The Rugby League Conference North West Premier is a division in the Rugby League Conference for teams in the North West of England.
It was first contested in 2008 following the break-up of the previous North Premier into the North West and Yorkshire Premiers.
This was succeeded by the North West Men's League in 2012 following the restructuring of the Rugby League Conference.
History edit
The Rugby League Conference was born in 1997 as the Southern Conference, a 10-team pilot league for teams in the South of England and English Midlands. The first North West team to join the new league were the Chester Wolves; more teams from the North West joined the following season and a Northern Division was set up with teams from the North West and the North Midlands. Following a big expansion to the Rugby League Conference in 2003, the North West got its own regional division.
The Premier Division were set up in 2005 for teams who had achieved a certain playing standard and were able to travel further afield to find stronger opposition. The new Premier Divisions included the North Premier, the South Premier, the Central Premier and the Welsh Premier. The Central Premier had two Midlands clubs and the rest of the clubs were from Yorkshire or Lancashire whilst the North Premier had clubs from the North East of England and Cumbria. The Premier divisions saw a change in boundaries in 2006 leaving the North Premier division covering a larger area to give the Midlands clubs their own premier division.
The North West Premier came into existence in 2009 when the North Premier was replaced by the North West and Yorkshire Premiers.
Rugby League Conference Pyramid edit
- RLC National
- RLC North West Premier
- RLC North West
- North West Merit League
Above the North West Premier is the National Division and below is the North West regional division followed by the North West Merit League.
Other Premier divisions are the South, Welsh, Midlands and Yorkshire.
2011 structure edit
- Accrington & Leyland Warriors
- East Lancashire Vikings
- Liverpool Buccaneers
- Mancunians RL
- Widnes West Bank
- Wigan Riversiders
League standings edit
| Current Teams | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|
| Blackpool Sea Eagles | x | |
| Lymm RL | 1st | |
| New Broughton Rangers | ||
| Rhyl Coasters | x | |
| Runcorn RLC | ||
| Widnes West Bank Bears | 1st | |
| Wigan Riversiders |
Key edit
| DNF | Did not complete the season |
| x | Did not participate |
| Divisional winner | |
| Qualified for divisional play-off | |
| Finished bottom |
Titles edit
Predecessor competitions edit
- 2005 North Premier: West Cumbria Crusaders
- 2005 Central Premier: Leeds Akkies
- 2006 North Premier: East Lancashire Lions
- 2007 North Premier: Carlisle Centurions
- 2008 North Premier: Carlisle Centurions
North West Premier edit
- 2009 Lymm RL
- 2010 Widnes West Bank Bears