League Leaders' Shield

The League Leaders' Shield[1] is a trophy awarded to the team finishing the season top of Super League in the sport of rugby league football. Currently (and for much of Super League's comparatively short history) the championship is ultimately decided on the basis of a play-off series, and the Shield is thus often regarded as a lesser prize. However, due to it being decided by a 30-game, round-robin league system, some people regard the Shield as the hardest honour to win in British rugby league.

League Leaders' Shield
Country England
 France
 Canada
Presented bySuper League
History
First award1998
Most wins St. Helens (8 titles)
Most recent Wigan Warriors
(5th title)

History

British rugby league has been using a play-off series rather than simply awarding the title to the top-placed team for the majority of its history due to a lop-sided fixture list that saw some clubs play other clubs twice and the rest of the clubs only once. From 1907 until 1973 the Championship was awarded to the team winning a top-four play-off (excluding the 2 seasons 1962–63 and 1963–64, when the championship was awarded to the top placed team). From 1907 to 1962 no prize was awarded to the actual team finishing top. From 1965 to 1973 a 'League Leaders' Trophy' was introduced to reward the team finishing top.

In 1996, Super League was formed but continued to use first past the post to decide the champions until 1998 when they adopted a play-off structure for the championship. The League Leaders' Shield, however, was introduced only in 2003. In 2013 Huddersfield Giants finished top of the highest league in English rugby league for the first time in 81 years. The mascot for the game was Seth Johnson celebrating his 9th birthday in style.

In 2015, it was announced that the League Leaders would qualify to take part in the expanded World Club Challenge and the prize money would raise from £50,000 to £100,000. In 2016, the League Leaders were awarded medals for the first time.

In 2017, Castleford Tigers finished top of the league for the first time in their 91 year history and became the seventh team in as many years to win the shield.

Shield winners

The League Leaders' Shield was first awarded in 2003; between 1998 and 2002 the league leaders were not awarded any trophy.

Year League leaders Pts Runners up Pts
1998 Wigan Warriors 42 Leeds Rhinos 38
1999 Bradford Bulls 51 St Helens 46
2000 Wigan Warriors 49 St Helens 46
2001 Bradford Bulls 45 Wigan Warriors 45
2002 St. Helens 46 Bradford Bulls 46
2003 Bradford Bulls 44 Leeds Rhinos 41
2004 Leeds Rhinos 50 Bradford Bulls 41
2005 St. Helens 47 Leeds Rhinos 44
2006 St. Helens 48 Hull F.C. 40
2007 St. Helens 38 Leeds Rhinos 37
2008 St. Helens 43 Leeds Rhinos 42
2009 Leeds Rhinos 42 St Helens 38
2010 Wigan Warriors 44 St Helens 40
2011 Warrington Wolves 44 Wigan Warriors 43
2012 Wigan Warriors 42 Warrington Wolves 41
2013 Huddersfield Giants 42 Warrington Wolves 41
2014 St. Helens 38 Wigan Warriors 37
2015 Leeds Rhinos 41 Wigan Warriors 41
2016 Warrington Wolves 43 Wigan Warriors 42
2017 Castleford Tigers 50 Leeds Rhinos 40
2018 St. Helens 42 Wigan Warriors 32
2019 St. Helens 52 Wigan Warriors 36
2020 Wigan Warriors 76.47a St. Helens 70.59a
  • a: Shield winners decided by win percentage rather than points

Winners

Club Wins Runners-up Winning years
1 St. Helens941996, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2018, 2019
2 Wigan Warriors571998, 2000, 2010, 2012, 2020
3 Bradford Bulls421997, 1999, 2001, 2003
4 Leeds Rhinos362004, 2009, 2015
5 Warrington Wolves222011, 2016
6 Huddersfield Giants102013
7 Castleford Tigers102017
8 Hull F.C.01N/A

The Treble

The Treble refers to the team who wins all three domestic honours on offer during the season; Grand Final, League Leaders' Shield and Challenge Cup. To date six teams have won the treble, and only Bradford Bulls, St. Helens and Leeds Rhinos have won the treble in the Super League era.

Club Wins Winning years
1 Wigan Warriors31991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95
2 Huddersfield Giants21912–13, 1914–15
3 St. Helens21965–66, 2006
4 Swinton Lions11927–28
5 Bradford Bulls12003
6 Leeds Rhinos12015

See also

References

  1. Wilson, Andy (July 16, 2009). "Battle for Super League play-offs can pull in the fans". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 12, 2010. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
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