	21
20	Paris §	2	44	9	1	34	19
22	Toulouse	1	27	5	0	22	10
23	Workington	1	22	2	1	19	5
24	Toronto	1	Withdrew after 7 rounds

Super league history

Background

During the 1950s, British rugby league experienced a boom in popularity. However the twenty years that followed saw attendances and popularity decline. A ‘Super League’ was first suggested as far back as the 1970s as a way to address the decline. By the early 1990s the sport was still struggling with dwindling attendances, poor facilities and was dominated by one club Wigan who were the only full time professional team.

By 1992 then Chief Executive of the Rugby Football League, Maurice Lindsay brought up a serious idea for a Super League. He wanted the new league to break the stereotype of rugby league being a sport only played in Northern England and had a vision for clubs to play out of new facilities under a set of minimum standards in an unpublished document he called ‘Framing the Future’.

1990-1996: Establishment

Lindsay’s Super League was given a boost during the mid 90s Australian Super League war. A Rupert Murdoch backed Super League in Australia was trying to gain broadcasting supremacy over the Australian Rugby League. In an attempt to gain the upper hand, Murdoch, whose broadcasting company bSkyb already had the rights to the First Division, approached the RFL.

A £77 million offer and an £87 million payment aided the decision. It was agreed a 14 team Super League would take place in 1996, switching the sport from winter to summer and making every team full time.

As part of the agreement, Super League would be a European competition to break free from its Northern stereotype. Rugby league held a traditional heartland in the South of France and so Toulouse Olympique were invited. A second club from the French leagues was also planned to be invited but the French government refused their backing unless there was a team from Paris, thus Paris Saint Germain were founded as the second French club playing under the same name and colours as the football club.

As well as two French clubs being involved, several merges between English clubs were put forward:

• Castleford, Wakefield Trinity and Featherstone Rovers would form Calder
• Hull F.C. and Hull Kingston Rovers would form Humberside
• Salford and Oldham were to form Manchester
• Sheffield Eagles and Doncaster were to form South Yorkshire
• Warrington and Widnes were to form Cheshire
• Whitehaven, Workington Town, Barrow and Carlisle would form Cumbria

The proposal to merge neighbouring clubs, many who were local rivals and had been part of communities for a hundred year proved unpopular. On Good Friday 1995 it was announced Toulouse had pulled out and Widnes had their own place alongside Warrington, this as well as anti merger campaigns and debates in parliament effectively killing any change of mergers happening.

The first major change before the Super League happened in the 1994-95 season. It was decided the teams finishing in the top ten of the First Division would be in the Super League. Teams finishing 11-15 would be relegated to the Second Division while the bottom team would be relegated to the new Third Division. In the current Second Division the top 7 teams would remain while the rest would make up the Third Division.

Controversy occurred at the end of 1994-95 when Keighley won the Second Division but were denied promotion due to fourth placed London Broncos being fast tracked to the First Division as Lindsay wanted Super League to have a more national coverage. This resulted in a legal challenge from Keighley and Widnes who were both denied a place in Super League.

The 1995-96 season would be the last to be played in winter and fittingly was the sports centenary year. The season was kept short, staring in August and finishing in January while the 1995 World Cup taking place in October.

1996-1997: First seasons

Super League finally kicked off in 1996 with the 12 founding teams being:

• Bradford Bulls
• Castleford Tigers
• Halifax
• Leeds Rhinos
• London Broncos
• Oldham Bears
• Paris Saint-Germain
• Sheffield Eagles
• St. Helens
• Warrington Wolves
• Wigan Warriors
• Workington Town

Along with the new league, new rules were introduced. Squad numbers were adopted, a video referee was at every televised game and the salary cap was introduced to stop clubs overspending and to allow for a more level playing field. Super League was also more Americanised with clubs adopting nicknames and the league seasons copying the NFL Super Bowl by being known as a Roman numeral rather than year (e.g. Super League 1996 was known as Super League I).

The first game was on 29 March which saw PSG beat Sheffield 30-24 in front of 17,873 people at Charlety Stadium. The inaugural Super League title was won by St Helens, breaking Wigans stronghold for the first time since 1989 while Workington were relegated.

St Helens we’re unable to defend their title as Super Leagues second season was won by the Bradford Bulls with London Broncos justifying the decision to be fast tracked into Super League by finishing second. Oldham we’re relegated and PSG, who had finished 11th for the second consecutive time were dissolved after it was discovered some of their overseas players had tourist visas to avoid paying French tax.

