RL Merit League

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The RL Merit League, formerly the Midlands Merit League, is a summer rugby league tournament in England. It is a feeder league to the Rugby League Conference and has a season that runs from April to August.

The 2007 season saw the introduction of an under-15 league based on Merit League principles. In 2008 the junior competition will feature under-14 and under-16 divisions.

Forgers v Braves 2006
Forgers v Braves 2006

Contents

[edit] Foundation

The league was founded as the Midlands Merit League in late 2005 to support the growth of rugby league in non-heartland areas. Originally intended as a stand alone league, support from the Rugby Football League meant that it could be administered as part of the Rugby League Conference set-up. Interest quickly gathered with 13 teams showing an interest in participating in the inaugural season. The league is based on the successful London League which also operates a merit system.

The first ever game took place on April 8th 2006 at All Saints Sports College, Sheffield, where the Sheffield Forgers beat the Chesterfield Spires by 58 points to 8.

The league has already provided several teams for the Rugby League Conference: South Humber Rabbitohs and indirectly Scunthorpe Barbarians (based on the Scunthorpe Braves side who competed in the 2006 season) joined the Rugby League Conference in 2007 and Sheffield Forgers and East Riding RLC joined in 2008.

The first cross-league fixture was played in June 2007 when Nottingham Outlaws Academy visited Northampton Casuals of the London League. They also played a return fixture in July.

The league was renamed Rugby League Merit League (RLML) for the 2008 season due to its increased geographical spread.

[edit] Format

The 2006 competition operated on a merit table basis with teams organizing fixtures amongst themselves. The first fixtures were in April, with the final date for games to be included in the league table being Sunday 13th August. The same system was used in 2007, but 2007 also included play-offs and a Shield competition. The regular season closed at the end of July with the play-offs in August culminating in Finals day on August 18th.

The scoring system for 2008 is as follows:

Win: 3 points

Draw: 2 points

Defeat not conceded: 1 point

120+ KM trip to away game: 1 point

Default on game within three days of fixture: 0 points, with 40-0 score-line awarded to opposition.

The average number of points scored per game, rather than the total, determines positions in the league table. Teams who have played 6 or more games will be placed higher in the table than those who haven't. If the average is the same, total games played followed by points difference will determine the placings.

For the 2008 season, as in previous years, inter-league games between members of the RLML and the London League can be counted as competitive matches, whilst both leagues are in season. These fixtures will need to be confirmed a week in advance to be guaranteed inclusion as regular season games.

[edit] Participating clubs

The following teams will participate in 2008:

  • Barton Bulldogs
  • Birmingham Bulldogs Academy
  • Crewe & Nantwich Steamers
  • East Riding Academy
  • German Exiles
  • Leicester Phoenix Academy
  • Moorends-Thorne Marauders Academy
  • North Derbyshire Chargers
  • Nottingham Outlaws Academy
  • Redditch Ravens Academy
  • Rossington Sharks Academy
  • Scunthorpe Barbarians Academy
  • Wigan Riversiders

[edit] Season 2006

The Grand Final for 2006 was held between the top two teams in the table on Sunday 13th August and took place a week later at Hillsborough Arena, home of the Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks. The final table (August 13th) was as follows:

Position Club Played H-Win H-Draw A-Win A-Draw Lost Def. Pts For Pts Agst Pair Long Points Average
1 South Humber Rabbitohs 7 3 0 4 0 0 0 386 100 3 2 23 3.28571
2 Nottingham Outlaws 'A' 7 3 0 3 0 1 0 320 103 3 1 19 2.7143
3 East Riding RLC 10 3 1 3 1 2 0 320 164 4 2 24 2.4
4 Scunthorpe Braves 8 1 1 3 0 3 0 274 238 2 2 16 2.0
5 Telford Trojans 6 1 0 0 0 5 1 149 232 2 3 6 1.0
6 Sheffield Forgers 8 1 0 0 0 7 0 158 432 3 1 5 0.75
7 Chesterfield Spires 10 2 0 0 0 8 1 150 496 3 1 7 0.7
8 Lincoln City Knights 'A' 4 1 0 0 1 2 1 94 86 0 1 4 1.0

In the Grand Final South Humber Rabbitohs beat the Nottingham Outlaws by 42 points to 18 and became the inaugural champions.

[edit] Season 2007

The Grand Final for 2007 was held between St Helens Wild Boars and the German Exiles on Saturday 18th August at Dore Moor, home of the Sheffield Tigers Rugby Union Club and was won 46-22 by the Wild Boars. The inaugural Shield Final, on the same day, was between East Riding RLC and the Nottingham Outlaws Academy and was won by East Riding by 32-26. These teams came through the play-off system to reach the final.

The final table (July 29th) was as follows:

Position Club Played H-Win H-Draw A-Win A-Draw Lost Def. Pts For Pts Agst Pair Long Points Average
1 St Helens Wild Boars 6 2 0 4 0 0 0 276 78 2 4 22 3.6666
2 Sheffield Forgers 10 6 0 4 0 0 0 532 98 3 3 30 3.0
3 German Exiles 4 1 1 2 0 0 0 206 73 1 2 12 3.0
4 Nottingham Outlaws 'A' 6 2 0 2 0 2 0 240 146 2 3 15 2.5
5 East Riding RLC 6 1 0 2 0 3 0 214 144 2 2 12 2.0
6 Shropshire Scorpions 9 2 0 2 0 4 1 223 246 2 2 13 1.4444
7 Chesterfield Spires 8 2 0 1 0 4 1 202 340 3 1 10 1.25
8 Barton Bulldogs 5 1 0 0 0 4 0 58 254 2 1 5 1.0
9 Wolverhampton Warlords 5 0 0 0 0 5 0 100 334 2 2 4 0.8
10 Crewe & Nantwich Steamers 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 14 64 0 1 1 1.0
11 Leeds Akkies 'B' 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 58 148 0 0 0 0.0
12 South Humber Rabbitohs 'A' 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 36 40 0 0 0 0.0
13 Scunthorpe Barbarians 'A' 3 0 0 0 0 2 1 38 136 0 0 -1 -0.3333

Play-offs:

Championship semi-final

Sheffield Forgers 24-25 German Exiles

Shield

Chesterfield Spires 40-34 Barton Bulldogs

Nottingham Outlaws Academy 56-4 Shropshire Scorpions East Riding RLC 64-6 Chesterfield Spires

FINALS:

St Helens Wild Boars 46-22 German Exiles

Shield: Nottingham Outlaws Academy 26-32 East Riding RLC

[edit] Past Winners

[edit] Championship

  • 2006 South Humber Rabbitohs
  • 2007 St Helens Wild Boars

[edit] Shield

  • 2007 East Riding RLC

[edit] See also

[edit] External links