The Club Championship was a competition for British rugby league clubs during the 1973–74 season. The competition was a replacement for the end-of-season playoff system which had been held between 1906 and 1973. Although named the Club Championship, it was considered a separate competition to the League Championship, which was awarded to league winners, Salford. The tournament was won by Warrington. It was replaced by the Rugby League Premiership after one season.
Format Qualification for the competition was determined by a merit points system. Points were awarded based on clubs final league position, and victories in knockout competitions during the season.
A preliminary knockout round also took place for the top 12 Second Division clubs, with three winners qualifying for the Club Championship. These three clubs were joined by the 13 teams who were awarded the most merit points.
Merit points Qualified: Warrington (68), Leeds (64), St Helens (53), Salford (51), Featherstone Rovers (47), Rochdale Hornets (45), Bramley (43), Wakefield Trinity (42), Dewsbury (40), Castleford (40), Widnes (39), Wigan (38), Bradford Northern (30), Workington Town (28), Keighley (25), Hull (9) Failed to qualify: Leigh (24), Hull KR (22), Whitehaven (20), York (20), Halifax (18), Swinton (17), Oldham (17), Batley (10), Huddersfield (8), Barrow (6), New Hunslet (4), Huyton (4), Blackpool Borough (3), Doncaster (2)
First round The draw was seeded based on the number of merit points awarded to each team, with the teams with the most points being awarded home advantage. As Castleford and Dewsbury had been awarded the same number of points, a coin toss was used to determine their respective positions in the merit table. DateTeam oneScoreTeam two 20 April 1974 Leeds 31–12 Keighley 20 April 1974 St Helens 24–7 Workington Town 21 April 1974 Bramley 0–14 Castleford 21 April 1974 Featherstone Rovers 22–14 Wigan 21 April 1974 Rochdale Hornets 5–31 Widnes 21 April 1974 Salford 16–16 Bradford Northern 21 April 1974 Wakefield Trinity 26–11 Dewsbury 21 April 1974 Warrington 34–12 Hull
Replay DateTeam oneScoreTeam two 25 April 1974 Bradford Northern 17–8 Salford
Second round DateTeam oneScoreTeam two 27 April 1974 Warrington 15–9 Bradford Northern 28 April 1974 Featherstone Rovers 16–19 Wakefield Trinity 28 April 1974 Leeds 20–15 Widnes 28 April 1974 St Helens 25–9 Castleford
Semi finals DateTeam oneScoreTeam two 3 May 1974 Leeds 10–23 St Helens 4 May 1974 Warrington 12–7 Wakefield Trinity
Final DateTeam oneScoreTeam two 18 May 1974 Warrington 13–12 St Helens
See also 1973–74 Northern Rugby Football League season
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