2003 Rugby League National Leagues

2003 LHF Healthplan National League
League	National League
National League One
Champions	Salford City Reds
League leaders	Salford City Reds
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from National League One	Salford City Reds
Relegated to National League Two	Dewsbury Rams
National League Two
Champions	Keighley Cougars
League leaders	Sheffield Eagles
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from National League Two	Keighley Cougars
National League Three
Champions	Woolston Rovers
League leaders	Bradford Dudley Hill

The 2003 National Leagues (known as the LHF National Leagues due to sponsorship) are the second, third and fourth divisions of rugby league played in Britain.

National Leagues One and Two were made up of the 18 clubs that competed in the Northern Ford Premiership during the previous season, plus the London Skolars and the York City Knights. National League Three consisted of ten additional teams from the amateur leagues. There was no automatic promotion and relegation with National League Two, but the RFL hoped to introduce this in the future.

National League One

National League One was won by Salford City Reds, and won promotion to the Super League after defeating runners-up the Leigh Centurions in the play-off final. The Dewsbury Rams were relegated to National Two.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Salford City Reds (P)	18	14	2	2	443	438	+5	30	Semi-final
2	Leigh Centurions	18	15	0	3	702	309	+393	30
3	Rochdale Hornets	18	13	0	5	647	477	+170	26	Elimination Semi-final
4	Hull Kingston Rovers	18	10	0	8	401	373	+28	20
5	Oldham	18	7	2	9	404	500	−96	16
6	Whitehaven	18	5	5	8	683	398	+285	15
7	Featherstone Rovers	18	7	0	11	387	478	−91	14
8	Doncaster Dragons	18	6	1	11	429	632	−203	13
9	Batley Bulldogs	18	5	1	12	366	543	−177	11
10	Dewsbury Rams (R)	18	2	1	15	284	751	−467	5	Relegated to National League Two

Source: [1]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Playoffs

	Elimination play-offs					Qualifying/Elimination semifinal					Elimination final					Grand Final
						The Willows										Halton Stadium
						1	Salford	26								Salford		31
						2	Leigh Centurions	18			Leigh Sports Village					Leigh Centurions		14
	Spotland
											Leigh Centurions		42
	3	Rochdale	40
						Spotland					Hull KR		12
	6	Whitehaven	38
						Rochdale		26
	Craven Park
						Hull KR		30
	4	Hull KR	38
	5	Oldham	24

Grand Final

5 October 2003

Salford City Reds	31 – 14	Leigh Centurions
Tries: Hunte (2), Beverley, Littler Goals: Charles (6), Blakeley Drop goals: Blakeley	[1]	Tries: Richardson, Halliwell, Swann Goals: Turley

Halton Stadium, Widnes Attendance: 9,186[2] Referee: Richard Silverwood

National League Two

National League Two was won by the Sheffield Eagles, but lost to the Keighley Cougars in the play-off final.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Sheffield Eagles	18	13	0	5	644	326	+318	26	Semi-final
2	Chorley Lynx	18	13	0	5	584	362	+222	26
3	Keighley Cougars (P)	18	13	0	5	488	340	+148	26	Elimination Semi-final
4	York City Knights	18	11	1	6	576	381	+195	23
5	Barrow Raiders	18	11	0	7	546	419	+127	22
6	Hunslet Hawks	18	10	1	7	513	425	+88	21
7	Swinton Lions	18	8	1	9	445	426	+19	17
8	Workington Town	18	4	1	13	393	558	−165	9
9	Gateshead Thunder	18	3	1	14	365	663	−298	7
10	London Skolars	18	1	1	16	222	876	−654	3

Source: [2]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(P) Promoted

Playoffs

	Elimination play-offs					Qualifying/Elimination semifinal					Elimination final					Grand Final
						Don Valley Stadium										Halton Stadium
						1	Sheffield	31								Keighley		13
						2	Chorley	14			Bloomfield Road					Sheffield		11
	Cougar Park
											Chorley		12
	3	Keighley	25
						Cougar Park					Keighley		45
	6	Hunslet	12
						Keighley		35
	Bootham Crescent
						Barrow		26
	4	York	30
	5	Barrow	50

Grand Final

5 October 2003

Keighley Cougars	13 – 11	Sheffield Eagles
Tries: M. Foster, Robinson Goals: Ashton (2) Drop goals: Firth	[3]	Tries: O'Reilly Goals: G. Brown (3) Drop goals: Reilly

Halton Stadium, Widnes Attendance: 9,186[2] Referee: Peter Taberner

National League Three

National League Three was won by Bradford Dudley Hill, with the play-offs being won by the Woolston Rovers (Warrington).

Table

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	Pts for	Pts agst	Pts	Qualification
1	Bradford Dudley Hill	14	13	0	1	545	178	26	Qualifying Semi Final
2	Teesside Steelers	14	10	1	3	343	273	21
3	Woolston Rovers (Warrington)	14	9	1	4	480	244	19	Elimination Play-off
4	St Albans Centurions	14	9	0	5	410	284	18
5	Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks	14	7	1	6	395	246	15
6	Underbank Rangers	14	7	0	7	412	396	14
7	South London Storm	14	6	0	8	274	362	12
8	Coventry Bears	14	4	1	9	273	385	9
9	Manchester Knights	14	3	0	11	228	584	6
10	Hemel Stags	14	0	0	14	160	568	0

Playoffs

	Elimination play-offs					Qualifying/Elimination semifinal					Elimination final					Grand Final
																Halton Stadium
						1	Bradford Dudley Hill	8								Woolston Rovers (Warrington)		42
						2	Teesside Steelers	10								Teesside Steelers		6
											Bradford Dudley Hill		12
	3	Woolston Rovers (Warrington)	18
											Woolston Rovers (Warrington)		34
	6	Underbank Rangers	10
						Woolston Rovers (Warrington)		24
						St Albans Centurions		10
	4	St Albans Centurions	20
	5	Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks	8

References

1. Wilson, Andy (6 October 2003). "Clinch ensures Salford book return ticket to top flight". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
2. Tim Butcher; Daniel Spencer (November 2011). Gillette Rugby League Yearbook 2011–12. League Publications Limited. ISBN 978-1-901347-24-1.
3. "Cougars edge Eagles". BBC Sport. 5 October 2003. Retrieved 20 February 2024.

External links

• Rugby Football League