1984–85 Rugby Football League season

1984–85 Rugby Football League season
Slalom Lager Championship
Number of teams 16
Champions Hull Kingston Rovers
Premiership winners St Helens
Man of Steel Ellery Hanley
Top point-scorer(s) Sean Day 362
Top try-scorer(s) Ellery Hanley 55
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from Second Division Swinton
Salford
York
Dewsbury
Relegated to Second Division Barrow
Leigh
Hunslet
Workington Town
Second Division
Champions Swinton
Top try-scorer(s) Vince Gribbin 27
< 1983–84 Seasons 1985–86 >

The 1984–85 Rugby Football League season was the 90th ever season of professional rugby league football in Britain. Sixteen teams played each other from August, 1984 until May, 1985 for the Slalom Lager Championship. Also these 16 teams plus several more competed for the Challenge Cup.

Season summary

On 21 October 1984 Peter Wood kicked a record-equalling five drop goals for Runcorn Highfield in a match against Batley. On October 28, two tries by Mal Meninga inspire St. Helens, to beat Wigan 26–18, and win the Lancashire Cup for the first time in 16 years.

The 1985 Man of Steel award went to Bradford Northern utility back, Ellery Hanley. He also became the first man to score more than 50 tries in a season since Billy Boston, and the first non-winger to reach this figure for 70 years.

The increase of the Second Division to 20 teams meant that it would have taken 38 rounds to play out a full double round robin, which was considered too many matches, so a complicated fixture formula was used to reduce it to 28. For this season, Huyton relocated and were renamed Runcorn Highfield, Cardiff City Blue Dragons relocated and were renamed Bridgend Blue Dragons, and Kent Invicta relocated and were renamed were Southend Invicta, Huddersfield were renamed Huddersfield Barracudas, and Mansfield Marksman, and Sheffield Eagles joined the Second Division.

St. Helens beat Wigan 26–18 to win the Lancashire Cup, and Hull beat Hull Kingston Rovers 29–12 to win the Yorkshire Cup.

Championship

Hull Kingston Rovers finished on top of the First Division table to claim their fifth championship.

Championship Final Standings

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Hull Kingston Rovers 302406778391+38748
2 St. Helens 302217920508+41245
2 Wigan 302118720459+26143
4 Leeds 302019650377+27341
5 Oldham 3018111563439+12437
6 Hull 3017112733550+18335
7 Widnes 3017013580517+6334
8 Bradford Northern 3016113600500+10033
9 Featherstone Rovers 3015015461475−1430
10 Halifax 3012216513565−5226
11 Warrington 3013017530620−9026
12 Castleford 3012117552518+3425
13 Barrow 309120483843−36019
14 Leigh 308220549743−19418
15 Hunslet 307122463952−48915
16 Workington Town 302127297935−6385
Champions Relegated

Second Division Final Standings[1]

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Swinton 28241372734338449
2Salford 28203578733345443
3York 28211671743028743
4Dewsbury 28211653932021943
5Carlisle 28190954743711038
6Whitehaven 28163949638511135
7Batley 281701148940287'34
8Fulham 2816111521526−533
9Mansfield 281501352539812730
10Blackpool 28150134864345230
11Wakefield Trinity 2812214450459−926
12Rochdale Hornets 2812214436466−3026
13Huddersfield Barracudas 2812115476476025
14Runcorn Highfield 2811116462538−7623
15Keighley 2811017495567−7222
16Bramley 289217439492−5320
17Sheffield Eagles 28 8 0 20 424 582 -15816
18Doncaster 286220353730−37714
19Southend 284024347690−3438
20Bridgend Blue Dragons 281027258966−7082
Promoted

Challenge Cup

Main article: 1985 Challenge Cup

The 1984–85 Silk Cut Challenge Cup was won by Wigan after defeating Hull in the final.

The Final was played on 4 May at Wembley before a crowd of 99,801 and is arguably the greatest ever in Challenge Cup history.[2] Just after half-time Hull were 22 – 8 down before staging a fight back, but Wigan held on to win 28–24, ushering in an era of dominance for the club.[3]

References

  1. Raymond Fletcher; David Howes (1995). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1995–1996. London: Headline Book Publishing. p. 299. ISBN 0-7472-7817-2.
  2. "5. Wigan v Hull Challenge Cup final, 4 May 1985". Great Sporting Moments: Rugby League (London: independent.co.uk). 2009-07-11. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
  3. Baker, Andrew (1995-08-20). "100 years of rugby league: From the great divide to the Super era". Independent, The (London: independent.co.uk). Retrieved 2009-09-25.

Sources

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