2006 Rugby League National Leagues
The 2006 National Leagues (known as the LHF Healthplan National Leagues) are the second, third and fourth divisions of rugby league in the UK.
| 2006 National League | |
|---|---|
| League | National League |
| National League One | |
| Champions |  Hull Kingston Rovers |
| League leaders | Hull Kingston Rovers |
| Promotion and relegation | |
| Promoted from National League One | Hull Kingston Rovers |
| Relegated to National League Two |  York City Knights Oldham |
| National League Two | |
| Champions |  Dewsbury Rams |
| Promotion and relegation | |
| Promoted from National League Two | Dewsbury Rams Sheffield Eagles |
| National League Three | |
| Champions | Bramley Buffaloes |
The League One and League Three Grand Finals, and the League Two Play-off final were played at Warrington's Halliwell Jones Stadium on 8 October 2006.
National League One
National League One was won by Hull Kingston Rovers, who as a result entered Super League for the first time. They had led the league for the majority of the season and defeated Widnes Vikings in the final. York City Knights and Oldham R.L.F.C. were relegated to National Two.
Table
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | Pts for | Pts agst | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hull Kingston Rovers |
18 | 16 | 0 | 2 | 705 | 338 | 32 | Play-off Semi Final |
| 2 |  Widnes Vikings |
18 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 729 | 449 | 28 | |
| 3 |  Leigh Centurions |
18 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 549 | 334 | 26 | Elimination Finals |
| 4 |  Whitehaven |
18 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 516 | 408 | 25 | |
| 5 |  Rochdale Hornets |
18 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 462 | 435 | 16 | |
| 6 |  Batley Bulldogs |
18 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 393 | 467 | 16 | |
| 7 |  Halifax |
18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 461 | 508 | 14 | |
| 8 |  Doncaster |
18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 458 | 533 | 13 | |
| 9 | York City Knights |
18 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 476 | 553 | 10 | Relegated to National League Two |
| 10 | Oldham |
18 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 220 | 944 | 0 | |
Round 1
Whitehaven 26 Batley Bulldogs 8
Doncaster Lakers 0 Rochdale Hornets 44
|Halifax 10 Leigh Centurions 32
Round 2
Doncaster Lakers 32 Whitehaven 32
Batley Bulldogs 6 |Halifax 26
Rochdale Hornets 28 Oldham R.L.F.C. 10
Round 3
Whitehaven 38 Rochdale Hornets 24 |Halifax 34 York City Knights 24
Oldham R.L.F.C. 10 Doncaster Lakers 56
Round 4
Whitehaven 16 Widnes Vikings 38
Rochdale Hornets 30 York City Knights 16
Hull Kingston Rovers 30 |Halifax 22
Round 5
Widnes Vikings 28 Hull Kingston Rovers 42
York City Knights 10 Leigh Centurions 24 |Halifax 18 Rochdale Hornets 12
Doncaster Lakers 22 Batley Bulldogs 24
Oldham R.L.F.C. 10 Whitehaven 48
Round 6
Leigh Centurions 25 Doncaster Lakers 18
Whitehaven 30 |Halifax 20
Rochdale Hornets 38 Widnes Vikings 46
Round 7
Doncaster Lakers 24 Hull Kingston Rovers 28
York City Knights 18 Widnes Vikings 40 |Halifax 34 Oldham R.L.F.C. 28
Round 8
Hull Kingston Rovers 74 Whitehaven 12
Widnes Vikings 34 Doncaster Lakers 12
Oldham R.L.F.C. 0 York City Knights 62
Leigh Centurions 30 Rochdale Hornets 16 |Halifax 8 Batley Bulldogs 24
Round 9
Whitehaven 32 Leigh Centurions 22
Doncaster Lakers 22 |Halifax 18
York City Knights 56 Oldham R.L.F.C. 14
Round 10
Leigh Centurions 38 |Halifax 36
York City Knights 30 Doncaster Lakers 44
Oldham R.L.F.C. 18 Rochdale Hornets 22
Hull Kingston Rovers 42 Batley Bulldogs 8
Widnes Vikings 26 Whitehaven 12
Round 11
Doncaster Lakers 22 Leigh Centurions 34 |Halifax 14 Hull Kingston Rovers 38
Whitehaven 42 York City Knights 24
Round 12
Rochdale Hornets 28 Doncaster Lakers 30
Leigh Centurions 12 Whitehaven 22
York City Knights 24 |Halifax 37
Round 13
Rochdale Hornets 28 Leigh Centurions 29
Batley Bulldogs 12 Whitehaven 20 |Halifax 22 Widnes Vikings 42
Round 14
Oldham are relegated to National League 2 following their 14th defeat of the season. York look certain to join them.
