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2024 RFL Championship

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2024 Betfred Championship
Teams14
Matches played189
Points scored8,308
Highest attendance8,016 Wakefield Trinity v Toulouse Olympique (19 October 2024)
Lowest attendance331 Whitehaven v Toulouse Olympique (13 July 2024)
Average attendance1,826
Attendance345,071
2024 season
Promoted to Super LeagueWakefield Trinity
League Leaders' ShieldWakefield Trinity
Relegated to League OneSwinton Lions, Whitehaven, Dewsbury Rams
Biggest home winFeatherstone Rovers 66–0 Whitehaven (7 July 2024)
Wakefield Trinity 72–6 Doncaster (29 September 2024)
Biggest away winSwinton Lions 0–60 Wakefield Trinity (1 September 2024)
Top point-scorer(s)Max Jowitt (Wakefield Trinity) (384)
Top try-scorer(s)Derrell Olpherts (Wakefield Trinity) (26)
2025 →

The 2024 RFL Championship, (officially known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons), was a professional rugby league club competition. The second tier of the British rugby league system comprises 14 clubs – 13 from England and one from France.

The season comprised 26 rounds in the regular season with the top six teams taking part in the play-offs to determine the champions.

The title was won by Wakefield Trinity who beat Toulouse Olympique in the grand final.[1] Wakefield also won the league leader's shield winning 25 of their 26 matches during the regular season.[1]

Wakefield's Max Jowitt became the first player in the British game to score 500 points in a season. Going into the grand final on 494 points, Jowitt kicked the three goals he needed to reach the 500 mark.[1]

Despite Wakefield winning the Championship, there is no automatic promotion to Super League, due to Super League status being dependent on a club's performance under the IMG grading system. However, on 22 October 2024, it was announced that Wakefield had improved their rating to a Grade A, which will now see them playing in Super League for the 2025 season.[2]

Team changes

[edit]

London Broncos won promotion to the Super League at the end of 2023 and were replaced by Wakefield Trinity who were relegated from Super League. Promoted from League 1 in 2023 were Dewsbury Rams and Doncaster who replaced the 2023 relegated teams, Keighley Cougars and Newcastle Thunder.

Structure changes

[edit]

There was no automatic promotion from the Championship to Super League at the end of the season. This was due to the introduction of the grading scheme where clubs are graded by a number of factors, not all based on on-field performance.[3]

The Summer Bash round which saw all the fixtures played at one location over a weekend was dropped for 2024 following disappointing attendance figures for the 2022 and 2023 events which were played in Leeds and York respectively.[4]

Following a review of the league structure below Super League, the RFL announced that by the start of the 2026 season, the Championship and League 1 would be equalised in size at 12 teams each. The first step was to reduce the Championship from 14 clubs to 13 at the end of the 2024 season. This was achieved by the bottom two clubs being relegated to League 1 but only the League 1 champions being promoted. The team finishing third-bottom in 2024 played the team winning the League 1 play-offs for the 13th spot in the 2025 Championship.[5]

Rule changes

[edit]

A number of changes were introduced for 2024.[6]

The "six again" rule was amended so that set restarts would only be awarded if the ball was in the defending team's half of the field. Infringements in the attacking team's half would result in a penalty to the attacking team.

The use of the 18th man was allowed after two players (reduced from three) had failed head impact assessments or a player was unable to continue through injury (not just a head injury) resulting from foul play where the opposing player was sin-binned or sent-off. The use of the green card by the referee ordering injured players off the field for treatment was discontinued in the Championship.

A team awarded a penalty at a scrum had the option to reset the scrum instead of taking the penalty.

For disciplinary processes a category of "reckless tackle" was introduced.[7]

On 26 February 2024, the RFL announced that changes would be made to the 'head on head contact' rule that was previously implemented to start the season. This came after Nu Brown of Super League club Hull FC was controversially shown a red card for a tackle during his side's match against Warrington Wolves.[8] The RFL stated that the rule will be amended, "emphasising that it applies only to initial contact".[9]

Clubs

[edit]
Locations of English teams competing in the 2024 Championship.
Locations of the 2024 RFL Championship teams in West Yorkshire
Locations of 2024 RFL Championship teams in France
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Barrow Raiders Barrow-in-Furness Northern Competitions Stadium 6,000
Batley Bulldogs Batley Mount Pleasant 7,500
Bradford Bulls Bradford Odsal Stadium 22,000
Dewsbury Rams Dewsbury Crown Flatt 5,100
Doncaster Doncaster Eco-Power Stadium 15,231
Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Millennium Stadium 8,000
Halifax Panthers Halifax The Shay 10,401
Sheffield Eagles Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park 1,320
Swinton Lions Sale Heywood Road 3,387
Toulouse Olympique Toulouse Stade Ernest-Wallon 19,500
Wakefield Trinity Wakefield DIY Kitchens Stadium 9,333
Whitehaven Whitehaven Recreation Ground 7,500
Widnes Vikings Widnes DCBL Stadium 13,350
York Knights York York Community Stadium 8,005

