2023 RFL League 1

Last updated

2023 Betfred League One
League League One
Duration18 February 2023 – 27 August 2023
Teams10
Matches played185
Points scored4,986
Highest attendance2,549 Doncaster v North Wales Crusaders
(24 September)
Lowest attendance186 London Skolars v Hunslet
(18 March)
Average attendance719
Attendance69,820
2023
Champions Dewsbury Rams
Biggest home win Dewsbury Rams 78–10 Cornwall
(16 April)
Biggest away win London Skolars 0–60 Doncaster
(11 August)
Top point-scorer(s)Connor Robinson (Doncaster) (228)
Top try-scorer(s)Sam Smeaton (Doncaster) (21)
ResignationLondon Skolars

The 2023 RFL League One was a professional rugby league football competition played in the United Kingdom and the third tier of the sport for Rugby Football League (RFL) affiliated clubs. The sponsors for the league were the bookmakers, Betfred and the league continued to be known as the Betfred League One.

Contents

The title and the automatic promotion place was won by Dewsbury Rams. Also promoted were Doncaster who won through the play-offs to win the play-off final 18–6 against North Wales Crusaders.

Top try scorer was Doncaster's Sam Smeaton with 21. Top points-scorer was Connor Robinson, also of Doncaster with 228 points (9 tries and 96 goals). [1]

Teams

The number of teams in League One was scheduled to remain at 11, with Keighley and Swinton (who were promoted in 2022), being replaced by Dewsbury Rams and Workington Town, (the teams relegated from the Championship), but on 22 December 2022, the RFL announced that West Wales Raiders had withdrawn from the league, and that the season would proceed with just 10 clubs. [2] [3]

In January 2023, Midlands Hurricanes confirmed that the club would be moving from the Portway Stadium, to use the Alexander Stadium in Perry Park, Birmingham. [4]

Towards the end of the season, Oldham announced that the club's planned relocation to Boundary Park would be brought forward from 2024. On 22 August, the club played their penultimate home game of the regular season, at Boundary Park (the club's first match there since 2009). [5]

On 15 September 2023, London Skolars issued a statement to say they would be withdrawing from League One, ahead of the 2024 season. [6]


Stadiums and locations

TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
Hullcolours.svg Cornwall RLFC Penryn, Cornwall The Memorial Ground4,000
Ramscolours.svg Dewsbury Rams Dewsbury Crown Flatt 5,100
Doncaster colours.svg Doncaster Doncaster Eco-Power Stadium 15,231
Hunsletcolours.svg Hunslet Leeds South Leeds Stadium 4,000
Skolscolours.svg London Skolars Haringey, London New River Stadium 2,000
Melbourne colours.svg Midlands Hurricanes Birmingham Alexander Stadium 2,000
NWCrucolours.png North Wales Crusaders Colwyn Bay Eirias Stadium 5,500
Oldhamcolours.svg Oldham Oldham Whitebank Stadium (2 matches at Boundary Park)1,500 (13,513)
Rochdale colours.svg Rochdale Hornets Rochdale Spotland Stadium 10,249
Workingtoncolours.svg Workington Town Workington Derwent Park 10,000

Rule changes

Changes in the operational rules were announced on 1 February 2023. [7]

On-field, the main change is that teams awarded a penalty for an offence at a scrum can now kick for goal. Previously such penalties were differential precluding the team from kicking for goal. The green card process has been clarified so that if the referee calls "time off" for a player to receive medical attention, the player must leave the pitch for two minutes. Teams will be allowed to name an 18th player (fifth interchange player) in the squad who can play if three or more players are withdrawn due to failing a head injury assessment (HIA).

Off-field the graduated return to play process that applies after a player has suffered a concussion will be a minimum of 12 days (up from 11 in 2022).

Changes have also been made to the disciplinary process where the periods of suspension for the various grade of offences have been reduced but the use of fines increased. [8]

Fixtures and results

With the withdrawal of West Wales Raiders, consideration was given to adding loop fixture to the season but a meeting of the 10 clubs decided against this and to proceed with an 18-match season with the dates where clubs would have played West Wales as byes. [3]

The round 18 match between Rochdale Hornets and London Skolars was forfeited by the Skolars. Originally scheduled for 23 July, the fixture was postponed due to bad weather. It was subsequently rescheduled again for 23 August, but was further postponed on 21 August, when Skolars informed the RFL they would be unable to fulfil the fixture. On 24 August, the RFL announced that Rochdale had been awarded the fixture as an automatic 48-0 win under the league's operational rules. [9]