Leigh Centurions 36 Hull Kingston Rovers 10
Whitehaven 22 Doncaster Lakers 12
Oldham R.L.F.C. 8 |Halifax 56
Round 15
Hull KR are very close to taking the league leadership into the play-offs. Widnes are now in second place and York cling to National One by their fingertips.
Widnes Vikings 32 Leigh Centurions 16
Hull Kingston Rovers 26 Rochdale Hornets 12 |Halifax 40 Doncaster Lakers 24
Batley Bulldogs 44 Oldham R.L.F.C. 16
York City Knights 28 Whitehaven 18
Round 16
York go down fighting with their second straight win.
Oldham R.L.F.C. 28 Widnes Vikings 78
Leigh Centurions 28 Batley Bulldogs 10
Rochdale Hornets 24 |Halifax 14
Round 17
Hull KR are confirmed as Minor Premiers and will have home advantage in the semi-final of the play-offs.
Oldham R.L.F.C. 12 Leigh Centurions 52
Batley Bulldogs 24 Hull Kingston Rovers 28 |Halifax 18 Whitehaven 26
Round 18
Leigh Centurions 60 York City Knights 16
Hull Kingston Rovers 30 Doncaster Lakers 22
Whitehaven 66 Oldham R.L.F.C. 4
Widnes Vikings 76 |Halifax 34
Play-offs
Elimination matches, 17 September
Leigh Centurions 22–23 Batley Bulldogs
Whitehaven 38–10 Rochdale Hornets
Semi-final, 24 September
Hull Kingston Rovers 29–22 Widnes Vikings
Elimination match, 24 September
Whitehaven 30–0 Batley Bulldogs
Semi-final, 1 October
Widnes Vikings 24–20 Whitehaven
Grand Final
National League One Grand Final, Sunday 8 October
National League Two
National League Two was won by Dewsbury Rams, who only sealed the title on the last day of the season. Runners-up Sheffield Eagles won the play-off final against Swinton, who won through the play-offs by beating Barrow Raiders, Featherstone Rovers and Celtic Crusaders, who they beat in rugby league's first ever golden point extra time.