Results

[edit]

Table

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Wakefield Trinity 26 25 0 1 1010 262 +748 50 Semi-finals
2 Toulouse Olympique 26 18 1 7 782 384 +398 37
3 Bradford Bulls 26 16 2 8 682 387 +295 34 Eliminators
4 York Knights 26 15 0 11 655 473 +182 30
5 Widnes Vikings 26 14 1 11 551 475 +76 29
6 Featherstone Rovers 26 14 0 12 622 500 +122 28
7 Sheffield Eagles 26 14 0 12 626 526 +100 28
8 Doncaster 26 12 1 13 498 619 −121 25
9 Halifax Panthers 26 11 0 15 509 650 −141 22
10 Batley Bulldogs 26 11 0 15 422 591 −169 22
11 Barrow Raiders 26 9 1 16 458 758 −300 19
12 Swinton Lions 26 9 0 17 466 678 −212 18 Championship play-off
13 Whitehaven 26 8 2 16 451 854 −403 18 Relegation to League One
14 Dewsbury Rams 26 2 0 24 344 919 −575 4
Source: RFL
Rules for classification: 1) Competition points; 2) Points difference; 3) Points percentage (points scored/points conceded x 100)

Play-offs

[edit]
Eliminators Semi-finals Grand Final
1 Wakefield Trinity 22
4 York Knights 27 4 York Knights 13
5 Widnes Vikings 10 1 Wakefield Trinity 36
2 Toulouse Olympique 0
2 Toulouse Olympique 21
3 Bradford Bulls 25 3 Bradford Bulls 20
6 Featherstone Rovers 12

Week 1: Eliminators

[edit]
5 October 2024
15:00
York Knights 27–10 Widnes Vikings
Tries: Williams, Law, Lineham (2), Dee
Goals: Williams (3/5)
Drop goals: Harris
[10][11]
Tries: Lloyd
Goals: Gilmore (3/3)
York Community Stadium
Attendance: 2,010
Referee: J. Vella

6 October 2024
15:00
Bradford Bulls 25–12 Featherstone Rovers
Tries: Myers, Gill, Lilley, Appo
Goals: Lilley (4/5)
Drop goals: Lilley
[12][11]
Tries: Hardcastle, Day
Goals: Reynolds (2/2)
Odsal Stadium
Referee: A. Moore

Week 2: Semi-finals

[edit]
13 October 2024
15:00
Wakefield Trinity 22–13 York Knights
Tries: Jowitt, Gale, Olpherts, Thornley
Goals: Jowitt (3/4)
[13][14]
Tries: Field, Hingano
Goals: Dagger (2/2)
Drop goals: Harris
Belle Vue
Attendance: 5,946
Referee: A. Moore

13 October 2024
17:00
Toulouse Olympique 21–20 Bradford Bulls
Tries: Laguerre, Ulberg, Armitage, Marion
Goals: Shorrocks (2/4)
Drop goals: Pelissier
[15][14]
Tries: Lilley, Pele, Appo
Goals: Lilley (4/4)
Stade Ernest Wallon
Attendance: 2,680
Referee: T. Grant

Week 3: Championship Grand Final

[edit]
19 October 2024
19:00
Wakefield Trinity 36–0 Toulouse Olympique
Tries: Olpherts (2), Ashurst, McGillvary (2), Thornley, Pratt
Goals: Jowitt (3/6), McGillvary (1/1)
[16]
Belle Vue
Attendance: 8,016
Referee: A. Moore
Team details
Wakefield Trinity Position Toulouse Olympique
Name Number Number Name
Max Jowitt 1 FB 1 Olly Ashall-Bott
Jermaine McGillvary 2 WG 2 Paul Ulberg
Iain Thornley 3 CE 3 Guy Armitage
Oli Pratt 4 CE 4 Paul Marcon
Derrell Olpherts 5 WG 5 Benjamin Laguerre
Luke Gale 6 SO 6 Ryan Rivett
Mason Lino 7 SH 7 Jake Shorrocks
Josh Bowden 8 PR 8 Lambert Belmas
Liam Hood 9 HK 9 Calum Gahan
Renouf Atoni 10 PF 10 Harrison Hansen
Matty Ashurst 11 SR 11 Maxime Stefani
Isaiah Vagana 12 SR 12 Dominique Peyroux
Jay Pitts 13 LF 13 Anthony Marion
Lachlan Walmsley 14 IN 14 Reubenn Rennie
Caleb Uele 15 IN 15 Éloi Pélissier
Ky Rodwell 16 IN 16 James Roumanos
Thomas Doyle 17 IN 17 Dimitri Biscarro
Mattieu Cozza 18 CS 18 Greg Richards
Daryl Powell Coach Sylvain Houles



Championship play-off

[edit]

On 13 October Swinton,the team finishing 12th in the regular season, played Hunslet, the League One play-off final winners to decide the 13th team in the 2025 Championship. Swinton lost to Hunslet and were relegated to League One for 2025.

