1933–34 Northern Rugby Football League season

The 1933–34 Rugby Football League season was the 39th season of rugby league football. The first rugby league club in London, London Highfield competed in its inaugural season.[1]

1933–34 Northern Rugby Football League season
LeagueChampionship
Duration38 Rounds
Teams28
Champions Wigan (4th title)
League Leaders Salford
Runners-up Salford
Top point-scorer(s)Wales Jim Sullivan ( Wigan) (406)
Top try-scorer(s)Brown ( Salford) (45)

Season summary

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Wigan won their fourth Championship when they beat Salford 15-3 in the play-off final.

Salford had ended the regular season as league leaders.[2]

The Challenge Cup winners were Hunslet who beat Widnes 11-5.

Work begins at a former quarry that was being used as a waste dump at Odsal Top in Bradford after Bradford Northern sign a ten-year lease with the local council. This was to become the site of their current home ground, Odsal Stadium.[3]

Salford won the Lancashire League, and Leeds won the Yorkshire League. Oldham beat St Helens Recs 12–0 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and York beat Hull Kingston Rovers 10–4 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.

Championship

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Team Pld W D L PF PA Pts
1 Salford 38 31 1 6 715 281 63
2 Wigan 38 26 0 12 739 334 52
3 Leeds 38 26 0 12 597 376 52
4 Halifax 38 26 0 12 457 340 52
5 York 38 24 1 13 481 370 49
6 Hunslet 38 23 1 14 608 441 47
7 Widnes 38 21 4 13 393 324 46
8 Warrington 38 22 1 15 508 370 45
9 Swinton 38 22 1 15 418 322 45
10 Hull 38 21 3 14 553 438 45
11 Keighley 38 22 1 15 429 367 45
12 Huddersfield 38 20 1 17 500 330 41
13 St. Helens 38 20 0 18 550 500 40
14 London Highfield 38 20 0 18 509 489 40
15 Oldham 38 17 3 18 400 520 37
16 Castleford 38 17 1 20 476 468 35
17 Rochdale Hornets 38 17 0 21 442 524 34
18 St Helens Recs 38 16 1 21 455 477 33
19 Hull Kingston Rovers 38 16 1 21 444 482 33
20 Batley 38 16 1 21 390 436 33
21 Leigh 38 15 2 21 479 537 32
22 Wakefield Trinity 38 15 2 21 332 404 32
23 Broughton Rangers 38 15 1 22 415 495 31
24 Barrow 38 15 0 23 375 464 30
25 Dewsbury 38 12 1 25 313 587 25
26 Bramley 38 11 1 26 367 790 23
27 Bradford Northern 38 8 0 30 337 714 16
28 Featherstone Rovers 38 4 0 34 232 734 8

Championship play-off

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Semi-finals Championship final
      
1 Salford 28
4 Halifax 3
Salford 3
Wigan 15
2 Wigan 14
3 Leeds 10

Challenge Cup

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Hunslet's winning team posing with the Challenge Cup.

Hunslet defeated Widnes 11-5 in the final at Wembley before a crowd of 41,280.

This was Hunslet’s second Cup Final win, the first being in 1907–08, in their third Cup Final appearance.[4]

Kangaroo Tour

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August until December also saw the appearance of the Australian team in England on their 1933–34 Kangaroo Tour. Other than the three test Ashes series against Great Britain (who played under the name of England), The Kangaroos played matches against club and county representative sides as well as a non-test international against Wales and two internationals against England, the first of which was held at the Stade Pershing in Paris, the first rugby league match played in France.

The Kangaroos were captain-coach by Frank McMillan.

game Date Result Venue Attendance
1 26 August   Australia def.   St Helens Recs 13–9 City Road, St. Helens 8,880
2 30 August   Australia def.   Leigh 16–7 Mather Lane, Leigh 4,590
3 2 September   Australia def.   Hull Kingston Rovers 20–0 Craven Park, Hull 7,831
4 6 September   Australia def.   Bramley RLFC 53–6 Barley Mow, Bramley 1,902
5 9 September   Australia def.   Oldham 38–6 The Watersheddings, Oldham 15,281
6 13 September   Yorkshire def.   Australia 13–0 Headingley, Leeds 10,309
7 16 September   Australia def.   Barrow 24–5 Craven Park, Barrow-in-Furness 12,221
8 20 September   Australia def.   Lancashire 33–7 Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington 16,576
9 23 September   Australia def.   Wigan 18–17 Central Park, Wigan 15,712
10 27 September   Australia def.   Castleford 15–2 Wheldon Road, Castleford 4,250
11 30 September   Australia def.   Halifax 16–5 Thrum Hall, Halifax 10,358
12 7 October   England def.   Australia 22–14 Station Road, Swinton 34,000
13 11 October   Australia def.   Bradford Northern 7–5 Birch Lane, Bradford 3,328
14 14 October   Australia def.   Warrington 15–2 Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington 16,431
15 18 October   Australia def.   Hunslet 22–18 Parkside, Hunslet 6,227
16 21 October   Salford def.   Australia 16–9 The Willows, Salford 15,761
17 26 October   Australia def.   Widnes 31–0 Naughton Park, Widnes 6,691
18 28 October   Australia def.   Wakefield Trinity 17–6 Belle Vue, Wakefield 5,596
19 30 October   Australia def.   Bradford Northern 10–7 Birch Lane, Bradford 3,328
20 1 November   English League XIII def.   Australia 16–9 Clarence Street, York 3,158
21 4 November   Swinton def.   Australia 10–4 Station Road, Swinton 13,341
22 11 November   England def.   Australia 7–5 Headingley, Leeds 29,618
23 14 November   Australia def.   Keighley 10–7 Lawkholme Lane, Keighley 3,800
24 18 November   Australia def.   Huddersfield 13–5 Fartown Ground, Huddersfield 7,522
25 22 November   Australia def.   London Highfield 20–5 White City Stadium, London 10,541
26 25 November   Australia def.   Broughton Rangers 19–0 Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, Manchester 5,527
27 29 November   Australia def.   Leeds 15–7 Headingley, Leeds 5,295
28 2 December   Australia def.   St Helens 20–11 Knowsley Road, St. Helens 5,735
29 2 December   Australia def.   Rochdale Hornets 26–4 Athletic Grounds, Rochdale 3,603
30 9 December   Cumberland def.   Australia 17–16 Recreation Ground, Whitehaven 5,800
31 16 December   England def.   Australia 19–16 Station Road, Swinton 10,900
32 23 December   Australia def.   York 15–7 Clarence Street, York 6,500
33 25 December   Australia def.   Hull F.C. 9–5 The Boulevard, Hull 16,341
34 30 December   Australia def.   Wales 51–19 Wembley Stadium, London 10,000
35 31 December   Australia def.   England 63–13 Stade Pershing, Paris 5,000
36 10 January   Australia def.   Oldham 38–5 The Watersheddings, Oldham 4,000
37 13 January   England def.   Australia 19–14 Redheugh Park, Gateshead 15,576

References

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  1. ^ "The History Of Rugby League". Rugby League Information. napit.co.uk. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  2. ^ "1933-34 Season summary". Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  3. ^ "Bradford Bulls History". Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  4. ^ "RFL Challenge Cup Roll of Honour". Archived from the original on 2009-04-03. Retrieved 2009-08-07.

Sources

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