The League Leaders' Shield[2] is a trophy awarded to the team finishing the season top of Super League in the sport of rugby league football. This regular portion of the season precedes the playoffs for the eventual Super League Grand Final. The trophy was first awarded in Super League VII in 2002.[1]
St Helens won the first shield in 2002, and have since won the shield on a total of 9 occasions.
Wigan Warriors become only the 2nd team (along with St Helens), to retain the shield.
History
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 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 the league to decide the champions until 1998, when they adopted a play-off structure for the championship. Between 1998 and 2001 no trophy was awarded for coming top of the league in the regular season, and it would not be until the 2002 season when the League Leaders' Shield was first awarded.
From 2015 to 2017, League Leaders' Shield winners would participate in the short lived World Club Series. 2015 also saw the prize money increase from £50,000 to £100,000.
In 2016, the League Leaders were awarded medals for the first time.
^Wigan have a widly misreported quadruple in 1994–95[4][5] with the club winning the treble in addition to the 1994–95 Regal Trophy. Note: No World Club Challenge was held in 1995 as it didn't become a regular competition until 2000.
^This is the first widly reported quadruple to include the calendar year's World Club Challenge and not the following season's.[6] Note: The 2025 World Club Challenge was abandoned by Penrith Panthers, although no title was awarded for 2025, Wigan, without challenge, would retain their title for a second year.[7]