Table

PosTeam
PldWDLPFPAPDPtsQualification
1 Ramscolours.svg Dewsbury Rams 181512623215+40831Promoted to the Championship
2 Hunsletcolours.svg Hunslet 181404572284+28828Advance to qualifying semi-final
3 Doncaster colours.svg Doncaster 181404602352+25028Advance to qualifying play-off
4 Oldhamcolours.svg Oldham 181215605333+27225
5 Workingtoncolours.svg Workington Town 181107516385+13122Advance to elimination play-off
6 NWCrucolours.png North Wales Crusaders 187011520437+8314
7 Rochdale colours.svg Rochdale Hornets 186012425520−9512
8 Melbourne colours.svg Midlands Hurricanes 185013408647−23910
9 Hullcolours.svg Cornwall 185013257712−45510
10 Skolscolours.svg London Skolars 180018254897−6430
Source:

Play-offs

Team bracket

Qualifying & elimination play-offs Semi-finals Preliminary final Promotion play-off final
2 Hunslet 143 Doncaster 18
3 Doncaster 266 North Wales Crusaders 6
3 Doncaster 362 Hunslet 18
4 Oldham 06 North Wales Crusaders 25
4 Oldham 12
6 North Wales Crusaders 13
5 Workington Town 10
6 North Wales Crusaders 26

Week 1: Elimination & qualifying play-offs

Qualifying play-off
3 September 2023
15:00 BST (UTC+01:00)
Doncaster 36–0 Oldham
Report
Eco-Power Stadium
Attendance: 615 [10]
Referee: Kevin Moore
Elimination play-off
3 September 2023
15:00 BST (UTC+01:00)
Workington Town 10–26 North Wales Crusaders
Report
Derwent Park
Attendance: 611 [11]
Referee: Ryan Cox

Week 2: Semi-finals

Qualifying semi-final
10 September 2023
18:00 BST (UTC+01:00)
Hunslet 14–26 Doncaster
Report
South Leeds Stadium
Attendance: 897 [12]
Referee: Nick Bennett
Elimination semi-final
10 September 2023
15:00 BST (UTC+01:00)
Oldham 12–13 North Wales Crusaders
Report
Boundary Park
Attendance: 836 [13]
Referee: Kevin Moore

Week 3: Preliminary final

17 September 2023
15:00 BST (UTC+01:00)
Hunslet 18–25 North Wales Crusaders
Report
South Leeds Stadium
Attendance: 626 [14]
Referee: Matt Rossleigh

Week 4: Promotion play-off final

See also: RFL League 1 Promotion Play-off Final
24 September 2023
15:00 BST (UTC+01:00)
Doncaster 18–6 North Wales Crusaders
Tries: Fonua, Mcconnell, Smeaton
Goals: Robinson (3/4)
 Report
Tries: Hughes
Goals: Hayes (1/1)
Eco-Power Stadium, Doncaster
Attendance: 2,549 [15]
Referee: Nick Bennett

Related Research Articles

The 2006 National Leagues are the second, third and fourth divisions of rugby league in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Thackray</span> GB international rugby league footballer

Jamie Thackray, also known by the nickname of "Thackers", is a Great Britain international rugby league footballer who plays for Whitehaven in the Betfred Championship.

The Rugby League Reserve Team Championship is a rugby league competition for the reserve teams of the British-based Super League clubs. Having a reserve team is a compulsory part of the minimum criteria to hold a Super League licence, but Catalans Dragons have dispensation to run their reserve team in the French Elite League for logistical reasons.

The 2011 Championship Cup,, was the 10th season of the rugby league football competition for clubs in Great Britain's Co-operative Championship and Championship One.

The 2013 Championship 1, known as the Kingstone Press Championship 1 for sponsorship reasons, was a semi-professional rugby league football competition played in England and Wales, the third tier of the sport in the country. The 2013 season will see three new teams enter the division alongside the six remaining teams that were not promoted during the 2012 season. Coventry, who had been considered for entry into the division for 2013, will enter the division in 2014. This means that the 2013 Championship 1 season will consist of 9 teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dalton Grant (rugby league)</span> Wales international rugby league footballer

Dalton Grant is a Welsh professional rugby league footballer who plays as a centre for the London Broncos in the Betfred Super League and Wales at international level.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vila Halafihi</span> English rugby league footballer

Vila Halafihi is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a hooker for Sheffield Eagles in the RFL Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oscar Thomas</span> Scotland international rugby league footballer

Oscar Thomas is a Scotland international rugby league footballer who plays as a stand-off, scrum-half or fullback for Keighley Cougars in the Betfred Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Keyes (rugby league)</span> Ireland international rugby league footballer

Joseph Keyes is an Ireland international rugby league footballer who plays as a scrum-half and stand-off for the Halifax Panthers in the Betfred Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liam Kirk</span> English rugby league footballer

Liam Kirk is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop or loose forward for Widnes Vikings in the Betfred Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Peltier</span> Jamaica international rugby league footballer

Ross Peltier is a former Jamaican international rugby league footballer who last played as a prop for Hunslet in RFL League 1, on loan from the Dewsbury Rams in the RFL Championship. He is a Green Party politician.

