JJB Sports Super League IV was the official name for the year 1999's Super League championship season, the 105th season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the fourth championship run by the Super League. The start of Super League IV saw the emergence of a North East based Rugby League Club, Gateshead Thunder as well as newly promoted Wakefield Trinity Wildcats to expand the league to fourteen teams.
| Super League IV | |
|---|---|
| League | Super League |
| Duration | 30 Rounds |
| Teams | 14 |
| Highest attendance | 24,020 Bradford Bulls vs Leeds Rhinos (3 Sept) |
| Lowest attendance | 1,580 Gateshead Thunder vs Hull Sharks (19 May) |
| Broadcast partners | Sky Sports |
| 1999 Season | |
| Champions | St. Helens 2nd Super League title 9th British title |
| League Leaders | Bradford Bulls |
| Man of Steel |  Adrian Vowles |
| Top point-scorer(s) |  Iestyn Harris (325) |
| Top try-scorer(s) |  Toa Kohe-Love (25) |
| Left League | |
| Merged with Hull FC Merger with Huddersfield Giants | Gateshead Thunder; Sheffield Eagles |
Rule changes edit
- The 40/20 rule was introduced to reward accurate kicking in general play.[1][2] The rule, which had been used in Australia since 1997, gave the head and feed at the resulting scrum to a team that kicked the ball from behind their 40-metre line so that it bounced in the field of play before going into touch behind their opponent's 20 metre line.[3][4]
Teams edit
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Reigning Champions | |
| Promoted | |
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bradford Bulls
|
Odsal | 27,000 | Bradford, West Yorkshire | |
 Castleford Tigers
|
Wheldon Road | 11,750 | Castleford, West Yorkshire | |
 Gateshead Thunder
|
Gateshead International Stadium | 11,800 | Gateshead, Tyne and Wear | |
 Halifax Blue Sox
|
Thrum Hall | 9,832 | Halifax, West Yorkshire | |
 Huddersfield Giants
|
Galpharm Stadium | 24,500 | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire | |
 Hull Sharks
|
The Boulevard | 10,500 | Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire | |
 Leeds Rhinos
|
Headingley | 21,500 | Leeds, West Yorkshire | |
 London Broncos
|
The Valley | 27,000 | Charlton, Greater London | |
 Salford Reds
|
The Willows | 11,363 | Salford, Greater Manchester | |
 Sheffield Eagles
|
Don Valley Stadium | 25,000 | Sheffield, South Yorkshire | |
 St. Helens
|
Knowsley Road | 17,500 | St Helens, Mersyside | |
 Warrington Wolves
|
Wilderspool | 9,200 | Warrington, Cheshire | |
 Wigan Warriors
|
Central Park | 18,000 | Wigan, Greater Manchester |
Table edit
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bradford Bulls (L)
|
30 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 897 | 445 | +452 | 51 | Semi Final |
| 2 | St Helens (C)
|
30 | 23 | 0 | 7 | 1034 | 561 | +473 | 46 | Qualifying Semi Final |
| 3 | Leeds Rhinos
|
30 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 910 | 558 | +352 | 45 | |
| 4 | Wigan Warriors
|
30 | 21 | 1 | 8 | 877 | 390 | +487 | 43 | Elimination Semi Final |
| 5 | Castleford Tigers
|
30 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 712 | 451 | +261 | 41 | |
| 6 | Gateshead Thunder
|
30 | 19 | 1 | 10 | 775 | 576 | +199 | 39 | |
| 7 | Warrington Wolves
|
30 | 15 | 1 | 14 | 700 | 717 | −17 | 31 | |
| 8 | London Broncos
|
30 | 13 | 2 | 15 | 644 | 708 | −64 | 28 | |
| 9 | Halifax Blue Sox
|
30 | 11 | 0 | 19 | 573 | 792 | −219 | 22 | |
| 10 | Sheffield Eagles
|
30 | 10 | 1 | 19 | 518 | 818 | −300 | 21 | |
| 11 |  Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
|
30 | 10 | 0 | 20 | 608 | 795 | −187 | 20 | |
| 12 | Salford Reds
|
30 | 6 | 1 | 23 | 526 | 916 | −390 | 13 | |
| 13 | Hull Sharks
|
30 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 422 | 921 | −499 | 10 | |
| 14 | Huddersfield Giants
|
30 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 463 | 1011 | −548 | 10 |
Source: [citation needed]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (L) League Leaders
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (L) League Leaders
Play-offs edit
| Qualifying play-off | Qualifying semi-final | Preliminary final | Grand Final | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Bradford Bulls | 40 | Bradford Bulls | 6 | ||||||||||||||
| St. Helens | 4 | St. Helens | 8 | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | St. Helens | 38 | St. Helens | 36 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Leeds Rhinos | 14 | Elimination semi-final | Castleford Tigers | 6 | |||||||||||||
| Leeds Rhinos | 16 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Wigan Warriors | 10 | Castleford Tigers | 23 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Castleford Tigers | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Andy Wilson (2004-08-09). "Moran leaves Vikings with a sinking feeling". The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
- ^ Dave Hadfield (1999-05-24). "Saints restore faith in game with emphasis on attack". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
- ^ de la Riviere, Richard, ed. (2009). Top ten: Rugby league rules. Brighouse, UK: League Publications (published August 2009). p. 61. ISSN 1466-0105.
{{cite book}}:|periodical=ignored (help) - ^ BBC Sport (2005-09-12). "The 40/20 kick". British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2009-09-23.