1998-2005: Grand Final and expansion

Due to Oldham being relegated and PSG folding, tow teams, Hull Sharks and Huddersfield Giants, were promoted. It was also announced ahead of the 1998 season that there would be no relegation as the league planned to expand to 14 teams from 1999.

The other major change was that a playoff would decide the Champions. This was not new to rugby league as a playoff system had been in use for most of the sports existence although one hadn’t been used since 1973. Confusingly a playoff did take place at the end of the season but was separate from the official league season and thus didn’t count towards anything. Old Trafford the venue for the old Premiership Playoff Final would be used to host the new Grand Final in which the top five Super League teams would contest.

The first Grand Final took place at Old Trafford in front of a sellout crowd of 40,000 who watched Wigan defeat Leeds 12-8, their fist league title since the old First Division.

Ahead of the expansion to 14 clubs Wakefield Trinity were promoted from the Second Division and a new club, Gateshead Thunder were awarded a place in Super League in 1999, which was won by St Helens who beat Bradford in the Grand Final.

Gateshead had a successful debut season on the field finishing tow points off the playoffs however off the field the club was suffering financial difficulties. By the end of the season Gateshead announced they would merge with Hull Sharks who were to revert to being known as Hull FC. Gateshead weren’t the only club struggling, Sheffield announced they could no longer continue and merged with Huddersfield and would be known as Huddersfield-Sheffield Giants. Due to these two clubs resigning from the league it was agreed Super League would revert to 12 teams after just one season.

Relegation was reintroduced in 2001 with one team going down each year. The only major change to the league was in 2002 when the playoffs were expanded to six teams. The League Leaders Shield was introduced in 2003 to reward the team who finished top at the end of the regular season.

In 2005 it was announced a franchise was to be awarded to a French club, with Toulouse, Villeneuve and Catalans Dragons all applying. In the end Catalans, who were only founded in 2000 after a merger between two Perpignan based clubs, were chosen. Their debut season would be in 2006 and they would be exempt from relegation for the first three years. Their inclusion in Super League meant two clubs would be relegated in 2005. Bottom team Leigh we’re relegated with 11th placed Widnes.

2005–2013: Licensing

Main article: Super League licensing

By the mid 2000s Super League hadn’t exactly become what people hoped it would. Standards on the field had improved and attendances increased but many clubs still played out of crumbling stadiums and most of the sport was still played in the North of England. There was also the emergence of the ‘Big Four’ (Bradford, Leeds, Wigan & St Helens) who were dominating the league during its first 10 seasons.

In May 2005 to try and combat the issues facing Super League, the RFL announced licences were announced as the new determinant of the Super League competition's participants from 2009 with relegation scrapped, two new teams would expand the league to 14. The licences were awarded after consideration of more factors than simply the on-the-field performance of a club. After 2007 automatic promotion and relegation was suspended for Super League with new teams to be admitted on a licence basis with the term of the licence to start in 2009.

The RFL stated that clubs applying to compete in Super League would be assessed by criteria in four areas (stadium facilities, finance and business performance, commercial and marketing and playing strength, including junior production and development) with the final evaluations and decisions being taken by the RFL board of directors.

Successful applicants were licensed for three years of Super League competition and three-yearly reviews of Super League membership took place to ensure ambitious clubs lower down the leagues can still be successful.

Points attained by each club's application are translated into licence grades A, B or C. Clubs who achieved an A or B Licence would be automatically awarded a place in the Super League, while those who achieved a C Licence underwent further scrutiny before the RFL decided who made the final cut.

First licensing period

Main article: 2009–11 Super League licences

In June 2008, the RFL confirmed that the Super League would be expanded from 12 teams to 14 in 2009 with the playoffs also expanding to 8 teams, and on 22 July 2008 the RFL confirmed the teams awarded licences. The teams announced were the 12 existing Super League teams along with National League 1 teams, Celtic Crusaders and Salford. Celtic Crusaders becoming the first Welsh team to play in Super League and the only team to be awarded a licence who had never played in the Super League previously.

Featherstone Rovers, Halifax, Leigh and Widnes all failed to attain a licence. Leigh and Widnes, especially, were disappointed with their exclusions with Leigh's chairman being extremely critical of the RFL.

By the end of the 2008 season, Salford and Celtic Crusaders finished 13th and 14th respectively and the Grand Final was won by the League Leaders, Leeds Rhinos for a fourth time. The following season Crusaders made the playoffs but were knocked out in the first round. League Leaders Wigan won the Grand Final.

