2017 RFL Women's Super League

2017 Women's Super League
Duration	6 rounds
Teams	4
Matches played	14
Champions	Bradford Bulls
League Leaders' Shield	Bradford Bulls
2018 →

The 2017 Women's Super League was the inaugural season of the top level rugby league competition for women in England. ^[1] Run by the Rugby Football League there were four teams in the league; three (Bradford Bulls, Castleford Tigers and Featherstone Rovers) associated with professional clubs in West Yorkshire and one (Thatto Heath) associated with a leading amateur club in Lancashire.

The league was won by Bradford Bulls who went undefeated in the six round regular season before defeating Featherstone Rovers 36–6 in the Grand Final. ^[2] The win completed a treble for Bradford who in early August had defeated Featherstone 50–16 in the final of the 2017 Challenge Cup. ^{[3] [4]}

Teams

Thatto Heath

Bradford

Castleford

Featherstone

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Locations of teams in Northern England

Club	Location
Bradford Bulls	Bradford, West Yorkshire
Castleford Tigers	Castleford, West Yorkshire
Featherstone Rovers	Featherstone, West Yorkshire
Thatto Heath St Helens	St Helens, Merseyside

Results

The season comprised six rounds during which each team played the others home and away. ^[5] The team finishing top of the league automatically qualified for the Grand Final. The teams finishing second and third playing a preliminary final to determine who the other grand finalists were.

Round 1

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee
Castleford Tigers	48–14	Featherstone Rovers	23 July 2017, 14:00		Neil Pascall
Thatto Heath St Helens	26–32	Bradford Bulls	23 July 2017, 14:00		Phillip Salisbury
Source: [6] [7]

Round 2

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee
Bradford Bulls	72–18	Castleford Tigers	13 August 2017, 14:00		Neil Pascall
Featherstone Rovers	20–30	Thatto Heath St Helens	13 August 2017, 14:00
Source: [6] [8]

Round 3

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee
Featherstone Rovers	00–24	Bradford Bulls	20 August 2017, 14:00 [a]		Connor Astbury
Thatto Heath St Helens	64–40	Castleford Tigers	20 August 2017, 14:00		Phillip Salisbury
Source: [6] [9]

Round 4

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee
Bradford Bulls	40–10	Thatto Heath St Helens	3 September 2017, 144:00		Neil Pascall
Featherstone Rovers	48–20	Castleford Tigers	3 September 2017, 14:00		Gareth Billingham
Source: [6] [10]

Round 5

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee
Castleford Tigers	12–60	Bradford Bulls	10 September 2017, 14:00		Philip Lawley
Thatto Heath St Helens	14–24	Featherstone Rovers	10 September 2017, 14:00		Phillip Salisbury
Source: [6] [11]

Round 6

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee
Bradford Bulls	72–10	Featherstone Rovers	24 September 2017, 14:00		Jake Brook
Castleford Tigers	04–38	Thatto Heath St Helens	24 September 2017, 15:00		Neil Horton
Source: [6] [12]

Regular season standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Bradford Bulls	6	6	0	0	300	76	+224	12	Grand final
2	Thatto Heath St Helens	6	3	0	3	182	124	+58	6	Preliminary final
3	Featherstone Rovers	6	2	0	4	116	208	−92	4
4	Castleford Tigers	6	1	0	5	106	296	−190	2

Source: [13]

Play-offs

Preliminary final

Home	Score	Away	Match Information
			Date and Time	Venue	Referee
Thatto Heath St Helens	20–21 (g.p.)	Featherstone Rovers	1 October 2017, 14:00		Phillip Salisbury
Source: [6] [14]

Grand Final

7 October 2017 Noon BST

Bradford Bulls	36 – 6	Featherstone Rovers
Tries: Kirsty Moroney, Lois Forsell, Charlotte Booth, Claire Garner, Amy Hardcastle, Charlene Henegan, Haylie Hields Goals: Claire Garner (4)	report	Tries: Georgia Roche Goals: Georgia Roche

Manchester Regional Arena Referee: Neil Pascall [6] Player of the Match: Lois Forsell

Notes

1. Report indicates match was postponed/forfeited ^[9]

References

1. "England Rugby Football League". International Rugby League. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
2. "Bradford Bulls become first-ever Women's Super League champions". RFL. 8 October 2017. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
3. "Bradford Bulls win Women's Challenge Cup". RFL. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
4. "Rugby League World Cup: 'It's been a long journey with lots of tears', says Amy Hardcastle". BBC Sport. 23 October 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
5. "Rugby League". www.rugby-league.com. RFL. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
6. "2017 Women's Super League: Fixtures/Results". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
7. "Tigers and Bulls win as Women's RL Super League gets underway". 4 The Love Of Sport. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
8. "Women's Rugby League Weekly Round up 13th August". 4 The Love Of Sport. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
9. "Women's Rugby League Weekly Round up 20th August". 4 The Love Of Sport. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
10. "Women's Rugby League Round up 3rd September 2017". 4 The Love Of Sport. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
11. "Women's Rugby League Round Up 10th September". 4 The Love Of Sport. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
12. "Women's Rugby League Round Up 24 September". 4 The Love Of Sport. 24 September 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
13. "2017 Women's Super League: Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
14. "Featherstone Rovers secure Grand Final spot". RFL. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2023.