The 2017 League 1, known as the Kingstone Press League 1 for sponsorship reasons, was a professional rugby league football competition played in England, Wales and Canada, the third tier of the sport for RFL affiliated clubs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 RFL League 1</span> 2019 rugby league competition in the United Kingdom

The 2019 RFL League 1 was a professional rugby league football competition played in England and Wales and is the third tier of the sport for Rugby Football League (RFL) affiliated clubs. The sponsors for the league are the bookmakers, Betfred and the league will continue to be known as the Betfred League 1.

The 2019 RFL 1895 Cup, known as the 2019 AB Sundecks 1895 Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the inaugural tournament for the RFL 1895 Cup, a rugby league football competition for clubs in the United Kingdom. The tournament was played between League 1 and Championship teams between May and August 2019. The format of the tournament was confirmed in December 2018, and consisted of five rounds. In round 1 eight League 1 teams played in a knock out round. Round 2 introduced the 12 English teams from the Championship who with the winners from round 1 will play eight ties. The quarter-finals and semi-finals followed in June and July, with the final played at Wembley Stadium on 24 August, with the Challenge Cup final also being played on this day.

The 2020 RFL League 1 was a professional rugby league football competition played in England and Wales and is the third tier of the sport for Rugby Football League (RFL) affiliated clubs. The sponsors for the league were the bookmakers, Betfred and the league continued to be known as the Betfred League 1.

The fixture list for the 2021 season was issued on 14 February 2021. The regular season comprised 18 rounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 RFL League 1</span> 2022 rugby league competition in the United Kingdom

The 2022 RFL League 1 is a professional rugby league football competition played in the United Kingdom and is the third tier of the sport for Rugby Football League (RFL) affiliated clubs. The sponsors for the league are the bookmakers, Betfred and the league will continue to be known as the Betfred League 1.

The 2022 season was the Keighley Cougars 122nd year in the Rugby Football League (RFL). Since 2015 the team have competed in League One, the third tier of professional rugby league in the United Kingdom. In 2022 the team competed in the League One season, Challenge Cup and the 1895 Cup.

The fixture list for the 2023 League One season was issued on 13 November 2022. The regular season comprised 22 rounds to be followed by the play-offs. The season commenced on 18 February and ended on 17 September 2023.

The 2024 RFL League One is a professional rugby league football competition played in the United Kingdom and the third tier of the sport for Rugby Football League (RFL) affiliated clubs. The sponsors for the league are the bookmakers, Betfred and the league continued to be known as the Betfred League One.

References

  1. ↑ Butcher, Tim; Spencer, Daniel, eds. (2023). Rugby League Yearbook 2023-2024. p. 344. ISBN   978 190134743 2.
  2. ↑ Redhead, Paul (12 November 2022). "Championship and League One opening fixtures announced for 2023 season". Rugby League News. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  3. 1 2 "West Wales Raiders withdraw from RFL competitions". www.rugby-league.com. RFL. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  4. ↑ "Rugby League coming to Alexander Stadium after Midlands Hurricanes agree tenancy partnership with council". www.birmingham.gov.uk. Birmingham City Council.
  5. ↑ "A winning return to Boundary Park for Oldham RLFC". The Oldham Times. 23 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  6. ↑ Walker, Callum (15 September 2023). "London Skolars withdraw from League One in rugby league blow". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  7. ↑ "Law changes, new faces and ref-cams – what's new in Rugby League in 2023". www.rugby-league.com. RFL. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  8. ↑ Gordon, James (1 February 2023). "Former Super League ref, GB Lioness & France prop join RFL disciplinary". LoveRugbyLeague. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  9. ↑ "RFL Statement – Rochdale v London". RFL. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
  10. ↑ "Doncaster 36-0 Oldham - 03.09.2023". stats.rugbyleaguerecords.com. Rugby League Records.
  11. ↑ "Workington Town 10-26 North Wales Crusaders - 03.09.2023". stats.rugbyleaguerecords.com. Rugby League Records.
  12. ↑ "Hunslet 14-26 Doncaster - 10.09.2023". stats.rugbyleaguerecords.com. Rugby League Records.
  13. ↑ "Oldham 12-13 North Wales Crusaders - 10.09.2023". stats.rugbyleaguerecords.com. Rugby League Records.
  14. ↑ "Hunslet 18-25 North Wales Crusaders - 17.09.2023". stats.rugbyleaguerecords.com. Rugby League Records.
  15. ↑ "Doncaster 18-6 North Wales Crusaders - 24.09.2023". stats.rugbyleaguerecords.com. Rugby League Records.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.