2017 RFL Women's Super League

Last updated
2017 Women's Super League
Duration6 rounds
Teams4
Matches played14
Champions Bullscolours.svg Bradford Bulls
League Leaders' Shield Bullscolours.svg Bradford Bulls

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.

Contents

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]

Teams

Northern England location map.PNG
Locations of teams in Northern England
ClubLocation
Bullscolours.svg Bradford Bulls Bradford, West Yorkshire
Castleford colours.svg Castleford Tigers Castleford, West Yorkshire
Fevcolours.svg Featherstone Rovers Featherstone, West Yorkshire
Thattoheathcolours.png Thatto Heath St Helens, Merseyside

Results

The season comprised six rounds during which each team played the others home and away. [3] 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: 23 July 2017

Round 2: 13 August 2017

Round 3: 20 August 2017

Round 4: 3 September 2017

Round 5: 10 September 2017

Round 6: 24 September 2017

Regular season standings

PosTeamPldWDLPFPAPDPtsQualification
1 Bullscolours.svg Bradford Bulls 660030076+22412Grand final
2 Thattoheathcolours.png Thatto Heath Crusaders 6303182124+586Preliminary final
3 Fevcolours.svg Featherstone Rovers 6204116208924
4 Castleford colours.svg Castleford Tigers 61051062961902
Source:

Play-offs

Preliminary Final: 1 October 2017

Thatto Heath 20 – 21 Featherstone [4]

Grand Final: 7 October 2017

7 October 2017
Noon BST
Bullscolours.svg Bradford Bulls36 – 6 Fevcolours.svg 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
Player of the Match: Lois Forsell

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daryl Powell</span> Professional rugby league coach

Daryl A. Powell is an English rugby league coach and former professional rugby league footballer. He is the head coach of Wakefield Trinity who play in the RFL Championship.

Paul Newlove is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. A Great Britain and England international representative, he competed in the Super League competition, featuring as a centre. He played for St Helens during a successful eight-year period with the club. Newlove was a Great Britain international. Newlove also represented England at the 1995 Rugby League World Cup. He now works in Wakefield at Trinity Academy Cathedral.

The Bradford Bulls Women are an English professional women's rugby league team based in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Formed in 1999 as an autonomous club, Dudley Hill Thunderbirds, the team was also known as Bradford Thunderbirds and Bradford Clayton Thunderbirds. As the Thunderbirds the club played in the Women's Rugby League Conference and later the Women's Rugby League. As of 2024 they compete in the Northern Women's Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jy Hitchcox</span> Australian professional rugby league footballer

Jy Hitchcox is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who plays as a fullback, wing and centre for the Western Suburbs Red Devils in the Country Rugby League and the Illawarra Rugby League premiership.

In British rugby league, winning The Double refers to winning the League Championship, currently the Super League, and the Challenge Cup in the same season.

In British rugby league, winning the Treble currently refers to winning the Super League Grand Final, League Leaders' Shield, and Challenge Cup in the same season. Up until 1973 this was achieved by winning the Championship Final, finishing top of the league during the regular season, and winning the Challenge Cup.

The RFL Women's Rugby League was an amateur women's rugby league competition in the United Kingdom. First played for in 2014, the league ran for three full seasons. The 2017 season was not completed as the league was replaced in July 2017 by a new three division structure comprising the Women's Super League, the Women's Championship and the Women's Championship 1.

The 2018 RFL Women's Super League was the second season of the rugby league Women's Super League for female players in clubs affiliated to the Rugby Football League. The grand final was won by Wigan Warriors Women, who beat Leeds Rhinos Women 18–16 at the Grand Final at the Manchester Regional Arena. Wigan finished second to League Leaders Shield winners Leeds in the regular season.

The Rugby Football League Women's Super League is the elite women's rugby league club competition in England. Originally competed between four teams in the 2017 season, the league has developed with the 2023 season being contested by 12 teams playing home and away against each other in two groups with subsequent play-offs and Grand Final. In January 2023 it was announced that the league would be reduced to eight teams in the 2024 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castleford Tigers Women</span>

The Castleford Tigers Women are a female rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England. Nicknamed the Tigresses, the club formed in 2016 and in 2017 were one of the four teams that participated in the inaugural season of the Women's Super League, the top-level Women's rugby league club competition in the United Kingdom. As of 2024 they compete in the Northern Women's Championship.

Georgia Roche is an English professional rugby league footballer for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL Women's Premiership. She plays at either stand-off, scrum-half or loose forward. She previously played for the Leeds Rhinos in the Rugby Football League Women's Super League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's Challenge Cup</span> Womens rugby league competition

The Women's Challenge Cup is a rugby league knockout competition organised by the Rugby Football League. The competition started in 2012.

Emily Rudge is a British rugby league player who plays for St Helens Women in the Women's Super League. She plays at second-row. Born in Warrington Rudge attended Cardinal Newman High School and first played rugby league for a local Warrington club before joining Thatto Heath Crusaders. While at Warrington she was first selected for the England women's national rugby league team in 2008, aged 16. In 2011, Rudge was in the Warrington team that won the Championship Final of the Women's Rugby League Conference in August, before joining for Featherstone Rovers for the interim season before the launch of the first summer-based season.

The 2021 RFL Women's Super League was the fifth season of the Rugby League Women's Super League for female players in clubs affiliated to the Rugby Football League (RFL).

The 2022 RFL Women's Super League was the sixth season of the Rugby League Women's Super League, for female players in clubs affiliated to the Rugby Football League (RFL).

The rugby league club St Helens R.F.C. have operated a women's team since they took some women from Thatto Heath Crusaders, and other women's sides in 2017 ahead of the 2018 season. They won four successive Challenge Cups from 2013 to 2016. The 2016 win formed part of their treble winning season. The side won the 2021 Women's Challenge Cup after beating York City Knights, adding to the four cup titles won as Thatto Heath. That season, they also completed the treble for the second time.

The 2017 RFL Women's Challenge Cup was an English rugby league knockout tournament competed for by 16 teams during the summer of 2017. The competition was won by Bradford Bulls who beat Featherstone Rovers 50–18 in the final on 30 July 2017.

The Featherstone Rovers Women are the women's rugby league team of Featherstone Rovers in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in the RFL Women's Super League and play their home games at Post Office Road which is also home to the men's team.

The 2016 RFL Women's Challenge Cup was an English rugby league knockout tournament competed for by 12 teams during the summer of 2016. The Challenge Cup was won by Thatto Heath St Helens who beat Leigh Miners Rangers 6–62 in the final. The Challenge Shield was won by the Thatto Heath Reserves team who beat Whitley Bay Barbarians 0–44 in the final. Both finals took place on 31 July 2016 at the Provident Stadium, Bradford.

The 2013 Women's Challenge Cup was an English rugby league knockout tournament competed for during the summer of 2013. This was the second staging of the Challenge Cup and it was won by Thatto Heath who beat Bradford Thunderbirds 54–12 in the final. The Challenge Shield was won by Normanton Knights who beat Featherstone Rovers 34–16 in the final. Both finals took place on 23 June 2013 at The LoveRugbyLeague.Com Stadium, Batley.

References

  1. "England Rugby Football League". Rugby League International Federation. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  2. "Bradford Bulls become first-ever Women's Super League champions". Rugby Football League. 8 October 2017. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  3. "Rugby League". www.rugby-league.com. RFL. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  4. "Featherstone Rovers secure Grand Final spot". Rugby Football League. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2023.