2017 RFL Women's Super League
| 2017 Women's Super League | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 6 rounds |
| Teams | 4 |
| Matches played | 14 |
| Champions | Bradford Bulls |
| League Leaders' Shield | Bradford Bulls |
The 2017 Women's Super League was the inaugural season of the top level rugby league competition for women in England.[1] Run by the Rugby Football League there were four teams in the league; three (Bradford Bulls, Castleford Tigers and Featherstone Rovers) associated with professional clubs in West Yorkshire and one (Thatto Heath) associated with a leading amateur club in Lancashire.
The league was won by Bradford Bulls who went undefeated in the six round regular season before defeating Featherstone Rovers 36–6 in the Grand Final.[2] The win completed a treble for Bradford who in early August had defeated Featherstone 50–16 in the final of the 2017 Challenge Cup.[3][4]
Teams
Locations of teams in Northern England
| Club | Location |
|---|---|
| Bradford Bulls | Bradford, West Yorkshire |
| Castleford Tigers | Castleford, West Yorkshire |
| Featherstone Rovers | Featherstone, West Yorkshire |
| Thatto Heath St Helens | St Helens, Merseyside |
Results
The season comprised six rounds during which each team played the others home and away.[5] The team finishing top of the league automatically qualified for the Grand Final. The teams finishing second and third playing a preliminary final to determine who the other grand finalists were.
Round 1
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | |||
| Castleford Tigers | 48–14 | Featherstone Rovers | 23 July 2017, 14:00 | Neil Pascall | |
| Thatto Heath St Helens | 26–32 | Bradford Bulls | 23 July 2017, 14:00 | Phillip Salisbury | |
| Source:[6][7] | |||||
Round 2
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | |||
| Bradford Bulls | 72–18 | Castleford Tigers | 13 August 2017, 14:00 | Neil Pascall | |
| Featherstone Rovers | 20–30 | Thatto Heath St Helens | 13 August 2017, 14:00 | ||
| Source:[6][8] | |||||
Round 3
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | |||
| Featherstone Rovers | 0–24 | Bradford Bulls | 20 August 2017, 14:00[a] | Connor Astbury | |
| Thatto Heath St Helens | 64–4 | Castleford Tigers | 20 August 2017, 14:00 | Phillip Salisbury | |
| Source:[6][9] | |||||
Round 4
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | |||
| Bradford Bulls | 40–10 | Thatto Heath St Helens | 3 September 2017, 144:00 | Neil Pascall | |
| Featherstone Rovers | 48–20 | Castleford Tigers | 3 September 2017, 14:00 | Gareth Billingham | |
| Source:[6][10] | |||||
Round 5
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | |||
| Castleford Tigers | 12–60 | Bradford Bulls | 10 September 2017, 14:00 | Philip Lawley | |
| Thatto Heath St Helens | 14–24 | Featherstone Rovers | 10 September 2017, 14:00 | Phillip Salisbury | |
| Source:[6][11] | |||||
Round 6
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | |||
| Bradford Bulls | 72–10 | Featherstone Rovers | 24 September 2017, 14:00 | Jake Brook | |
| Castleford Tigers | 4–38 | Thatto Heath St Helens | 24 September 2017, 15:00 | Neil Horton | |
| Source:[6][12] | |||||
Regular season standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bradford Bulls | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 300 | 76 | +224 | 12 | Grand final |
| 2 | Thatto Heath St Helens | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 182 | 124 | +58 | 6 | Preliminary final |
| 3 | Featherstone Rovers | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 116 | 208 | −92 | 4 | |
| 4 | Castleford Tigers | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 106 | 296 | −190 | 2 |
Play-offs
Preliminary final
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time | Venue | Referee | |||
| Thatto Heath St Helens | 20–21 (g.p.) | Featherstone Rovers | 1 October 2017, 14:00 | Phillip Salisbury | |
| Source:[6][14] | |||||
Grand Final
7 October 2017
Noon BST |
| Bradford Bulls | 36 – 6 | Featherstone Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Kirsty Moroney, Lois Forsell, Charlotte Booth, Claire Garner, Amy Hardcastle, Charlene Henegan, Haylie Hields Goals: Claire Garner (4) |
report |
Tries: Georgia Roche Goals: Georgia Roche |
Notes
References
- ^ "England Rugby Football League". International Rugby League. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ "Bradford Bulls become first-ever Women's Super League champions". RFL. 8 October 2017. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- ^ "Bradford Bulls win Women's Challenge Cup". RFL. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ "Rugby League World Cup: 'It's been a long journey with lots of tears', says Amy Hardcastle". BBC Sport. 23 October 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ "Rugby League". www.rugby-league.com. RFL. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "2017 Women's Super League: Fixtures/Results". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ "Tigers and Bulls win as Women's RL Super League gets underway". 4 The Love Of Sport. 24 July 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ "Women's Rugby League Weekly Round up 13th August". 4 The Love Of Sport. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ a b "Women's Rugby League Weekly Round up 20th August". 4 The Love Of Sport. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ "Women's Rugby League Round up 3rd September 2017". 4 The Love Of Sport. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ "Women's Rugby League Round Up 10th September". 4 The Love Of Sport. 11 September 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ "Women's Rugby League Round Up 24 September". 4 The Love Of Sport. 24 September 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ "2017 Women's Super League: Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
- ^ "Featherstone Rovers secure Grand Final spot". RFL. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2023.