Championship play-off
13 October 2024
19:30
Swinton Lions 20–22 Hunslet
Tries: Williams, Cox, Wood, Vaughan
Goals: Abram (2/4)
[17]
Tries: Turner, Berry, Flanagan, Render
Goals: Beharrell (3/4)
Heywood Road
Attendance: 885
Referee: J. Vella


Player statistics

[edit]

Top 10 try scorers

[edit]
Rank Player (s) Club Tries
1 England Derrell Olpherts Wakefield Trinity 26
2 England Max Jowitt 23
3 Cook Islands Paul Ulberg Toulouse Olympique 21
4 Scotland Lachlan Walmsley Wakefield Trinity 20
5 England Connor Wynne Featherstone Rovers 19
6 England Joe Burton Batley Bulldogs 18
7 England Joe Brown York Knights 17
8 England Matty Dawson-Jones Sheffield Eagles 16
France Maxime Stefani Toulouse Olympique
10 England Kieran Gill Bradford Bulls 15
England Jayden Hatton Swinton Lions
England Ryan Ince Widnes Vikings

Top 10 goal scorers

[edit]
Rank Player Club Goals
1 England Max Jowitt Wakefield Trinity 146
2 England Jordan Lilley Bradford Bulls 108
3 England Cory Aston Sheffield Eagles 88
4 England Tom Gilmore Widnes Vikings 84
5 England Jake Shorrocks Toulouse Olympique 81
6 France Louis Jouffret Halifax Panthers 66
7 England Connor Robinson Doncaster RLFC 65
8 England Ryan Shaw Barrow Raiders 55
9 England Josh Woods Batley Bulldogs 54
10 England Ben Reynolds Featherstone Rovers 48

Top 10 point scorers

[edit]
Rank Player Club Points
1 England Max Jowitt Wakefield Trinity 384
2 England Jordan Lilley Bradford Bulls 245
3 England Tom Gilmore Widnes Vikings 193
4 England Cory Aston Sheffield Eagles 192
5 England Jake Shorrocks Toulouse Olympique 178
6 France Louis Jouffret Halifax Panthers 164
7 England Connor Robinson Doncaster RLFC 151
8 England Ryan Shaw Barrow Raiders 138
9 England Ben Reynolds Featherstone Rovers 124
10 England Josh Woods Batley Bulldogs 115
As of 22 October 2024: (Round 27)

Discipline

[edit]

Red cards

[edit]
Rank Player Club Cards
1 England Delaine Gittens-Bedward Barrow Raiders 1
England Brad Walker
England Greg Worthington
Scotland Dale Ferguson Dewsbury Rams
England Gareth Gale Featherstone Rovers
England Ed Barber Halifax Panthers
England Matty Gee
Republic of Ireland Zack McComb
England Matty Marsh Sheffield Eagles
England Jordy Gibson Swinton Lions
Italy Richard Lepori
England Gavin Rodden
Tonga Sitaleki Akauola Toulouse Olympique
Samoa Harrison Hansen
Australia Owen McCarron Whitehaven RLFC
England Jacob Gannon York Knights