Table
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | Pts for | Pts agst | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dewsbury Rams |
22 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 693 | 354 | 38 | Promoted to National League One |
| 2 | Sheffield Eagles |
22 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 808 | 390 | 36 | Play-off Semi Final |
| 3 |  Celtic Crusaders |
22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 730 | 387 | 29 | |
| 4 |  Featherstone Rovers |
22 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 596 | 504 | 29 | Elimination Finals |
| 5 |  Swinton Lions |
22 | 13 | 1 | 8 | 641 | 475 | 27 | |
| 6 |  Barrow Raiders |
22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 599 | 481 | 24 | |
| 7 |  Gateshead Thunder |
22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 547 | 540 | 22 | |
| 8 |  Workington Town |
22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 558 | 645 | 20 | |
| 9 |  London Skolars |
22 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 406 | 776 | 11 | |
| 10 |  Hunslet Hawks |
22 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 411 | 617 | 10 | |
| 11 |  Keighley Cougars |
22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 419 | 736 | 9 | |
| 12 |  Blackpool Panthers |
22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 350 | 853 | 9 | |
Round 1
Sheffield Eagles 44 Keighley Cougars 12
Featherstone Rovers 36 Gateshead Thunder 24
Workington Town 18 Celtic Crusaders 50
Swinton Lions 22 Barrow Raiders 20
London Skolars 30 Dewsbury Rams 34
Round 2
Dewsbury Rams 22 Keighley Cougars 16
Featherstone Rovers 30 Sheffield Eagles 56
Workington Town 30 Barrow Raiders 22
Celtic Crusaders 70 London Skolars 0
Round 3
Keighley Cougars 18 Hunslet Hawks 24
Sheffield Eagles 22 Celtic Crusaders 20
Barrow Raiders 26 Featherstone Rovers 24
London Skolars 24 Swinton Lions 38
Round 4
Keighley Cougars 34 Blackpool Panthers 24
Hunslet Hawks 20 London Skolars 16
Barrow Raiders 32 Celtic Crusaders 16
Swinton Lions 26 Gateshead Thunder 21
Round 5
Gateshead Thunder 38 Keighley Cougars 18
London Skolars 32 Barrow Raiders 34
Celtic Crusaders 36 Hunslet Hawks 16
Featherstone Rovers 16 Blackpool Panthers 6
Workington Town 23 Swinton Lions 18
Round 6
Sheffield Eagles 38 Gateshead Thunder 14
Keighley Cougars 30 Celtic Crusaders 30
Blackpool Panthers 12 London Skolars 30
Barrow Raiders 12 Swinton Lions 16
Hunslet Hawks 14 Featherstone Rovers 14
Workington Town 15 Dewsbury Rams 22
Round 7
Gateshead Thunder 16 Barrow Raiders 40
Celtic Crusaders 52 Blackpool Panthers 16
London Skolars 10 Sheffield Eagles 38
Swinton Lions 18 Dewsbury Rams 22
Round 8
Barrow Raiders 46 London Skolars 16
Dewsbury Rams 42 Celtic Crusaders 4
Blackpool Panthers 8 Swinton Lions 44
Sheffield Eagles 34 Hunslet Hawks 20
Round 9
Barrow Raiders 34 Workington Town 22
London Skolars 32 Blackpool Panthers 32
Celtic Crusaders 58 Keighley Cougars 18
Swinton Lions 54 Hunslet Hawks 22
Round 10
Sheffield Eagles 29 Barrow Raiders 8
Workington Town 28 Featherstone Rovers 26
Swinton Lions 18 Celtic Crusaders 50
Hunslet Hawks 45 Blackpool Panthers 22
Round 11
Celtic Crusaders 28 Sheffield Eagles 12
Barrow Raiders 17 Hunslet Hawks 16
Featherstone Rovers 27 Swinton Lions 24
Blackpool Panthers 22 Keighley Cougars 18
Round 12
Sheffield Eagles 44 Featherstone Rovers 28
Keighley Cougars 26 Barrow Raiders 18
Hunslet Hawks 12 Dewsbury Rams 42
Swinton Lions 46 Workington Town 30
Round 13
Barrow Raiders 12 Sheffield Eagles 32
Featherstone Rovers 50 Keighley Cougars 32
Workington Town 30 Hunslet Hawks 12
Dewsbury Rams 66 Blackpool Panthers 6
Round 14
Barrow Raiders 48 Gateshead Thunder 10
Swinton Lions 14 Sheffield Eagles 24
Featherstone Rovers 54 London Skolars 6
Keighley Cougars 12 Dewsbury Rams 36
Round 15
Celtic Crusaders 42 Barrow Raiders 12
Dewsbury Rams 27 Hunslet Hawks 20
Gateshead Thunder 36 Blackpool Panthers 38
London Skolars 31 Keighley Cougars 6
Round 16
Blackpool Panthers 0 Celtic Crusaders 52
Hunslet Hawks 24 Swinton Lions 24
Dewsbury Rams 36 Gateshead Thunder 8
Sheffield Eagles 46 London Skolars 0
Round 17
Celtic Crusaders 18 Dewsbury Rams 38
Gateshead Thunder 22 Featherstone Rovers 36
Sheffield Eagles 18 Swinton Lions 14
London Skolars 24 Hunslet Hawks 16
Round 18
Celtic Crusaders 22 Gateshead Thunder 26
Keighley Cougars 28 Swinton Lions 6
London Skolars 31 Featherstone Rovers 12
Hunslet Hawks 18 Workington Town 44
Blackpool Panthers 20 Sheffield Eagles 40
Dewsbury Rams 24 Barrow Raiders 14
Round 19
Gateshead Thunder 26 Hunslet Hawks 18
Workington Town 50 Keighley Cougars 18
Swinton Lions 58 London Skolars 12
Featherstone Rovers 11 Celtic Crusaders 10
Round 20
Dewsbury close in on automatic promotion but Sheffield keep chasing.
