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1973–74 Northern Rugby Football League season
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| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| title | 1973–74 Rugby Football League season |
| league | Championship |
| season | First Division |
| season_champs | **Salford** |
| season_champ_name | Champions |
| second_place | St Helens |
| premiership_win | Warrington |
| premiership_win_name | Club Championship |
| top_scorer | David Watkins 438 |
| top try scorer | Keith Fielding 49 |
| relegate | |
| relegate_to | Second Division |
| season2 | Second Division |
| season_champs2 | **Bradford Northern** |
| season_champ_name2 | Champions |
| promoted_from2 | Second Division |
| season3 | |
| season_champs3 | |
| season_champ_name3 | |
| join3 | |
| join_method3 | Promoted to First Division |
| prevseason_link | 1972–73 Northern Rugby Football League season |
| prevseason_year | 1972–73 |
| nextseason_link | 1974–75 Northern Rugby Football League season |
| nextseason_year | 1974–75 |
The 1973–74 Rugby Football League season was the 79th season of rugby league football.
Season summary
1973-1974 saw two division rugby re-introduced. The Championship playoffs were discontinued and the league leaders were declared the champions. A "Club Championship" was played in place of the playoffs but this was a one-off precursor to what became the end of season Premiership. It was a complicated format that involved sides from both divisions.
On 25 April, David Watkins of Salford scored the last of 929 points (41 tries, 403 goals) in a record run of scoring in 92 consecutive games for one club.
Keith Mumby made his début for Bradford Northern this season as the club's youngest ever player, aged 16. In a match against Doncaster this season he scored 12 goals and a try. He went on to become the club's record appearance holder, playing 576 games.
Salford won their fifth Championship. Oldham, Hull Kingston Rovers, Leigh and Whitehaven were demoted to the Second Division.
The Challenge Cup winners were Warrington who beat Featherstone Rovers 24-9 in the final.
The Club Championship was won by Warrington who beat St. Helens 13-12 in the final.
2nd Division Champions were: Bradford Northern, and they York, Keighley and Halifax were promoted to the First Division.
League Tables
Championship
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salford | 30 | 23 | 1 | 6 | 632 | 299 |
| 2 | St. Helens | 30 | 22 | 2 | 6 | 595 | 263 |
| 3 | Leeds | 30 | 20 | 1 | 9 | 554 | 378 |
| 4 | Widnes | 30 | 18 | 1 | 11 | 431 | 329 |
| 5 | Warrington | 30 | 16 | 1 | 13 | 414 | 368 |
| 6 | Dewsbury | 30 | 16 | 1 | 13 | 389 | 474 |
| 7 | Wakefield Trinity | 30 | 16 | 0 | 14 | 470 | 411 |
| 8 | Featherstone Rovers | 30 | 14 | 2 | 14 | 443 | 397 |
| 9 | Castleford | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 420 | 411 |
| 10 | Rochdale Hornets | 30 | 13 | 2 | 15 | 379 | 415 |
| 11 | Wigan | 30 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 427 | 364 |
| 12 | Bramley | 30 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 344 | 457 |
| 13 | Oldham | 30 | 12 | 1 | 17 | 341 | 494 |
| 14 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 30 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 428 | 552 |
| 15 | Leigh | 30 | 7 | 0 | 23 | 326 | 655 |
| 16 | Whitehaven | 30 | 7 | 0 | 23 | 308 | 634 |
Second Division
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bradford Northern | 26 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 607 | 221 |
| 2 | York | 26 | 21 | 0 | 5 | 429 | 219 |
| 3 | Keighley | 26 | 20 | 0 | 6 | 439 | 250 |
| 4 | Halifax | 26 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 460 | 298 |
| 5 | Workington Town | 26 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 421 | 310 |
| 6 | Hull | 26 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 465 | 256 |
| 7 | Swinton | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 405 | 276 |
| 8 | Batley | 26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 286 | 311 |
| 9 | Barrow | 26 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 214 | 291 |
| 10 | Huddersfield | 26 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 363 | 394 |
| 11 | New Hunslet | 26 | 7 | 0 | 19 | 272 | 418 |
| 12 | Blackpool Borough | 26 | 7 | 0 | 19 | 272 | 585 |
| 13 | Doncaster | 26 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 158 | 684 |
| 14 | Huyton | 26 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 182 | 460 |
| Champions | Promoted | Relegated |
|---|
Cups
Challenge Cup
Main article: 1973–74 Challenge Cup
Warrington defeated Huddersfield, Huyton, Wigan and Dewsbury to reach the final against Featherstone Rovers.{{Cite news | access-date = 4 December 2010}} Captained by Alex Murphy, Warrington beat Featherstone Rovers 24-9 in the final played at Wembley in front of a crowd of 77,400.
