1943–44 Northern Rugby Football League Wartime Emergency League season

League

Northern Rugby Football League Wartime Emergency League season

1943–44 Season

Wakefield Trinity

Runner-up

< 1942–43	Seasons	1944–45 >

The 1943–44 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the fifth season of the rugby league’s 'Wartime Emergency League necessitated by the Second World War.
As in the previous (fourth) Wartime season, the clubs each played a different number of games, but this season clubs re-joined the league and there were now 16 of the original clubs taking part in the Competition (but still only Oldham, St Helens and Wigan from west of the Pennines).
The League remained as one single amalgamated Championship.

General Comments

Season summary

The 1943–44 season began on Saturday 4 September 1943.
As in the previous season, there are still only the three Lancashire clubs who have not had to close down and withdrawn from the League. The Northern Rugby League continued with a single (now) 16 club single Competition. As the clubs are still playing different number of marches, the league positions and the title would be decided on a percentage basis...
At the completion of the regular season Wakefield Trinity were on top of the league on both points and percentage success (with 38 points from 22 games and a percentage success of 86.36%) and Wigan were second (34 points from 21 games @ 80.95%).
Hunslet and Barrow finished a mid-table 8th and 9th respectively in their first season back after an earlier withdrawal.
St Helens, for the second consecutive season, finished bottom (16th out of the 16 clubs) with only 1 wins from 21 and 2 points.
Wigan beat Dewsbury 25-14 on aggregate in the two legged play-off final.^[1] and win the Championship (for the second consecutive season).
The Wartime Emergency League did not count as an official league championship.
In the Final of the Rugby league Challenge Cup, Bradford Northern beat Wigan 8-3 on aggregate over two legs in front of an aggregate crowd of 52,000.
The Lancashire Cup, suspended for season 1940–41 remained so for the rest of the war and again Wigan competed in the Yorkshire Cup.
In the Final of the Yorkshire County Cup, Bradford Northern beat Keighley in two low scoring legs by 10-7 on aggregate before an aggregate crowd of 19,244.

Change in Club participation

Previous withdrawals

The following clubs had withdrawn from the League, before this 1943–44 seasons completion began :- St Helens Recs – who folded before the war started
Hull Kingston Rovers – who withdrew after the end of the first (1939–40) season finished and did not re-join until the 1945–46 season.
Rochdale Hornets – As Hull Kingston Rovers.
Widnes – As Hull Kingston Rovers.
Broughton Rangers – withdrew after the end of the second 1940–41 season finished and did not re-join until the 1945–46 season.
Liverpool Stanley – As Broughton Rangers.
Salford – As Broughton Rangers.
Swinton – As Broughton Rangers.
Warrington – As Broughton Rangers.
Leigh - During the Second World War, the club was forced to leave its ground as the adjacent cable factory extended onto the land. The townsfolk of Leigh, acting on chairman James Hilton's inspiration, cleared some fields on the edge of the town, and built a new stadium, including moving and rebuilding the old grandstand from the original ground. -
In 1941–42, Leigh quit the wartime Lancashire league and would not return to the league until 1946–47 when they played as a temporary measure at the Athletic Ground, Holden Road before moving to Kirkhall Lane (which was later officially renamed Hilton Park after James Hilton. -
Bramley – withdrew after the end of the third 1941–42 season finished and did not re-join until the 1945–46 season.
Castleford – withdrew after the end of the third 1941–42 season finished and did not participate for two seasons, re-joining for the 1944–45 season.

New withdrawals

There were no more new withdrawals

Clubs Re-joining

Barrow – had withdrawn after the end of the first (1939–40) season finished.
They had competed in the Challenge Cup competition at the end of last season and now re-joined for this 1944–45 season.
Hunslet – had withdrawn after the end of the third 1941–42 season finished, also, re-joining for this 1944–45 season.

Special Note

Dewsbury had a relatively successful time during the war years. Managed by Eddie Waring, and with the side boosted by the inclusion of a number of big-name guest players, the club won the Wartime Emergency League in 1941–42 and again the following season 1942–43 (though that championship was declared null and void when it was discovered they had played an ineligible player). They were also runners-up in the Championship in 1943–44, Challenge Cup winners in 1942–43 and Yorkshire Cup final appearances in this season 1940–41 and winners in 1942–43.

Championship

	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	diff	Pts
1	Wakefield Trinity	22	19	0	3	359	97	262	38
2	Wigan	21	17	0	4	302	141	161	34
3	Hull	21	15	0	6	236	189	47	30
4	Dewsbury	22	15	1	6	304	169	135	31
5	Halifax	22	15	0	7	279	166	113	30
6	Bradford Northern	19	11	1	7	292	125	167	23
7	Leeds	21	12	1	8	262	252	10	25
8	Hunslet	22	12	0	10	287	245	42	24
9	Barrow	22	11	0	11	315	199	116	22
10	Keighley	21	9	0	12	151	216	-65	18
11	Huddersfield	21	7	1	13	223	230	-7	15
12	Oldham	21	7	0	14	137	371	-234	14
13	Featherstone Rovers	22	6	0	16	202	229	-27	12
14	Batley	21	5	1	15	176	299	-123	11
15	York	22	5	1	16	196	470	-274	11
16	St Helens	20	1	0	19	123	446	-323	2

Heading Abbreviations
RL = Single Division; Pl = Games Played: W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose; PF = Points For; PA = Points Against; Diff = Points Difference (+ or -); Pts = League Points
% Pts = A percentage system was used to determine league positions due to clubs playing varying number of fixtures and against different opponents
League points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.