Blackpool Panthers 28 Featherstone Rovers 38
Hunslet Hawks 16 Barrow Raiders 36
Keighley Cougars 14 Sheffield Eagles 58
Dewsbury Rams 20 Swinton Lions 12
Round 21
Sheffield Eagles 52 Blackpool Panthers 0
Featherstone Rovers 34 Hunslet Hawks 24
Swinton Lions 54 Keighley Cougars 10
Barrow Raiders 26 Dewsbury Rams 28
Round 22
Dewsbury sealed automatic promotion to National League One with a comeback victory over Workington. The Sheffield Eagles finish second after their eleventh straight win.
Blackpool Panthers 4 Barrow Raiders 60
Celtic Crusaders 14 Featherstone Rovers 11
Dewsbury Rams 30 Workington Town 16
Gateshead Thunder 16 Swinton Lions 32
Play-offs
Elimination matches, 17 September
Featherstone Rovers 46–18 Gateshead Thunder
Swinton Lions 26–20 Barrow Raiders
Semi-final, 22 September
Sheffield Eagles 26–16 Celtic Crusaders
Elimination match, 24 September
Featherstone Rovers 14–27 Swinton Lions
Semi-final, 1 October
This game was the first rugby league match in the UK to be settled in golden point extra time. After 80 minutes the score was 26–26. After two periods of extra time (10 minutes each) there was no further score. Two minutes into the additional overtime Swinton's Chris Hough dropped a goal to seal it for Swinton.
National League Three
National League Three was won by Bramley Buffaloes, last year's losing finalists. The playoffs were initionally ment to involve the top 6 teams but Bradford Dudley Hill pulled out at the end of the regular season.
Table
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | Pts for | Pts agst | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bramley Buffaloes | 16 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 606 | 240 | 26 | Play-off Semi Finals |
| 2 | Hemel Stags | 16 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 582 | 328 | 24 | |
| 3 | Warrington Wizards | 16 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 624 | 338 | 22 | |
| 4 | St Albans Centurions | 16 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 462 | 274 | 19 | Elmination Final |
| 5 | Dewsbury Celtic | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 485 | 479 | 18 | |
| 6 | Bradford Dudley Hill* | 16 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 410 | 398 | 16 | |
| 7 | Underbank Rangers | 16 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 246 | 530 | 8 | |
| 8 | Gateshead Storm | 16 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 290 | 574 | 6 | |
| 9 | Featherstone Lions | 16 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 214 | 758 | 3 | |
- Hillsborough Hawks withdrew after playing two matches. These results were expunged.
- Bradford Dudley Hill withdrew from the play-offs.