By 2011 the Crusaders were suffering financial difficulties and entered administration and were deducted four points. Salford on the other hand despite never making the playoffs in the three years since they were promoted were in a much better financial position.

During this period the league was being dominated by Leeds and St Helens with Leeds winning 3 titles and St Helens appearing in every Grand Final.

Second licensing period

Main article: 2012–14 Super League licences

For the 2012–14 seasons Championship sides Batley, Barrow, Featherstone Rovers, Halifax and Widnes all met the on-field criteria needed to submit an application, but despite this only Barrow, Halifax and Widnes decided to submit an application. On 31 March 2011 Widnes were awarded a Super League licence; Barrow, did not meet the criteria and were refused a licence; and Halifax's application was to be further considered alongside the other Super League clubs.

The Rugby Football League's final decision was announced on 26 July 2011, Widnes would be joining thirteen existing Super League teams with Crusaders having withdrawn their application and Halifax being refused a license. Crusaders CEO Rod Findlay stated that the club's finances were not in a good enough condition to justify their place in Super League. Halifax chairman Mark Steele was critical of the decision to award Wakefield a licence over themselves, saying "If you compare Belle Vue with the Shay, it's no contest; if you compare playing records, it's no contest; and if you compare the financial position, we have kept our head above water and they haven't." Wakefield had been favourites to lose their licence before Crusaders' withdrawal.

2013–2018: Super 8s

Main article: Rugby League Super 8s

After two licensing periods the system started to fall out of favour. Some highlighted the failure of clubs such as Wakefield and Castleford to build new stadiums but were twice awarded licenses over Championship clubs who many thought would be better suited to Super League. There was also unrest in the Championship with clubs feeling their success on the pitch should be rewarded.

At the 2013 Annual General Meeting in Bradford, the Super League clubs agreed to reduce the number of clubs to 12 from 2015, and also for a return of Promotion and Relegation with a 12 club Championship.

A radical new league structure was proposed. The 12 Super League and 12 Championship clubs would play each other home and away over 22 rounds, plus a Magic Weekend for both divisions, making a 23-game regular season. Following the conclusion of their regular league seasons, the 24 clubs then competed in a play-off series where they split into 3 leagues of 8 based upon league position:

• The top 8 Super League clubs continued to compete in the Super 8s. After playing each other once (either home or away), the top 4 clubs progressed to the semi-finals to determine who competed in the Grand Final to be crowned champions.
• The remaining (bottom 4) Super League clubs and the top 4 Championship clubs competed in The Qualifiers. They played each other once (either home or away) to determine which four of the clubs would compete in Super League the following year.

Funding for clubs was tiered in both leagues to prevent relegation-related financial difficulties.

In preparation for the new structure, two clubs would be relegated from Super League in 2014 to reduce the league to 12. By the end of the season London Broncos and four time Champions Bradford Bulls were relegated to the Championship.

In June 2015 8 of the 12 Super League clubs voted to allow a Marquee Player that could exceed a clubs salary cap as long as they can afford their wages. The marquee player rule came into force for the 2016 Super League season.

The first Super 8s season was won by the Leeds Rhinos, with all four Super League clubs surviving the Qualifiers. The following year Hull KR were relegated when they lost to Salford in the Million Pound Game with Leigh being promoted.

2017 saw Castleford finish top of the league for the first time in their history although they eventually lost the Grand Final to Leeds who claimed their 8th title.

By 2018 there were question marks over how successful the Super 8s were. Attendances after the split dropped and there was more interest in relegation than there was in the Super League 8s and playoffs.

2019–2021: Split from RFL and Covid 19 Pandemic

On 14 September 2018, an EGM was called to discuss the future of the sport. The Super League clubs were unhappy with the way the RFL was running the sport and wanted more control over future TV deals and sponsorship money. A vote went Super Leagues way and they subsequently split from the RFL while also voting in favour of scrapping the Super 8s in favour of a more traditional league structure with a one up one down system for promotion and relegation.

As a result of the split the Super League appointed former Everton CEO Robert Elstone as Chief Executive. Elstone brought in new branding and new rules such as the shot clock to stop time wasting and golden point extra time in favour of draws.

After a successful 2019 season Elstone success was short lived due to the 2020 season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom . The season was temporarily suspended during the national lockdown in which after Toronto Wolfpack did not return to complete the season. There were calls made from Super League clubs for the two executive bodies – Super League and the RFL – to re-amalgamate following the financial difficulties from the pandemic.