Championship Play-Off

Championship Play-Off:
Semifinals:

Wakefield Trinity 5 lost to Dewsbury 11 (Belle Vue)
Wigan 27 beat Hull 10 (Central Park)

Final (two legs):

Wigan 13 beat Dewsbury 9 (Central Park)
Dewsbury 5 lost to Wigan 12 (Crown Flatt)
Wigan won 25-14 on aggregate

Trophies

Challenge Cup

The Challenge Cup Competition had been suspended for season 1939–40, but after being re-introduced for the following season 1940–41 continued again this season.
Each round including the final was played in two legs on a home and away basis

Below are given some of the fixtures and results from this year’s Challenge Cup competition. ^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] .^[7]

Date	Stage	Home Team	score	Away Team	Venue	agg	att	rcts	ref
1st Round
CC R1 1st leg	Sat 11-03-1944	Oldham	5-8	Wigan	Watersheddings				^[3]
CC R1 1st leg	Sat 11-03-1944	Dewsbury	43-7	St Helens	Crown Flatt				^[2]
CC R1 1st leg	Sat 11-03-1944	Huddersfield	13-0	Hull	Fartown				^[4]
CC R1 2nd leg	Sat 18-03-1944	Wigan	25-3	Oldham	Central Park	33-8			^[3]
CC R1 2nd leg	18-03-1944	St Helens	15-33	Dewsbury	Central Park	76-22			^[2]
CC R1 2nd leg	18-03-1944	Hull	5-0	Huddersfield	Boulevard	5-13			^[4]
2nd Round
CC R2 1st leg	25-03-1944	Wigan	14-3	Dewsbury	Central Park				^[3]
CC R2 1st Leg	Sat 25-03-1944	Keighley	Lost to	Bradford Northern	Lawkholme Ln
CC R2 2nd leg	01-04-1944	Dewsbury	2-11	Wigan	Crown Flatt	5-25			^[3]
CC R2 2nd Leg	Sat 01-04-1944	Bradford Northern	beat	Keighley	Odsal	Won
Semi-Final
CC SF 1st leg	--	Leeds	10-5	Wigan	Headingley				^[3]
CC SF 2nd leg	10-04-1944	Wigan	11-4	Leeds	Central Park	16-14			^[3]
Final
CC F 1st leg	15-04-1944	Wigan	3-0	Bradford Northern	Central Park		22,000	£1,640.0.0	^[3]
CC F 2nd leg	22-04-1944	Bradford Northern	8-0	Wigan	Odsal	8-3	30,000	2,200.0.0	^[3]
Bradford Northern are winners of the Challenge Cup

In the Final of the Rugby league Challenge Cup, Bradford Northern beat Wigan 8-3 on aggregate over two legs in front of an aggregate crowd of 52,000.

Lancashire Cup

The Lancashire Cup, suspended for season 1940–41 remained so for the rest of the war and again Wigan competed in the Yorkshire Cup.

Yorkshire Cup

Below are given some of the fixtures and results from this year’s Yorkshire Cup competition.

Date	Stage	Home Team	score	Away Team	Venue	agg	att	rcts	Note	ref
1st Round
YC R1 1st leg	16-10-1943	Hull	6-12	Huddersfield	Boulevard					^[4]
YC R1 1st leg	16-10-1943	St Helens	9-14	Wigan	Knowsley Rd		2,000			^[3]
YC R1 2nd leg	23-10-1943	Huddersfield	20-2	Hull	Fartown	26-14				^[4]
YC R1 2nd leg	23-10-1943	Wigan	20-10	St Helens	Central Park	34-19	4,288			^[3]
2nd Round
YC R2 1st leg	30-10-1943	Barrow	17-8	Wigan	Barrow					^[3]
YC R2 2nd leg	06-11-1943	Wigan	10-7	Barrow	Central Park	24-18				^[3]
Semi-Final
YC SF 1st Leg	Sat 13-11-1943	Keighley	21-0	Huddersfield	Lawkholme Ln
YC SF 2nd Leg	Sat 20-11-1943	Huddersfield	13-4	Keighley	Fartown	13-25
Final
YC F 1st leg	00-11-1943	Bradford Northern	5-2	Keighley	Odsal		10,251	£757.0.0		^[7]
YC F 2nd leg	01-11-1943	Keighley	5-5	Bradford Northern	Odsal	7-10	8,487	£694.0.0	1	^[7]
Bradford Northern are winners of Yorkshire Cup

In the Final of the Yorkshire County Cup, Bradford Northern beat Keighley in two low scoring legs by 10-7 on aggregate before an aggregate crowd of 18,741.

Notes and Comments

1 - Keighley's highest wartime attendance

References

↑ "Wigan Warriors Rugby League Fan Site". Retrieved 5 November 2011.
1 2 3 "Saints Heritage Society".
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "Cherry and white".
1 2 3 4 5 <"Hull&Proud".
↑ "Widnes Vikings - One team, one passion Season In Review".
↑ "Warrington History".
1 2 3 Raymond Fletcher and David Howes (1990). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-91. Queen Anne Press. ISBN 0-356-17851-X.

External links

Saints Heritage Society
Cherry and white
Hull&Proud
Widnes Vikings - One team, one passion Season In Review
Warrington History
[Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1990-91 by Raymond Fletcher and David Howes]

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