Yellow cards

[edit]
Rank Player Club Cards
1 Papua New Guinea Edene Gebbie Whitehaven RLFC 5
2 Australia Mitchel Souter Bradford Bulls 4
France Lambert Belmas Toulouse Olympique
Italy Ryan King Whitehaven RLFC
5 England Adam Gledhill Batley Bulldogs 3
England Dane Manning
Samoa Jorge Taufua Bradford Bulls
England Ronan Dixon Dewsbury Rams
Scotland Danny Addy Featherstone Rovers
England Dec Patton
England George Roby Swinton Lions
England Matty Fleming Widnes Vikings
13 England Eribe Doro Bradford Bulls 2
New Zealand Franklin Pele
England Jayden Myers
England Bailey O'Connor Dewsbury Rams
Jamaica Kieran Rush
England Brad England Featherstone Rovers
England Josh Hardcastle
France Gadwin Springer
England Jacob Fairbank Halifax Panthers
England Matty Dawson-Jones Sheffield Eagles
Jamaica Joel Farrell
England Joshua Eaves Swinton Lions
England Gavin Rodden
Cook Islands Reubenn Rennie Toulouse Olympique
Scotland Luke Bain Wakefield Trinity
England Jack Croft
Scotland Sam Brooks Widnes Vikings
England Will Dagger York Knights
30 Scotland Brett Carter Barrow Raiders 1
England Ryan Johnston
England Ryan Shaw
Australia Jarrad Stack
England Brad Walker
England Tom Walker
England Josh Wood
England James Brown Batley Bulldogs
Scotland Kieran Buchanan
England Luke Hooley
Papua New Guinea Nixon Putt
England John Davies Bradford Bulls
Australia Zac Fulton
England Kieran Gill
England Tom Holmes
England Fenton Rogers
England Jamie Field Dewsbury Rams
England Matt Garside
England Jacob Hookem
England Elliott Morris
England Paul Sykes
England Calum Turner
England Jackson Walker
England Marcus Walker
England Brett Ferres Doncaster RLFC
England Brad Knowles-Tagg
Fiji Joe Lovodua
Samoa Suaia Matagi
Australia Pauli Pauli
England Connor Robinson
England Jack Arnold Featherstone Rovers
Turkey Yusuf Aydin
England Harry Bowes
England Jack Bussey
England Ben Reynolds
England Connor Wynne
Scotland Ben Kavanagh Halifax Panthers
France Kevin Larroyer
Cook Islands Adam Tangata
England Gareth Widdop
England Eddie Battye Sheffield Eagles
England Blake Broadbent
England Alex Foster
England James Glover
Scotland Bayley Liu
Samoa Jesse Sene-Lefao
England Jayden Hatton Swinton Lions
Italy Richard Lepori
France Robin Brochon Toulouse Olympique
France Paul Marcon
France �loi P�lissier
Cook Islands Dominique Peyroux
Cook Islands Paul Ulberg
England Matty Ashurst Wakefield Trinity
Scotland Liam Hood
England Max Jowitt
Samoa Mason Lino
England Derrell Olpherts
Scotland Lachlan Walmsley
England Sam Ackroyd Whitehaven RLFC
Australia Lucas Castle
Australia Lachlan Hanneghan
England James Newton
England Curtis Teare
England Sam Web-Campbell
Wales Mike Butt Widnes Vikings
England Ryan Ince
England Danny Langtree
England Max Roberts
England Connor Bailey York Knights
England Jordan Thompson
New Zealand Nikau Williams
As of 8 October 2024: (Round 27)

Broadcasting

[edit]

The two-year deal with Viaplay expired at the end of the 2023 season. No new deal was arranged with any provider for 2024.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Championship Grand Final: Wakefield Trinity 36-0 Toulouse". BBC Sport. 19 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Wakefield Trinity and Castleford Tigers learn IMG gradings fate, as scores revealed to clubs". loverugbyleague. 22 October 2024.
  3. ^ "First IMG gradings revealed as clubs learn fate; Leeds Rhinos lead the way, Super League outfit appeal verdict". LoveRugbyLeague. 25 October 2023.
  4. ^ Walker, Callum (3 November 2023). "Championship Summer Bash set to be scrapped as clubs learn structure fate". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  5. ^ Bower, Aaron (13 March 2024). "Super 8s to return as part of overhaul of Championship rugby league plans". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Five law changes approved by the RFL ahead of 2024 season including 'Six Again' rule, 18th man, 'Reckless' tackles". LoveRugbyLeague. 24 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  7. ^ "Head injury assessment laws among RFL board tweaks". BBC Sport. 24 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  8. ^ Cook, Sam (24 February 2024). "Nu Brown releases statement after shocking red card". Serious About Rugby League. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  9. ^ "RFL changes Super League tackle rules after controversial Nu Brown red card". Sky Sports. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  10. ^ "Tom's treble central to York success". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3451. 7 October 2024. p. 20.
  11. ^ a b "Betfred Championship Round Up: Play-Off Eliminators". RFL. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Bull's blast leaves Fev floundering". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3451. 7 October 2024. p. 20.
  13. ^ "Trinity triumph after a fright". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3452. 14 October 2024. p. 19.
  14. ^ a b "Wakefield Trinity to play Toulouse in championship grand final". RFL. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Toulouse progress following Bulls fight". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3452. 14 October 2024. p. 19.
  16. ^ "Championship Grand Final: Wakefield Trinity 36-0 Toulouse". BBC Sport. 19 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Hunslet on the up amid late drama". Rugby Leaguer & League Express. No. 3453. 21 October 2024. p. 19.