The 1968–69 Rugby Football League season was the 74th season of rugby league football.
| 1968–69 Rugby Football League season | |
|---|---|
| League | Northern Rugby Football League |
| Champions |  Leeds |
| League Leaders | Leeds |
| Top point-scorer(s) | Bev Risman 345 |
| Top try-scorer(s) |  Bill Francis 40 |
Season summary edit
Leeds had finished the regular season as League leaders for the third season in a row. They then won their second Championship when they beat Castleford 16-14 in the Championship Final. Bev Risman was awarded the Harry Sunderland Trophy as man-of-the-match.
The Challenge Cup winners were Castleford who beat Salford 11-6 in the final.
St. Helens won the Lancashire League, and Leeds won the Yorkshire League.
Championship edit
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds | 34 | 29 | 2 | 3 | 60 |
| 2 | St. Helens | 34 | 27 | 2 | 5 | 56 |
| 3 | Wigan | 34 | 25 | 2 | 7 | 52 |
| 4 | Castleford | 34 | 24 | 2 | 8 | 50 |
| 5 | Swinton | 34 | 23 | 0 | 11 | 46 |
| 6 | Salford | 34 | 19 | 5 | 10 | 43 |
| 7 | Featherstone Rovers | 34 | 21 | 1 | 12 | 43 |
| 8 | Workington Town | 34 | 21 | 0 | 13 | 42 |
| 9 | Leigh | 34 | 19 | 4 | 11 | 42 |
| 10 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 34 | 20 | 0 | 14 | 40 |
| 11 | York | 34 | 20 | 0 | 14 | 40 |
| 12 | Wakefield Trinity | 34 | 19 | 1 | 14 | 39 |
| 13 | Hull | 34 | 18 | 3 | 13 | 39 |
| 14 | Widnes | 34 | 19 | 1 | 14 | 39 |
| 15 | Keighley | 34 | 18 | 1 | 15 | 37 |
| 16 | Oldham | 34 | 18 | 0 | 16 | 36 |
| 17 | Warrington | 34 | 17 | 1 | 16 | 35 |
| 18 | Halifax | 34 | 16 | 2 | 16 | 34 |
| 19 | Bradford Northern | 34 | 16 | 0 | 18 | 32 |
| 20 | Barrow | 34 | 13 | 1 | 20 | 27 |
| 21 | Rochdale Hornets | 34 | 13 | 0 | 21 | 26 |
| 22 | Dewsbury | 34 | 12 | 1 | 21 | 25 |
| 23 | Hunslet | 34 | 11 | 0 | 23 | 22 |
| 24 | Doncaster | 34 | 11 | 0 | 23 | 22 |
| 25 | Huddersfield | 34 | 9 | 1 | 24 | 19 |
| 26 | Batley | 34 | 8 | 1 | 25 | 17 |
| 27 | Huyton | 34 | 8 | 0 | 26 | 16 |
| 28 | Bramley | 34 | 7 | 0 | 27 | 14 |
| 29 | Blackpool Borough | 34 | 7 | 0 | 27 | 14 |
| 30 | Whitehaven | 34 | 6 | 1 | 27 | 13 |
|
Champions |
Play-offs |
Play-offs edit
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| Leeds | 32 | |||||||||||||
| Oldham | 12 | |||||||||||||
| Leeds | 18 | |||||||||||||
| Workington | 10 | |||||||||||||
| Workington | 11 | |||||||||||||
| Leigh | 9 | |||||||||||||
| Leeds | 22 | |||||||||||||
| Salford | 12 | |||||||||||||
| Wigan | 26 | |||||||||||||
| Widnes | 10 | |||||||||||||
| Wigan | 21 | |||||||||||||
| Salford | 26 | |||||||||||||
| Salford | 13 | |||||||||||||
| York | 7 | |||||||||||||
| Leeds | 16 | |||||||||||||
| Castleford | 14 | |||||||||||||
| Swinton | 9 | |||||||||||||
| Wakefield Trinity | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Swinton | 8 | |||||||||||||
| Castleford | 50 | |||||||||||||
| Castleford | 14 | |||||||||||||
| Hull | 10 | |||||||||||||
| Castleford | 18 | |||||||||||||
| St Helens | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Featherstone Rovers | 16 | |||||||||||||
| Hull KR | 5 | |||||||||||||
| Featherstone Rovers | 4 | |||||||||||||
| St Helens | 47 | |||||||||||||
| St Helens | 25 | |||||||||||||
| Keighley | 7 | |||||||||||||
Final edit
24 May 1969
|
| Leeds | 16 – 14 | Castleford |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Cowan, Atkinson Goals: Risman (4), Ramsey |
Tries: Hardisty, Dickinson Goals: Redfearn (3), Hardisty |
Odsal Stadium, Bradford
Attendance: 28,442 Referee: Billy Thompson (Huddersfield) Player of the Match: Bev Risman |
Challenge Cup edit
Castleford beat Salford 11-6 in the final played at Wembley before a crowd of 97,939. Salford were captained by David Watkins.
This was Castleford’s second Cup Final win in two Final appearances.
This is Salford’s most recent appearance in a Challenge Cup Final.[1]
County cups edit
St. Helens beat Oldham 30–2 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Leeds beat Castleford 22–11 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.
BBC2 Floodlit Trophy edit
The BBC2 Floodlit Trophy winners were Wigan who beat St. Helens 7-4 in the final.[2]
References edit
- ^ "RFL Challenge Cup Roll of Honour". Archived from the original on 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ^ "1968-69 Season summary". Archived from the original on 2009-08-26. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
Sources edit
- Saxton, Irvin (ed.). History of Rugby League: No.74 1968–1969. League Publications.
- 1968-69 Rugby Football League season at wigan.rlfans.com
- The Challenge Cup at The Rugby Football League website