1981–82 Rugby Football League season

The 1981–82 Rugby Football League season was the 87th ever season of professional rugby league football in Britain. Sixteen teams competed from August, 1981 until May, 1982 for the Championship.

1981–82 Rugby Football League season
League	Slalom Lager Championship
Teams	16
Champions	Leigh
Premiership winners	Widnes
Man of Steel Award	Mick Morgan (Carlisle)
Top try-scorer(s)	Des Drummond 26
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from Second Division	Oldham Carlisle Workington Town Halifax
Relegated to Second Division	Fulham Wakefield Trinity York Whitehaven
Second Division
Champions	Oldham
Top point-scorer(s)	Lynn Hopkins 446
Top try-scorer(s)	John Jones 31
← 1980–81 1982–83 →

Season summary

• Slalom Lager League Champions: Leigh
• Challenge Cup Winners: Hull F.C. (18-9 v Widnes in replay after 14–14 draw)
• Slalom Lager Premiership Trophy Winners: Widnes (23-8 v Hull)
• John Player Special Trophy Winners: Hull F.C. (12-4 v Hull Kingston Rovers)
• 2nd Division Champions: Oldham

Leigh finished on top of the First Division table to claim their second and, to date, last championship, but Widnes won the Rugby League Premiership competition. Fulham, Wakefield Trinity, York and Whitehaven were demoted to the Second Division. Oldham, Carlisle, Workington Town and Halifax were promoted to the First Division.

Cardiff City Blue Dragons and Carlisle joined the competition in Division Two.

Leigh beat Widnes 8–3 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Castleford beat Bradford Northern 10–5 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.

League Tables

Championship Final Standings Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts 1 Leigh 30 24 1 5 572 343 +229 49 2 Hull 30 23 1 6 611 273 +338 47 3 Widnes 30 23 1 6 551 317 +234 47 4 Hull Kingston Rovers 30 22 1 7 554 319 +235 45 5 Bradford Northern 30 20 1 9 425 332 +93 41 6 Leeds 30 17 1 12 514 418 +96 35 7 St Helens 30 17 1 12 465 415 +50 35 8 Warrington 30 14 2 14 403 468 +65 30 9 Barrow 30 13 0 17 408 445 -37 26 10 Featherstone Rovers 30 12 1 17 482 493 -11 25 11 Wigan 30 12 0 18 424 435 -11 24 12 Castleford 30 10 1 19 486 505 -19 21 13 Fulham 30 9 1 20 365 539 -174 19 14 Wakefield Trinity 30 9 1 20 341 526 -185 19 15 York 30 4 2 24 330 773 -443 10 16 Whitehaven 30 2 3 25 224 565 -341 7

Second Division Club P W D L PF PA Pts 1 Oldham 32 30 0 2 734 276 60 2 Carlisle 32 28 0 4 649 296 56 3 Workington Town 32 24 0 8 777 311 48 4 Halifax 32 22 0 10 516 340 44 5 Salford 32 20 1 11 656 433 41 6 Hunslet 32 18 1 13 481 452 37 7 Keighley 32 18 0 14 514 426 36 8 Cardiff 32 17 1 14 566 549 35 9 Dewsbury 32 16 0 16 357 464 32 10 Swinton 32 15 0 17 514 418 30 11 Huddersfield 32 13 1 18 370 523 27 12 Bramley 32 13 0 19 381 513 26 13 Rochdale Hornets 32 10 1 21 361 484 21 14 Batley 32 8 0 24 357 596 16 15 Blackpool Borough 32 7 0 25 341 608 14 16 Doncaster 32 5 1 26 319 793 11 17 Huyton 32 5 0 27 296 707 10   Champions   Play-offs   Promoted   Relegated

Challenge Cup

Main article: 1981–82 Challenge Cup

The 1981-82 State Express Challenge Cup was won by Hull F.C. after defeating Widnes 18–9 in the final after a replay.

The Final was played at Wembley before a crowd of 92,147 and ended in a 14–14 draw. The replay was played at Elland Road before a crowd of 41,171.

League Cup

Main article: 1981–82 League Cup (rugby league)

Premiership

Main article: 1981–82 Rugby League Premiership

References

• Fletcher, Raymond; Howes, David, eds. (1982). Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1982-83. Rothmans Publications. ISBN 978-0-907574-15-6.
• 1981-82 Rugby Football League season at wigan.rlfans.com