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2003 Super League season

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Super League VIII
LeagueSuper League
Duration28 Rounds
Teams12
Highest attendance21,784
Bradford Bulls vs Leeds Rhinos (23 May)
Lowest attendance1,276
Halifax vs London Broncos (22 Aug)
Attendance1,336,374 Increase
(average 7,955)
Broadcast partnersUnited Kingdom Sky Sports
2003 Season
Champions Bradford Bulls
3rd Super League title
5th English title
League Leaders Bradford Bulls
Man of Steel Jamie Peacock
Top point-scorer(s) Paul Deacon (286)
Top try-scorer(s) Dennis Moran (24)
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from National League 1 Salford City Reds
Relegated to National League 1 Halifax

Tetley's Super League VIII was the official name for the year 2003's Super League championship season, the 109th season of top-level professional rugby league held in Britain, and the eighth championship run by Super League.

The season culminated in a replay of the 2001 Grand Final between Bradford Bulls and Wigan Warriors, and again Bradford won, claiming the 2003 premiership, their second in three years.

Rule changes

  • The knock-on rule was modified so that if in the referee's judgement a player did not play at the ball, a knock-on would not be given.[1]
  • Super League coaches voted 12-0 for new interchange and substitution rules for the 2003 season.[2] The number of interchanges, which now included blood bins, increased from 6 to 12 using a pool of 4 substitutes.[1][2] This change aimed to retain the element of wearing down a team's opponents during the game - which was considered part of the character of the sport.[2] Stuart Cummings, the Rugby Football League's technical controller said the changes "bring us into line with the international rules" and ruled out future increases as well as declaring, "We will never see the unlimited interchange introduced into rugby league in Britain," a change that had caused controversy in Australia during its experiment there.[2]

Table

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Bradford Bulls (L, C) 28 22 0 6 878 529 +349 44 Semi-final
2 Leeds Rhinos 28 19 3 6 751 555 +196 41
3 Wigan Warriors 28 19 2 7 776 512 +264 40 Elimination play-offs
4 St Helens 28 16 1 11 845 535 +310 31[a]
5 London Broncos 28 14 2 12 643 696 −53 30
6 Warrington Wolves 28 14 1 13 748 619 +129 29
7 Hull F.C. 28 13 3 12 701 577 +124 27[b]
8 Castleford Tigers 28 12 1 15 612 633 −21 25
9 Widnes Vikings 28 12 1 15 640 727 −87 25
10 Huddersfield Giants 28 11 1 16 628 715 −87 23
11 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 28 7 1 20 505 774 −269 15
12 Halifax (R) 28 1 0 27 372 1227 −855 0[c] Relegation to National League One
Source: Rugby League Project
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (L) League Leaders' Shield Winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ St Helens deducted 2 points for salary cap breaches.[3][4]
  2. ^ Hull F.C. deducted 2 points for salary cap breaches.[3][4]
  3. ^ Halifax deducted 2 points for salary cap breaches.[3][4]

Play-offs

Elimination finalsSemifinalsPreliminary finalGrand final
1
2
3
6
4
5

Source: Rugby League Project[5]

Grand Final

Media

Television

This season was the final year of Sky Sports' contract with the Rugby Football League allowing them to broadcast matches exclusively live, the deal ended in November 2003.[6]

Records

On 2 March, Matt Crowther of Hull F.C. equalled the club record for goals in a match when he was successful 14 times against Sheffield Eagles.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b BBC Sport (20 February 2003). "Sculthorpe questions rule changes". BBC. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d Ray French (16 May 2002). "All change, please". BBC. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  3. ^ a b c "Champions lose points". BBC Sport. 29 May 2003. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Hull call for cap changes". BBC Sport. 17 July 2003. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
  5. ^ "Super League VIII 2003". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  6. ^ Telegraph (3 February 2004). "More money for League from TV deal". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  7. ^ "Hull F.C. History". Retrieved 23 October 2009.[dead link]

External links