1973–74 Northern Rugby Football League season
Introduction The '''1973–74 Rugby Football League season''' was the 79th season of rugby league football.
Season summary 1973-1974 saw two division rugby re-introduced. The Championship playoffs were discontinued and the league leaders were declared the champions. A "Club Championship" was played in place of the playoffs but this was a one-off precursor to what became the end of season Premiership. It was a complicated format that involved sides from both divisions.On 25 April, David Watkins of Salford scored the last of 929 points (41 tries, 403 goals) in a record run of scoring in 92 consecutive games for one club.Keith Mumby made his début for Bradford Northern this season as the club's youngest ever player, aged 16.In a match against Doncaster this season he scored 12 goals and a try. He went on to become the club's record appearance holder, playing 576 games.Salford won their fifth Championship. Oldham, Hull Kingston Rovers, Leigh and Whitehaven were demoted to the Second Division.The Challenge Cup winners were Warrington who beat Featherstone Rovers 24-9 in the final.The Club Championship was won by Warrington who beat St. Helens 13-12 in the final.2nd Division Champions were: Bradford Northern, and they York, Keighley and Halifax were promoted to the First Division.
League Tables ===Championship===TeamPldWDLPFPAPts1Salford302316632299472St. Helens302226595263463Leeds302019554378414Widnes3018111431329375Warrington3016113414368336Dewsbury3016113389474337Wakefield Trinity3016014470411328Featherstone Rovers3014214443397309Castleford30124144204112810Rochdale Hornets30132153794152811Wigan30123154273642712Bramley30113163444572513Oldham30121173414942514Hull Kingston Rovers3092194285522015Leigh3070233266551416Whitehaven30702330863414===Second Division===TeamPldWDLPFPAPts1Bradford Northern262402607221482York262105429219423Keighley262006439250404Halifax261808460298365Workington Town261709421310346Hull2616010465256327Swinton2615011405276308Batley2612014286311249Barrow26110152142912210Huddersfield2690173633941811New Hunslet2670192724181412Blackpool Borough2670192725851413Doncaster263023158684614 Huyton2620241824604  Champions  Promoted  Relegated
Cups ===Challenge Cup===Warrington defeated Huddersfield, Huyton, Wigan and Dewsbury to reach the final against Featherstone Rovers. Captained by Alex Murphy, Warrington beat Featherstone Rovers 24-9 in the final played at Wembley in front of a crowd of 77,400.This was Warrington’s fourth Cup Final win in ten Final appearances. Derek Whitehead, Warrington's full-back won the Lance Todd Trophy for man-of-the-match.===League Cup===The Player's No.6 Trophy winners were Warrington who beat Rochdale Hornets 24-17 in the final.===County Cups===Wigan beat Salford 19–9 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Leeds beat Wakefield Trinity 7–2 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.===Captain Morgan Trophy======BBC2 Floodlit Trophy===BBC2 Floodlit Trophy winners were Bramley who beat Widnes 15-7 in the final.===Club Championship===
Kangaroo Tour From September until December also saw the appearance of the Australian team in England on their 1973 Kangaroo Tour. Other than the three test Ashes series against Great Britain (won 2–1 by Australia), The Kangaroos played matches against club and county representative sidesThe 1978 Kangaroos were captain-coached by champion St George Dragons fullback Graeme Langlands who was making his third tour following from 1963–64 and 1967–68 game  Date  Result  Venue  Attendance1  30 September   Australia def. Salford 15–12  The Willows, Salford  11,0642  3 October   Australia def. Wakefield Trinity 13–9  Belle Vue, Wakefield  5,8633  7 October   Australia def. Dewsbury 17–3  Crown Flatt, Dewsbury  5,8654  10 October   Australia def. Castleford 18–10  Wheldon Road, Castleford  2,4195  14 October   Australia def. Widnes 25–10  Naughton Park, Widnes  5,1856  19 October   Australia def. Oldham 44–10  The Watersheddings, Oldham  2,8957  24 October   Australia def. Cumberland 28–2  Recreation Ground, Whitehaven  3,6668  28 October   Australia def. Bradford Northern 50–14  Odsal Stadium, Bradford  5,6679  3 November   def. 21–12  Wembley Stadium, London  9,87410  7 November   Australia def. Hull Kingston Rovers 32–2  Craven Park, Hull  5,15011  10 November   Australia def. Huddersfield 25–9  Fartown Ground, Huddersfield  1,33312  11 November   Australia def. Leigh 31–4  Hilton Park, Leigh  2,60713  13 November   St. Helens def. Australia 11–7  Knowsley Road, St Helens  10,01314  18 November   Australia def. Featherstone Rovers 18–3  Post Office Road, Featherstone  5,65915  24 November   def. 14–6  Headingley, Leeds  16,67416  1 December   def. 15–5  Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington  10,019
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