The 1974–75 BBC2 Floodlit Trophy was the tenth occasion on which the BBC2 Floodlit Trophy competition had been held. A new name was put on the trophy when Salford won by beating Warrington by the score of 10-5 in a replay. The final was played at The Willows, Salford, (historically in the county of Lancashire). The attendance was 4,473, receipts were £1913 and the score 0-0. The replay was at Wilderspool. The attendance was 5,778, receipts were £2434 and the score 10-5. This was the first (and only) floodlit final to require a replay after a drawn first match.
Background This season saw New Hunslet join the competition, which increased the number of entrants by one, to a new high total of twenty-two. The format remained the same as the last season with the preliminary round (generally) played on a two-legged home and away basis and the rest of the tournament being played on a knock-out basis. The exceptions to the two-legged preliminary rounds were the two matches where the four clubs had agreed to play a sudden-death match to avoid fixture congestion. The preliminary round now involved twelve clubs, to reduce the numbers taking part in the competition proper to just sixteen.
Competition and results
Preliminary round Involved six matches and 12 clubs. Huddersfield, Castleford, Hull and Keighley agreed to play one leg only; the four other ties were played over two legs.
First leg Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRefP1Tue 10 Sep 1974Oldham8-7Hull Kingston RoversWatersheddings1,381P1Wed 11 Sep 1974Huddersfield12-4CastlefordFartown656P1Tue 17 Sep 1974Hull F.C.12-2KeighleyBoulevard1,500P1Tue 17 Sep 1974St. Helens21-12Wakefield TrinityKnowsley Road3,2721P1Tue 17 Sep 1974Widnes15-13BarrowNaughton Park3,000P1Tue 24 Sep 1974Leigh19-5BramleyHilton Park2,000
Second leg Involved 4 matches and the same 8 Clubs in reverse fixtures (the other two matches were on a single leg basis) Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueaggAttRecNotesRefP2Tue 17 Sep 1974Hull Kingston Rovers19-11OldhamCraven Park (1)26-192,252P2Tue 24 Sep 1974Wakefield Trinity18-15St. HelensBelle Vue30-362,583P2Tue 1 Oct 1974Barrow3-8WidnesCraven Park16-23870P2Wed 2 Oct 1974Bramley15-9LeighMcLaren Field20-281.100
First round Involved 8 matches and 16 clubs Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef1Tue 1 Oct 1974Warrington10-5SwintonWilderspool3,5522Tue 8 Oct 1974Halifax15-4WhitehavenThrum Hall7503Tue 15 Oct 1974St. Helens30-2LeedsKnowsley Road3,57644Tue 22 Oct 1974Dewsbury8-14LeighCrown Flatt1,40055Wed 23 Oct 1974New Hunslet12-5WidnesElland Road Greyhound Stadium1,25066Tue 29 Oct 1974Salford16-2HuddersfieldThe Willows2,9267Wed 30 Oct 1974Hull Kingston Rovers20-10WiganCraven Park (1)2,0098Wed 30 Oct 1974Rochdale Hornets14-4Hull F.C.Athletic Grounds780
Second Round Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef1Tue 5 Nov 1974Warrington36-17New HunsletWilderspool2,1442Tue 12 Nov 1974St. Helens7-11SalfordKnowsley Road4,47473Tue 19 Nov 1974Leigh8-0Rochdale HornetsHilton Park2,0004Tue 26 Nov 1974Halifax24-28Hull Kingston RoversThrum Hall752
Semi-finals Involved 2 matches and 4 clubs Game NoFixture dateHome team Score Away teamVenueAttRecNotesRef1Tue 3 Dec 1974Salford27-10Hull Kingston RoversThe Willows3,72732Tue 10 Dec 1974Warrington32-0LeighWilderspool2,4953
Final
SalfordNoWarrington Teams Paul Charlton1Derek WhiteheadKeith Fielding2Dave SuttonChris Hesketh3Dave CunliffeGordon Graham4Alan WhittleMaurice Richards5John BevanTom Brophy6Wilf BriggsPeter Banner7Parry GordonMike Coulman8Dave ChisnallEllis Devlin9Kevin AshcroftAlan Grice10Gilly WrightJohn Knighton11Wayne GaskellColin Dixon12Tommy ConroyEric Prescott13Barry Philbin Subs John Taylor (for Brophy)14John Lowe (for Cunliffe)Graham MacKay15Peter Jewitt (for Philbin)Les BettinsonCoachAlex Murphy
Replay An unusual occurrence, a "seven point try", was scored by Salford in the replay. Following the try scored by winger Keith Fielding, successfully converted by David Watkins, a further penalty was awarded because Fielding had been fouled after scoring. Watkins kicked the penalty goal to give Salford a 7–0 lead.
WarringtonNoSalford Teams Dave Cunliffe1Frank SteadDerek Whitehead2Keith FieldingBilly Pickup3David WatkinsAlan Whittle4Chris HeskethJohn Bevan5Maurice RichardsDerek Noonan6Ken GillParry Gordon7Peter BannerDavid "Dave" Chisnall8Alan GriceKevin Ashcroft9Peter WalkerRobert "Bobby" Wanbon10Graham MacKayTommy Conroy11Colin DixonMike Nicholas12John KnightonBarry Philbin13Eric Prescott Subs Wilf Briggs (for Noonan)14Brian Brady (for Nicholas)15Alex MurphyCoachLes Bettinson
The road to success This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures
See also 1974–75 Northern Rugby Football League season BBC2 Floodlit Trophy
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External links