1997 St Helens RLFC season

1997 St Helens RLFC season
1997 St Helens RLFC season
Super League II Rank	3rd
Play-off result	Premiership Trophy runners-up
Challenge Cup	Winners
1997 record	Wins: 21; draws: 1; losses: 8
Points scored	For: 856; against: 631
Team information
Coach	Shaun McRae
Stadium	Knowsley Road

Last updated February 28, 2024

The 1997 St Helens RLFC season was the 102nd season in the club's rugby league history and the second season in the Super League. Coached by Shaun McRae, the Saints competed in Super League II and finished in 3rd place, but went on to win the 1997 Challenge Cup, beating Bradford Bulls in the final for the second consecutive year.

Table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Relegation
1	Bradford Bulls (C)	22	20	0	2	769	397	+372	40
2	London Broncos	22	15	3	4	616	418	+198	33
3	St Helens	22	14	1	7	592	506	+86	29
4	Wigan	22	14	0	8	683	398	+285	28
5	Leeds Rhinos	22	13	1	8	544	463	+81	27
6	Salford Reds	22	11	0	11	428	495	−67	22
7	Halifax Blue Sox	22	8	2	12	524	549	−25	18
8	Sheffield Eagles	22	9	0	13	415	574	−159	18
9	Warrington Wolves	22	8	0	14	437	647	−210	16
10	Castleford Tigers	22	5	2	15	334	515	−181	12
11	Paris Saint-Germain	22	6	0	16	362	572	−210	12
12	Oldham Bears (R)	22	4	1	17	461	631	−170	9	Relegated to Division One

Source: Rugby League Project
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Squad

No^[1]	Player	Apps	Tries	Goals	DGs	Points
1	Steve Prescott	20	6	0	0	24
2	Joey Hayes	10	3	0	0	12
3	Sean Long	19	7	40	0	108
4	Paul Newlove	30	19	0	0	76
5	Anthony Sullivan	38	27	0	0	108
6	Karle Hammond	36	15	0	1	61
7	Bobbie Goulding	20	2	77	1	163
8	Apollo Perelini	27	3	0	0	12
9	Keiron Cunningham	36	11	0	0	44
10	Ian Pickavance	34	3	0	0	12
11	Chris Joynt	34	6	0	0	24
12	Simon Booth	10	1	0	0	4
13	Dean Busby	7	0	0	0	0
14	Danny Arnold	38	15	0	0	60
15	Julian O'Neill	36	1	0	0	4
16	Derek McVey	25	1	0	0	4
17	Andy Leathem	19	1	0	0	4
18	Andy Haigh	26	8	0	0	32
19	Kevin O'Loughlin	4	0	0	0	0
20	Tommy Martyn	12	10	5	0	50
21	Alan Hunte	28	27	0	0	108
22	Vila Matautia	33	0	0	0	0
23	Andy Northey	23	2	0	0	8
24	Chris Morley	34	3	0	0	12
25	Paul Anderson	29	2	1	0	10
30	Alan Cross	2	0	0	0	0
33	Scott Barrow	2	0	0	0	0
34	Richard Sheil	1	0	0	0	0
35	Jason Johnson	2	0	0	0	0

Transfers

In

Player	Pos	From	Fee	Date	Ref
Sean Long	Scrum-half	Widnes Vikings	£80,000	June 1997

Out

Player	Pos	To	Fee	Date	Ref
Lee Briers	Scrum-half	Warrington Wolves	£65,000	April 1997	^[2]
Steve Prescott	Fullback	Hull Sharks	£350,000	November 1997	^[3]
Alan Hunte	Wing
Simon Booth	Second-row

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References

↑ Bailey, Richard; Webb, Matthew. "St Helens Saints". rugby-league-world.com. Archived from the original on 2001-01-29. Retrieved 3 June 2004.
↑ Hadfield, Dave (19 April 1997). "Briers signs for Warrington". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
↑ Hadfield, Dave (26 November 1997). "Rugby League: Hull sign up Hunte, Prescott and Booth". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 6 June 2014.

External links

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[1] Bailey, Richard; Webb, Matthew. "St Helens Saints". rugby-league-world.com. Archived from the original on 2001-01-29. Retrieved 3 June 2004.

[2] Hadfield, Dave (19 April 1997). "Briers signs for Warrington". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 6 June 2014.

[3] Hadfield, Dave (26 November 1997). "Rugby League: Hull sign up Hunte, Prescott and Booth". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-01. Retrieved 6 June 2014.

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v t e St Helens R.F.C.
Est. 1873 in St Helens, England
The Club	History Records Honours Players International representatives Coaches Hall of Fame
Home grounds	City Ground Knowsley Road (1890–2010) Halton Stadium (2011) Totally Wicked Stadium (2012–present)
League	Super League
World Club Challenge (2)	2001 2007
Championships (13)	1931–32 1952–53 1958–59 1965–66 1969–70 1970–71 1974–75 1996 1999 2000 2002 2006 2014
Challenge Cup (12)	1955–56 1960–61 1965–66 1971–72 1975–76 1996 1997 2001 2004 2006 2007 2008
Other honours	4—time Premiership Champions 1—time Western Division Champions 1—time Regal Trophy Champions 2—time BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Champions 11—time Lancashire County Cup Champions 11—time Lancashire League Champions 1—time Charity Shield Champions BBC Sports Team of the Year Award (2006)
Seasons	1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
Culture	NRFU Founder Super League Founding Member Rivalry with Wigan Testimonials
Affiliation	Rugby Football League (1895) St Helens Ladies