The 1973–74 Rugby Football League season was the 79th season of rugby league football.
Season summary
1973-1974 saw two division rugby re-introduced. The Championship playoffs were discontinued and the league leaders were declared the champions. A "Club Championship" was played in place of the playoffs but this was a one-off precursor to what became the end of season Premiership. It was a complicated format that involved sides from both divisions.
On 25 April, David Watkins of Salford scored the last of 929 points (41 tries, 403 goals) in a record run of scoring in 92 consecutive games for one club.
Keith Mumby made his début for Bradford Northern this season as the club's youngest ever player, aged 16. In a match against Doncaster this season he scored 12 goals and a try. He went on to become the club's record appearance holder, playing 576 games.
Salford won their fifth Championship. Oldham, Hull Kingston Rovers, Leigh and Whitehaven were demoted to the Second Division.
The Challenge Cup winners were Warrington who beat Featherstone Rovers 24-9 in the final.
The Club Championship was won by Warrington who beat St. Helens 13-12 in the final.
2nd Division Champions were: Bradford Northern, and they York, Keighley and Halifax were promoted to the First Division.
League Tables
Championship
TeamPldWDLPFPAPts1Salford302316632299472St. Helens302226595263463Leeds302019554378414Widnes3018111431329375Warrington3016113414368336Dewsbury3016113389474337Wakefield Trinity3016014470411328Featherstone Rovers3014214443397309Castleford30124144204112810Rochdale Hornets30132153794152811Wigan30123154273642712Bramley30113163444572513Oldham30121173414942514Hull Kingston Rovers3092194285522015Leigh3070233266551416Whitehaven30702330863414
Second Division
TeamPldWDLPFPAPts1Bradford Northern262402607221482York262105429219423Keighley262006439250404Halifax261808460298365Workington Town261709421310346Hull2616010465256327Swinton2615011405276308Batley2612014286311249Barrow26110152142912210Huddersfield2690173633941811New Hunslet2670192724181412Blackpool Borough2670192725851413Doncaster263023158684614 Huyton2620241824604
Champions Promoted Relegated
Cups Challenge Cup
Warrington defeated Huddersfield, Huyton, Wigan and Dewsbury to reach the final against Featherstone Rovers. Captained by Alex Murphy, Warrington beat Featherstone Rovers 24-9 in the final played at Wembley in front of a crowd of 77,400.
This was Warrington’s fourth Cup Final win in ten Final appearances. Derek Whitehead, Warrington's full-back won the Lance Todd Trophy for man-of-the-match.
Player's No.6 Trophy
The Player's No.6 Trophy winners were Warrington who beat Rochdale Hornets 24-17 in the final.
County Cups
Wigan beat Salford 19–9 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Leeds beat Wakefield Trinity 7–2 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.
Captain Morgan Trophy
BBC2 Floodlit Trophy
BBC2 Floodlit Trophy winners were Bramley who beat Widnes 15-7 in the final. Club Championship
Kangaroo Tour
From September until December also saw the appearance of the Australian team in England on their 1973 Kangaroo Tour. Other than the three test Ashes series against Great Britain (won 2–1 by Australia), The Kangaroos played matches against club and county representative sides
The 1978 Kangaroos were captain-coached by champion St George Dragons fullback Graeme Langlands who was making his third tour following from 1963–64 and 1967–68
game Date Result Venue Attendance1 30 September Australia def. Salford 15–12 The Willows, Salford 11,0642 3 October Australia def. Wakefield Trinity 13–9 Belle Vue, Wakefield 5,8633 7 October Australia def. Dewsbury 17–3 Crown Flatt, Dewsbury 5,8654 10 October Australia def. Castleford 18–10 Wheldon Road, Castleford 2,4195 14 October Australia def. Widnes 25–10 Naughton Park, Widnes 5,1856 19 October Australia def. Oldham 44–10 The Watersheddings, Oldham 2,8957 24 October Australia def. Cumberland 28–2 Recreation Ground, Whitehaven 3,6668 28 October Australia def. Bradford Northern 50–14 Odsal Stadium, Bradford 5,6679 3 November def. 21–12 Wembley Stadium, London 9,87410 7 November Australia def. Hull Kingston Rovers 32–2 Craven Park, Hull 5,15011 10 November Australia def. Huddersfield 25–9 Fartown Ground, Huddersfield 1,33312 11 November Australia def. Leigh 31–4 Hilton Park, Leigh 2,60713 13 November St. Helens def. Australia 11–7 Knowsley Road, St Helens 10,01314 18 November Australia def. Featherstone Rovers 18–3 Post Office Road, Featherstone 5,65915 24 November def. 14–6 Headingley, Leeds 16,67416 1 December def. 15–5 Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington 10,019
References