This was Warrington’s fourth Cup Final win in ten Final appearances. Derek Whitehead, Warrington's full-back won the Lance Todd Trophy for man-of-the-match.
Player's No.6 Trophy
Main article: 1973–74 Player's No.6 Trophy
The Player's No.6 Trophy winners were Warrington who beat Rochdale Hornets 24-17 in the final.
County Cups
Main article: 1973–74 Lancashire Cup
Main article: 1973–74 Yorkshire Cup
Wigan beat Salford 19–9 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Leeds beat Wakefield Trinity 7–2 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.
Captain Morgan Trophy
Main article: Captain Morgan Trophy
BBC2 Floodlit Trophy
Main article: 1973–74 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy
BBC2 Floodlit Trophy winners were Bramley who beat Widnes 15-7 in the final.
Club Championship
Main article: Club Championship (rugby league)
Kangaroo Tour
Main article: 1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France
From September until December also saw the appearance of the Australian team in England on their 1973 Kangaroo Tour. Other than the three test Ashes series against Great Britain (won 2–1 by Australia), The Kangaroos played matches against club and county representative sides
The 1978 Kangaroos were captain-coached by champion St George Dragons fullback Graeme Langlands who was making his third tour following from 1963–64 and 1967–68
| game | Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 September | Australia def. Salford 15–12 | The Willows, Salford | 11,064 |
| 2 | 3 October | Australia def. Wakefield Trinity 13–9 | Belle Vue, Wakefield | 5,863 |
| 3 | 7 October | Australia def. Dewsbury 17–3 | Crown Flatt, Dewsbury | 5,865 |
| 4 | 10 October | Australia def. Castleford 18–10 | Wheldon Road, Castleford | 2,419 |
| 5 | 14 October | Australia def. Widnes 25–10 | Naughton Park, Widnes | 5,185 |
| 6 | 19 October | Australia def. Oldham 44–10 | The Watersheddings, Oldham | 2,895 |
| 7 | 24 October | Australia def. Cumbria Cumberland 28–2 | Recreation Ground, Whitehaven | 3,666 |
| 8 | 28 October | Australia def. Bradford Northern 50–14 | Odsal Stadium, Bradford | 5,667 |
| 9 | 3 November | def. 21–12 | Wembley Stadium, London | 9,874 |
| 10 | 7 November | Australia def. Hull Kingston Rovers 32–2 | Craven Park, Hull | 5,150 |
| 11 | 10 November | Australia def. Huddersfield 25–9 | Fartown Ground, Huddersfield | 1,333 |
| 12 | 11 November | Australia def. Leigh 31–4 | Hilton Park, Leigh | 2,607 |
| 13 | 13 November | St. Helens def. Australia 11–7 | Knowsley Road, St Helens | 10,013 |
| 14 | 18 November | Australia def. Featherstone Rovers 18–3 | Post Office Road, Featherstone | 5,659 |
| 15 | 24 November | def. 14–6 | Headingley, Leeds | 16,674 |
| 16 | 1 December | def. 15–5 | Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington | 10,019 |
References
References
- (1995). "Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1995-1996". Headline Book Publishing.
- "Bradford Bulls History".
- "1973-74 Season summary".
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