The1896–97Northern Rugby Football Unionseasonwas the second ever season ofrugby league football.Following the success of the Northern Union'sfirst season,several more clubs from the establishedRugby Football Unionjoined the rebel competition. This resulted in the decision that for the 1896–97 season the competition should be split into two separate county championships:LancashireandYorkshire.[1]This season also saw the introduction of theChallenge Cup,[1]with Batley defeating St Helens in the inaugural final.[3]
| 1896–97 Northern Rugby Football Union season | |
|---|---|
| Structure | County Championships[1] |
| 1896–97 Season | |
| Top point-scorer(s) | Rigg( Halifax) 112[2] |
| Top try-scorer(s) | Hannah ( Hunslet) 19[2] |
| Joined League |  Yorkshire Bramley CastlefordHeckmondwike  HolbeckLeeds Parish Church  Lancashire Morecambe Swinton Salford |
| Lancashire Senior Competition | |
| Champions |  Broughton Rangers |
| Runners-up |  Oldham |
| Yorkshire Senior Competition | |
| Champions |  Brighouse Rovers |
| Runners-up |  Manningham |
Season summary
editEight new teams joined the twenty-two teams already in the breakaway Northern Union, and so it was split into two county leagues for the 1896–97 season. The new teams wereBramley,Castleford,Heckmondwike,Holbeck,Leeds Parish Church,Morecambe,SwintonandSalford.Salford's first game was a 10-0 defeat away to Widnes on 5 September 1896.[4]
Mr J.E. Warren of theWarringtonclub was elected as the new President of the Northern Union.[1]Warren, previously Warrington's secretary, had played a key role in Warrington's involvement in the foundation of the Northern Union.[1]
The leading try scorer overall this season was Hannah ofHunslet,who crossed the line 19 times.[2]The leading goal kickers wereAlbert GoldthorpeofHunsletand Sharpe ofLiversedgewho both successful 26 times.[2]The leading points scorer wasArchie Riggof Halifax with 112 points.[2]
Lancashire Senior Competition
editAfter finishing second from the bottom of the competition in the previous season, Broughton Rangers made a remarkable turnaround to finish the 1896–97 competition at the top of the Lancashire division, just one competition point ahead of Oldham, who had won more matches and had a better points differential. Although participating in the Lancashire Senior Competition,RuncornandStockportwere fromCheshire.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Broughton Rangers
|
26 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 201 | 52 | +149 | 43 |
| 2 | Oldham
|
26 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 243 | 59 | +184 | 42 |
| 3 | Tyldesley | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 159 | 80 | +79 | 32 |
| 4 | Runcorn | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 134 | 62 | +72 | 31 |
| 5 | Stockport | 26 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 157 | 137 | +20 | 30 |
| 6 | Swinton
|
26 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 125 | 82 | +43 | 29 |
| 7 |  Warrington
|
26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 100 | 124 | -24 | 27 |
| 8 |  Leigh
|
26 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 105 | 147 | -42 | 26 |
| 9 |  St. Helens
|
26 | 10 | 4 | 12 | 122 | 160 | -38 | 24 |
| 10 |  Widnes
|
26 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 113 | 164 | -51 | 23 |
| 11 |  Wigan
|
26 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 73 | 118 | -45 | 23 |
| 12 |  Rochdale Hornets
|
26 | 8 | 1 | 17 | 121 | 167 | -46 | 17 |
| 13 | Salford
|
26 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 76 | 191 | -115 | 11 |
| 14 | Morecambe | 26 | 3 | 0 | 23 | 52 | 238 | -186 | 6 |
Source:R.L.Yearbook 1995–96 cited in "The Vault".
League points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.
Pld = Games played; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; PF = Match points scored; PA = Match points conceded; PD = Points difference; Pts = League points.
Yorkshire Senior Competition
editTheprevious season's champions, Manningham continued their good form in the Northern Union's second season, finishing in second place. However Brighouse took the Yorkshire championship with one win more than Manningham.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brighouse Rangers | 30 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 213 | 68 | 145 | 48 |
| 2 | Manningham
|
30 | 21 | 4 | 5 | 291 | 129 | 162 | 46 |
| 3 | Halifax
|
30 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 219 | 112 | 107 | 40 |
| 4 | Hunslet
|
30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 211 | 138 | 73 | 36 |
| 5 |  Hull
|
30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 152 | 125 | 27 | 36 |
| 6 |  Batley
|
30 | 15 | 5 | 10 | 164 | 126 | 38 | 35 |
| 7 |  Bradford
|
30 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 170 | 157 | 13 | 33 |
| 8 |  Wakefield Trinity
|
30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 172 | 154 | 18 | 30 |
| 9 | Castleford
|
30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 178 | 161 | 17 | 28 |
| 10 |  Huddersfield
|
30 | 10 | 7 | 13 | 142 | 179 | -37 | 27 |
| 11 | Liversedge | 30 | 13 | 0 | 17 | 176 | 233 | -57 | 26 |
| 12 |  Leeds
|
30 | 10 | 4 | 16 | 115 | 123 | -8 | 24 |
| 13 | Leeds Parish Church | 30 | 9 | 4 | 17 | 129 | 162 | -33 | 22 |
| 14 | Bramley | 30 | 9 | 3 | 18 | 101 | 193 | -92 | 21 |
| 15 | Holbeck | 30 | 7 | 4 | 19 | 86 | 223 | -137 | 18 |
| 16 | Heckmondwike | 30 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 72 | 308 | -236 | 10 |
Source:R.L.Yearbook 1995–96 cited in "The Vault".
League points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.
Pld = Games played; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; PF = Match points scored; PA = Match points conceded; PD = Points difference; Pts = League points.
Challenge Cup
editReferences
edit- ^abcdeWarrington Wolves."The Northern Union".Warrington Wolves. Archived fromthe originalon 28 August 2008.Retrieved6 July2009.
- ^abcdeRaymond Fletcher; David Howes (1995).Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1995-1996.London: Headline Book Publishing. p. 164.ISBN0-7472-7817-2.
- ^"The History Of Rugby League".Rugby League Information.napit.co.uk.Retrieved2 January2014.
- ^"Salford first game".Salford City Reds Official Web Site, History page.Archived fromthe originalon 7 March 2011.Retrieved12 November2011.