1983–84 Rugby Football League season

1983–84 Rugby Football League season
LeagueSlalom Lager Championship
TeamsFirst Division: 16
Second Division: 18
First Division
ChampionsHull Kingston Rovers (4th title)
Premiership winnersHull Kingston Rovers
Man of Steel Award Joe Lydon
Top point-scorer John Woods (355)
Top try-scorer Garry Schofield (38)
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from Second Division
Relegated to Second Division
Second Division
ChampionsBarrow
Runners-upWorkington Town
Top try-scorer Graham King (28)
Joined leagueKent Invicta

The 1983–84 Rugby Football League season was the 89th ever season of professional rugby league football in Britain. Sixteen teams competed from August, 1983 until May, 1984 for the Slalom Lager Championship.

The Second Division was increased to 18 clubs with the introduction of Kent Invicta, who played their home fixtures at Maidstone, this season.

Rule changes

End of possession:

  • A "handover" was introduced after the sixth tackle, replacing the scrum that had previously been formed at that point.[1] The team receiving possession would now play-the-ball to carry on play.
  • Scrum rules were changed which meant the non offending side had head and ball advantage, effectively making the scrum a non contest.

Value of a try:

  • The number of points a team scored from a try increased from three to four.[1] The aim of this change was to "incentivise scoring tries" over kicking penalty goals, which were worth two points, because the tries were more entertaining.[1]

Temporary suspension:

  • The 10-minute "sin bin" was introduced.

Season summary

In September 1983, the ban on international transfers between England and Australia was lifted.[2] This resulted in a big influx of Australian players being signed by clubs on short-term contracts, most notably Test stand-off and future Australia captain Wally Lewis, who signed for Wakefield Trinity.

Slalom Lager League Champions: Hull Kingston Rovers

Hull Kingston Rovers finished on top of the First Division table to claim their fifth championship, and also the Rugby League Premiership competition, this was the first occasion the 'Championship / Premiership Double' had been achieved.

State Express Challenge Cup Winners: Widnes (19-6 v Wigan)

John Player Special Trophy Winners: Leeds (18-10 v Widnes). During the competition, Danny Wilson of Swinton scored a record 5 drop goals in the tie against Hunslet on 6 Nov 1983.[3]

Slalom Lager Premiership Trophy Winners: Hull Kingston Rovers (18-10 v Castleford)

Barrow (from Cumbria) beat Widnes 12–8 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Hull F.C. beat Castleford 13–2 to win the Yorkshire County Cup

1983/84 Queensland Tour

At the end of the 1983 seasons in Qld and NSW, the Queensland team also toured Papua New Guinea and England. Their tour of Great Britain saw them play three matches. The first against Hull Kingston Rovers resulted in an 8–6 loss, though the Wally Lewis-led Maroons then easily won their remaining matches against Wigan (40–2) and Leeds (58–2)

First Division

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PP Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Hull Kingston Rovers (C) 30 22 2 6 795 421 188.8 46 Qualification for Premiership play-offs
2 Hull 30 22 1 7 831 401 207.2 45
3 Warrington 30 19 2 9 622 528 117.8 40
4 Castleford 30 18 3 9 686 438 156.6 39
5 Widnes 30 19 1 10 656 457 143.5 39
6 St Helens 30 18 1 11 649 507 128.0 37
7 Bradford Northern 30 17 2 11 519 379 136.9 36
8 Leeds 30 15 3 12 553 514 107.6 33
9 Wigan 30 16 0 14 533 465 114.6 32
10 Oldham 30 15 2 13 544 480 113.3 32
11 Leigh 30 14 0 16 623 599 104.0 28
12 Featherstone Rovers 30 11 2 17 464 562 82.6 24
13 Fulham (R) 30 9 1 20 401 694 57.8 19 Relegated to Second Division
14 Wakefield Trinity (R) 30 7 0 23 415 780 53.2 14
15 Salford (R) 30 5 0 25 352 787 44.7 10
16 Whitehaven (R) 30 3 0 27 325 956 34.0 6
Source: [4]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points scored percentage (points scored divided by points conceded)
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated

Second Division

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PP Pts Promotion
1 Barrow (C, P) 34 32 0 2 1126 332 339.2 64 Promoted to First Division
2 Workington Town (P) 34 24 2 8 714 504 141.7 50
3 Hunslet (P) 34 24 0 10 900 597 150.8 48
4 Halifax (P) 34 23 2 9 722 539 134.0 48
5 Blackpool Borough 34 20 3 11 615 466 132.0 43
6 Swinton 34 21 0 13 764 437 174.8 42
7 York 34 19 2 13 743 570 130.4 40
8 Bramley 34 16 2 16 584 545 107.2 34
9 Kent Invicta 34 17 0 17 595 700 85.0 34
10 Huddersfield 34 15 3 16 600 545 110.1 33
11 Cardiff City Blue Dragons 34 15 1 18 710 717 99.0 31
12 Rochdale Hornets 34 13 3 18 551 667 82.6 29
13 Batley 34 13 0 21 477 738 64.6 26
14 Dewsbury 34 12 0 22 526 698 75.4 24
15 Carlisle 34 12 0 22 539 780 69.1 24
16 Huyton 34 9 2 23 431 760 56.7 20
17 Keighley 34 7 3 24 425 728 58.4 17
18 Doncaster 34 2 1 31 384 1083 35.5 5
Source: [5]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points scored percentage (points scored divided by points conceded)
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Premiership

Main article: 1983–84 Rugby League Premiership
12 May 1984
Hull Kingston Rovers (1) 18-10 Castleford (4)
T-Smith M, Prohm, Laws, Dorahy
G-Dorahy 		T-Kear
G-Beardmore (3)
Headingley Stadium
Attendance: 12,515
Player of the Match: John Dorahy

References

  1. ^ a b c de la Riviere, Richard, ed. (2009), "Top ten: Rugby league rules", Rugby League World, no. 340, Brighouse, UK: League Publications (published August 2009), p. 61, ISSN 1466-0105
  2. ^ "International ban lifted". The Guardian. London. 30 September 1983. p. 24. ProQuest 186513563.
  3. ^ "RFL All Time Records". Archived from the original on 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  4. ^ "Championship 1983/84". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  5. ^ "Second Division 1983/84". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 19 March 2026.

Sources

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