As of 14 December 2020, it was decided by unanimous vote that the Leigh Centurions would take the 12th spot in the 26th Super League season, replacing the Toronto Wolfpack who withdrew from the league as a result of financial difficulties caused by the pandemic. This came after the RFL cancelled the Championship 2020 season in response to the pandemic.

In February 2021 Elstone announced he was to resign as Chief Executive of Super League, citing failures to bring outside investment to the league and the effects of the pandemic. Huddersfield's chairman Ken Davy was appointed as temporary Chief Executive until the end of the season. Subsequently the new Sky Sports TV deal for the Super League and lower divisions was cut from £40 million to £25 million per year for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.This again had RFL and Super League officials calling for a realignment of the two governing bodies.

2022-present: Realignment with RFL and IMG investment

On March 22 2022 at a Special General Meeting it was announced the RFL and Super League were to officially realign after a majority of clubs voted in favour. A new company separate from the RFL was also set up to take care of the commercial side of the sport.

On the 10 May 2022 the RFL announced it had signed a 12 year deal with sports marketing company IMG to maximise the sports growth.

Other

FIFA

Northern Wonder

Personal information
Date of birth	(1997-08-28) 28 August 1997
Place of birth	Leeds, West Yorkshire
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s)	Winger
Team information
Current team	Aston Villa
Number	30
Youth career
2010-2014	Farsley Celtic
2014-2015	Leeds United
2015-2016	Notts County
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2016–2019	Notts County	92	(35)
2019-2023	Southampton	108	(29)
2019-2020	→ Leeds United (loan)	38	(7)
2023	Leicester City	17	(3)
2023-2027	West Ham United	157	(47)
2027-2028	Liverpool	43	(23)
2028-2030	Dortmund	22	(7)
2029	→ Blackburn Rovers (loan)	11	(4)
2029-2030	→ Charlton Athletic (loan)	25	(8)
2030-	Everton	0	(0)
2031	→ Aston Villa (loan)	14	(2)
International career
2018-2020	England U21	4	(0)
2021-2029	England	52	(21)
Medal record Representing England Men's Football Winner FIFA World Cup 2022 Winner UEFA European Championship 2024
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 05:34, 30 January 2017 (UTC)

Stats

Club	Season	Career
		Division	Apps	Goals
Notts County	2016-2017	League Two	38	14
	2017-2018	League One	28	11
	2018-2019	Championship	26	11
	Total		92	35
Southampton	2018-2019	Premier League	4	2
	2019-2020	Premier League	0	0
	2020-2021	Premier League	38	12
	2021-2022	Premier League	46	14
	2022-2023	Premier League	20	1
	Total		108	29
Leeds United (loan)	2019-2020	Championship	38	7
Leicester City	2022-2023	Premier League	16	3
	2023-2024	Premier League	1	0
	Total		17	3
West Ham United	2023-2024	Premier League	34	12
	2024-2025	Premier League	45	13
	2025-2026	Premier League	41	11
	2026-2027	Premier League	37	11
	Total		157	47
Liverpool	2027-2028	Premier League	43	23
Dortmund	2028-2029	Bundesliga	22	7
	2029-2030	Bundesliga	0	0
	Total		22	7
Blackburn Rovers (loan)	2029	Championship	11	4
Charlton Athletic (loan)	2029-2030	League One	25	7
Everton	2030-	Premier League	0	0
Aston Villa (loan)	2031	Premier League

Honours

• Notts County

• League One Playoff Final: 2017-2018
• League Two: 2016-2017

• Leeds United

• Championship: 2019-2020

• Southampton

• FA Cup: 2021-2022
• FA Community Shield: 2022-2023

• West Ham United

• Premier League: 2023-2024
• FA Community Shield: 2024-2025
• League Cup: 2024-2025
• Champions League: 2026-2027

• Liverpool

• Premier League: 2027-2028
• League Cup: 2027-2028

• Charlton Athletic

• League One: 2029-2030
• Football League Trophy: 2029-2030

Overview

• Domestic Leagues

• Premier League (2): 2023-2024, 2027-2028
• Championship (1): 2019-2020
• League One (1): 2029-2030

• League One Playoff Final (1): 2017-2018

• League Two (1): 2016-2017

• Domestic Cups

• FA Cup (1): 2021-2022
• League Cup (2): 2024-2025, 2027-2028
• FA Community Shield (2): 2022-2023, 2024-2025
• Football League Trophy (1): 2029-2030

• Continental Cups

• Champions League (1): 2026-2027