2017 League 1

2017 League 1
League League 1
Duration 22 matches
Teams 16
2017 Season

The 2017 League 1, known as the Kingstone Press League 1 for sponsorship reasons, is a semi-professional rugby league football competition played in England, Wales and Canada, the third tier of the sport for RFL affiliated clubs.

The 2017 League 1 season was expanded to 16 teams with the first professional Canadian team Toronto Wolfpack joining the British game. At the end of 15 weekly rounds the top 8 teams will play each other once more in the League 1 Super 8s after which the top team will be promoted to the Championship with the teams finishing 2nd to 5th holding a play-off with the winner also being promoted to the Championship for 2018. The bottom 8 teams will play each other once more with the top two teams competing for the League 1 Shield.

The fixture list was first issued in October 2016 when the inclusion of York City Knights in the league was in doubt so the Knights were omitted from the fixture list.[1] York's inclusion in the league was confirmed at the beginning of December and the fixture list was re-issued to include the club.[2]

Teams

Colors Club City Stadium Capacity*
Barrow Raiders Barrow, Cumbria Craven Park 7,600
Coventry Bears Coventry, West Midlands Butts Park Arena 3,000
Doncaster Doncaster, South Yorkshire Keepmoat Stadium 15,231
Gloucestershire All Golds Cheltenham, Gloucestershire Prince of Wales Stadium 2,000
Hemel Stags Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire Pennine Way 2,000
Hunslet Leeds, West Yorkshire South Leeds Stadium 4,000
Keighley Cougars Keighley, West Yorkshire Cougar Park 7,800
London Skolars Haringey, London New River Stadium 2,000
Newcastle Thunder Newcastle, Tyne and Wear Kingston Park 10,200
North Wales Crusaders Wrexham, Wales Queensway Stadium 2,000
Oxford Abingdon, Oxfordshire Tilsley Park 2,000
South Wales Ironmen Merthyr Tydfil, Wales The Wern 4,500
to July 2017
Llanelli, Wales Stebonheath Park 3,700
from July 2017[3]
Toronto Wolfpack Toronto, Ontario, Canada Lamport Stadium 9,600
Whitehaven Whitehaven, Cumbria Recreation Ground 7,500
Workington Town Workington, Cumbria Zebra Claims Stadium 10,000
York City Knights York, North Yorkshire Bootham Crescent 8,256

*capacity for rugby league games may differ from official stadium capacity.

Regular season

The regular season was dominated by new club, Toronto, who won all 15 games amassing over 900 points while only conceding 150. The Cumbrian clubs, Whitehaven and Barrow finished second and third respectively. Whitehaven put a run of 12 straight wins together while Barrow who had been second for a long time lost two games towards the end of the season. York whose existence was in doubt before the season started finished fourth with Doncaster and Newcastle behind them. The last two places in the Super 8s were contested right up until the last fixture of the season with five clubs; Workington, Keighley, North Wales Crusaders, Hunslet and London Skolars all in contention. In the end the places were taken by Keighley and Workington while North Wales lost out on points difference.

Results

Final standings

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Toronto Wolfpack 15 15 0 0 916 157 +759 30 League 1 Super 8s
2 Whitehaven 15 13 1 1 469 236 +233 27
3 Barrow Raiders 15 12 1 2 576 264 +312 25
4 York City Knights 15 10 0 5 487 305 +182 20
5 Doncaster 15 9 2 4 449 327 +122 20
6 Newcastle Thunder 15 9 0 6 459 328 +131 18
7 Keighley Cougars 15 7 1 7 590 387 +203 15
8 Workington Town 15 7 1 7 436 370 +66 15
9 North Wales Crusaders 15 7 1 7 366 422 −56 15 League 1 Shield
10 Hunslet 15 7 0 8 418 377 +41 14
11 London Skolars 15 6 1 8 367 453 −86 13
12 Gloucestershire All Golds 15 6 0 9 310 530 −220 12
13 Oxford 15 4 0 11 275 629 −354 8
14 Coventry Bears 15 2 0 13 287 615 −328 4
15 South Wales Ironmen 15 1 0 14 212 654 −442 2
16 Hemel Stags 15 1 0 14 229 792 −563 2
Source:

Super 8s

The top eight teams after the regular season go forward to the Super 8s. Points gained in the regular season are carried forward to the Super 8s during which the clubs will play each other once more. The top four clubs at entry to the Super 8s play four home fixtures and three away while the bottom four clubs have three home fixtures and four away.

After all seven rounds have been played, the club in top position will be named League Champions and will be automatically promoted to the Championship for 2018. The second placed club will play fifth placed and third will play fourth in the play-off semi-finals after which the winners will play in the League 1 Play-off final for the other promotion spot to the 2018 Championship.[4]

Results

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Promotion or qualification
1 Toronto Wolfpack 17 16 0 1 1000 183 +817 32 Promoted as Champions
2 Barrow Raiders 17 14 1 2 605 276 +329 29 Play-off semi-finals
3 Whitehaven 17 14 1 2 498 257 +241 29
4 York City Knights 17 11 0 6 533 343 +190 22
5 Doncaster 17 9 2 6 483 373 +110 20
6 Keighley Cougars 17 9 1 7 644 431 +213 19
7 Newcastle Thunder 17 9 0 8 479 385 +94 18
8 Workington Town 17 8 1 8 466 452 +14 17
Updated to match(es) played on 6 August 2017. Source:

League 1 Shield

The teams finishing in the bottom eight at the end of the regular season compete for the League 1 Shield. Points gained in the regular season are carried forward to the Shield competition. The teams play each other once more and after the completion of the seven rounds the top two teams play for the League 1 Shield.

Results

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Hunslet 16 8 0 8 474 387 +87 16 League 1 Shield final
2 London Skolars 16 7 1 8 407 465 −58 15
3 North Wales Crusaders 16 7 1 8 378 462 −84 15
4 Gloucestershire All Golds 16 6 0 10 330 558 −228 12
5 Oxford 16 4 0 12 301 661 −360 8
6 Coventry Bears 16 2 0 14 297 671 −374 4
7 South Wales Ironmen 16 2 0 14 240 674 −434 4
8 Hemel Stags 16 2 0 14 261 818 −557 4
Updated to match(es) played on 30 July 2017. Source:

References

  1. ↑ "The 2017 season begins here". Rugby Leaguer & League Express (3042). 24 October 2016. p. 13.
  2. ↑ "On the plane again! York City Knights' 2017 League One fixture list confirmed". The Press. 4 December 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "New owners for South Wales Ironmen". Wales Rugby League. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  4. ↑ "Super 8s". Rugby Football League. 16 July 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
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