Round 1
Underbank Rangers 10 Warrington Wizards 60
Dewsbury Celtic 13 Hemel Stags 36
Featherstone Lions 20 Bradford Dudley Hill 30
St Albans Centurions 28 Gateshead Storm 14
Round 2
St Albans Centurions 6 Bramley Buffaloes 10
Featherstone Lions 10 Warrington Wizards 82
Bradford Dudley Hill 34 Dewsbury Celtic 18
Gateshead Storm 16 Underbank Rangers 32
Round 3
Hemel Stags 34 Bradford Dudley Hill 20
Bramley Buffaloes 34 Underbank Rangers 14
Featherstone Lions 14 Gateshead Storm 44
Round 4
St Albans Centurions 48 Underbank Rangers 8
Bramley Buffaloes 76 Featherstone Lions 0
Gateshead Storm 36 Dewsbury Celtic 44
Round 5
Bradford Dudley Hill 18 Warrington Wizards 6
Featherstone Lions 10 St Albans Centurions 44
Dewsbury Celtic 18 Bramley Buffaloes 26
Hemel Stags 40 Gateshead Storm 30
Round 6
Bramley Buffaloes 20 Hemel Stags 24
Dewsbury Celtic 34 St Albans Centurions 24
Gateshead Storm 16 Bradford Dudley Hill 22
Underbank Rangers 22 Featherstone Lions 16
Round 7
Hemel Stags 20 St Albans Centurions 12
Dewsbury Celtic 52 Underbank Rangers 0
Gateshead Storm 10 Warrington Wizards 54
Bradford Dudley Hill 20 Bramley Buffaloes 22
Round 8
St Albans Centurions 42 Bradford Dudley Hill 10
Featherstone Lions 14 Dewsbury Celtic 14
Underbank Rangers 24 Hemel Stags 36
Round 9
Bradford Dudley Hill 34 Underbank Rangers 0
Bramley Buffaloes 70 Gateshead Storm 8
Warrington Wizards 36 St Albans Centurions 26
Hemel Stags 90 Featherstone Lions 14
Round 10
Hemel Stags 56 Dewsbury Celtic 0
Bradford Dudley Hill 56 Featherstone Lions 10
Gateshead Storm 4 St Albans Centurions 44
Warrington Wizards 50 Underbank Rangers 16
Round 11
Dewsbury Celtic 42 Bradford Dudley Hill 30
Warrington Wizards 48 Featherstone Lions 20
Bramley Buffaloes 16 St Albans Centurions 14
Underbank Rangers v Gateshead Storm – Postponed
Round 12
Bradford Dudley Hill 34 Hemel Stags 12
Warrington Wizards 36 Dewsbury Celtic 18
Underbank Rangers 12 Bramley Buffaloes 32
Gateshead Storm 26 Featherstone Lions 18
Round 13
Hemel Stags 24 Warrington Wizards 45
Dewsbury Celtic 50 Gateshead Storm 20
Underbank Rangers 10 St Albans Centurions 38
Featherstone Lions 8 Bramley Buffaloes 44
Round 14
Warrington Wizards 56 Bradford Dudley Hill 16
Gateshead Storm 6 Hemel Stags 48
St Albans Centurions 56 Featherstone Lions 28
Round 15
Bradford Dudley Hill 34 Gateshead Storm 36
Hemel Stags 12 Bramley Buffaloes 38
St Albans Centurions 26 Dewsbury Celtic 26
Featherstone Lions 10 Underbank Rangers 8
Round 16
Bramley Buffaloes 40 Bradford Dudley Hill 14
Warrington Wizards 24 Gateshead Storm 0
St Albans Centurions 22 Hemel Stags 6
Underbank Rangers 6 Dewsbury Celtic 32
Round 17
Bradford Dudley Hill 24 St Albans Centurions 0
Warrington Wizards 22 Bramley Buffaloes 14
Hemel Stags 58 Underbank Rangers 16
Dewsbury Celtic 66 Featherstone Lions 12
Round 18
Featherstone Lions 10 Hemel Stags 52
Gateshead Storm 24 Bramley Buffaloes 28
Underbank Rangers 44 Bradford Dudley Hill 14
Play-offs
Elimination match, 17 September. Bradford Dudley Hill withdrew from the play-offs.
St Albans Centurions 36–16 Dewsbury Celtic
Elimination match, 24 September
Warrington Wizards 30–12 St Albans Centurions
Semi-final, 24 September
Bramley Buffaloes 30–10 Hemel Stags
Semi-final, 1 October
