The following is a list of teams that finished in first place of the top division in each year of British rugby league. From 1895 until 1996 this was the Rugby Football League Championship First Division. From 1996 this has been Super League. Since 2003, teams finishing first in regular season have been awarded the League Leaders' Shield.
Since its inception the league has had multiple different ways of organising its structure and the ultimate winner of the competition. Due to these structural changes, primarily involving the periodic inclusion and non-inclusion of a playoff system, the team that finished first in regular season have not always been champions. The longest era of the league winners also being crowned champions was between 1973 and 1997. Between 1973 and 1997 a distinct Play-off competition, the Rugby League Premiership, was held which preceded the return to the play off and grand final format.
A list of each seasons champions can be found at List of British rugby league champions.
List
editTeams that have been declared champions based on league position, and hence not by playoffs, are denoted in bold.
See also
edit- List of British rugby league champions
- League Leaders' Shield
- Minor premiership - Australian equivalent
References
edit- "Calendar - RugbyLeagueProject". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 2023-10-07.