2004 Rugby League National Leagues

2004 National League
League	National Leagues
National League One
Champions	Leigh Centurions
League leaders	Leigh Centurions
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from National League One	Leigh Centurions
Relegated to National League Two	Keighley Cougars
National League Two
Champions	Barrow Raiders
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from National League Two	Barrow Raiders
National League Three
Champions	Coventry Bears
League leaders	Coventry Bears

The 2004 National Leagues (known as the LHF Healthplan National Leagues due to sponsorship)^[1] are the second, third and fourth divisions of rugby league in the UK.

National League One

National League One was won by Leigh Centurions, and won promotion to the Super League after defeating runners-up Whitehaven in the play-off final. Keighley Cougars were relegated to National League Two.

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Leigh Centurions (P)	18	14	0	4	686	407	+279	28	Semi-final
2	Whitehaven	18	14	0	4	552	312	+240	28
3	Hull Kingston Rovers	18	10	0	8	466	428	+38	20	Elimination Semi-final
4	Oldham	18	10	0	8	482	503	−21	20
5	Featherstone Rovers	18	9	1	8	500	491	+9	19
6	Doncaster Dragons	18	9	1	8	468	502	−34	19
7	Batley Bulldogs	18	8	0	10	503	534	−31	16
8	Rochdale Hornets	18	7	1	10	472	587	−115	15
9	Halifax	18	7	0	11	426	482	−56	14	Qualification for National League Two Playoff Final
10	Keighley Cougars (R)	18	1	0	17	366	708	−342	2	Relegated to National League Two

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

Play-offs

	Elimination play-offs					Qualifying/Elimination semifinal					Elimination final					Grand Final2
						Leigh Sports Village
						1	Leigh	30								Leigh		32
						2	Whitehaven	16			Recreation Ground					Whitehaven		16
	Craven Park
											Whitehaven		30
	3	Hull KR	63
						Craven Park					Featherstone		2
	6	Doncaster	22
						Hull KR		18
	Whitebank
						Featherstone		19
	4	Oldham	28
	5	Featherstone	33

Grand Final

10 October 2004

Leigh Centurions	32 – 16	Whitehaven
Tries: Cooper (2), Turley, Martyn Goals: Turley (6) Drop goals: Turley (2), Martyn, Rowley	[2]	Tries: Wilson (2), Calvert Goals: Nanyn (2)

Halton Stadium, Widnes Attendance: 11,005[3] Referee: Ronnie Laughton (Barnsley)

National League Two

National League Two was won by Barrow Raiders, and were automatically promoted to National League One. York City Knights reached the play-off final, but lost to Halifax, who retained their National League One status.

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Barrow Raiders (P)	18	14	1	3	521	346	+175	29	Promoted to National League One
2	York City Knights	18	13	0	5	630	308	+322	26	Semi-final
3	Sheffield Eagles	18	12	0	6	569	340	+229	24	Elimination Semi-final
4	Swinton Lions	18	12	0	6	547	460	+87	24
5	Workington Town	18	10	0	8	597	479	+118	20
6	Hunslet Hawks	18	10	0	8	475	394	+81	20
7	Chorley Lynx	18	7	2	9	460	522	−62	16
8	London Skolars	18	3	1	14	361	583	−222	7
9	Dewsbury Rams	18	3	1	14	284	595	−311	7
10	Gateshead Thunder	18	1	0	17	298	715	−417	2

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

National League Three

National League Three expanded to a 14-team league, but there was still no automatic promotion and relegation with National League Two. The league was won by Coventry Bears, who also went on to win the play-offs.

Table

Pos	Club	Pld	W	D	L	Pts for	Pts agst	Pts	Qualification
1	Coventry Bears	20	17	0	3	831	385	34	Play-offs
2	Bradford Dudley Hill	20	16	0	4	942	317	32
3	Woolston Rovers (Warrington)	20	15	1	4	764	232	31
4	Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks	20	13	1	6	631	334	27
5	Bramley Buffaloes	20	13	1	6	592	368	27
6	Hemel Stags	20	13	0	7	721	424	26
7	St Albans Centurions	20	13	0	7	724	406	26
8	Birmingham Bulldogs	20	10	0	10	620	624	20
9	Underbank Rangers	20	9	1	10	671	519	19
10	South London Storm	20	8	2	10	496	510	18
11	Manchester Knights	20	5	0	15	467	625	10
12	Carlisle Centurions	20	3	0	17	290	498	6
13	Gateshead Storm	20	2	0	18	290	1041	4
14	Essex Eels	20	1	0	19	186	1492	2

Play-offs

Week 1

Bradford Dudley Hill 13–30 St Albans Centurions

Coventry Bears 32–26 Birmingham Bulldogs

Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks 38–6 Bramley Buffaloes

Woolston Rovers (Warrington) 36–32 Hemel Stags

Week 2

Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks 26–40 Bradford Dudley Hill

St Albans Centurions 18–26 Bramley Buffaloes

Week 3

Coventry Bears 32–18 Bramley Buffaloes

Woolston Rovers (Warrington) 32–18 Bradford Dudley Hill

Grand Final

Coventry Bears 48–24 Woolston Rovers (Warrington)

References

1. http://rleague.com/news/New-sponsor-for-National-League_101602/National^{[permanent dead link‍]}
2. Wilson, Andy (11 October 2004). "Turley's record takes Leigh up". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
3. "Rugby League RKC". Retrieved 20 February 2024.

External links

• Rugby Football League