2005 Super League season

Super League X
LeagueSuper League
Duration28 Rounds
Teams12
Highest attendance25,004
Wigan Warriors vs St. Helens (25 March)
Lowest attendance2,682
Salford City Reds vs Huddersfield Giants (2 July)
Attendance1,492,464 Increase
(average 8,884)
Broadcast partnersSky Sports
2005 Season
ChampionsBradford Bulls
4th Super League title
6th British title
League LeadersSt. Helens
Man of SteelAustralia Jamie Lyon
Top point-scorer(s)England Paul Deacon (322)
Top try-scorer(s)England Mark Calderwood (27)
New franchise
Awarded toCatalans Dragons
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from National League OneCastleford Tigers
Relegated to National League OneLeigh Centurions
Widnes Vikings

Super League X is the official name of 2005's Super League season. It was the 10th season of the Super League and saw twelve teams from across England compete for the premiership. The season kicked off in early February, culminating in a six team play-off series

The Grand Final, held at Old Trafford on 15 October, saw Bradford Bulls crowned Champions. The Grand Final was the final match of a which itself was the climax of a league season that kicked off in early February.

Season summary

Either one or two teams were to be relegated from the league at the end of the season in order to make way for new entrants. The bottom team were certain to be relegated, in order to allow in French club Catalans Dragons. The second bottom team would only be relegated if the winner of National League One met the criteria for Super League entry. On the 3 October the Rugby Football League announced that both finalists in this competition, Castleford Tigers and Whitehaven were eligible for promotion, hence two teams were relegated.

The season was a commercial success, with a rise in average crowd size for the regular rounds of 8,887, continuing the trend of rises every year since 2001.[1] This is the first time in the history of Super League the Grand Final has not included the league leader at the end of the regular season: St Helens were knocked out by Bradford Bulls in the semi-final.

Table

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 St Helens (L) 28 23 1 4 1028 537 +491 47 Semi Final
2 Leeds Rhinos 28 22 0 6 1152 505 +647 44
3 Bradford Bulls (C) 28 18 1 9 1038 684 +354 37 Elimination Semi Final
4 Warrington Wolves 28 18 0 10 792 702 +90 36
5 Hull F.C. 28 15 2 11 756 670 +86 32
6 London Broncos 28 13 2 13 800 718 +82 28
7 Wigan Warriors 28 14 0 14 698 718 −20 28
8 Huddersfield Giants 28 12 0 16 742 791 −49 24
9 Salford City Reds 28 11 0 17 549 732 −183 22
10 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 28 10 0 18 716 999 −283 20
11 Widnes Vikings (R) 28 6 1 21 598 1048 −450 13 Relegation to National League One
12 Leigh Centurions (R) 28 2 1 25 445 1210 −765 5
Source: Rugby League Project
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (L) League Leaders' Shield Winners; (R) Relegated

Play-off

Elimination play-offsQualifying / elimination semi-finalsElimination finalGrand Final
1 St. Helens16 Leeds Rhinos6
2 Leeds Rhinos19 Bradford Bulls15
St. Helens18
3 Bradford Bulls44
Bradford Bulls23
6 London Broncos22
Bradford Bulls71
Hull F.C.0
4 Warrington Wolves6
5 Hull F.C.40

Grand final

  • 15 October: Leeds Rhinos 6-15 Bradford Bulls

2005 Transfers

Players

Player 2004 Club 2005 Club
Paul Anderson Bradford Bulls St. Helens
Toa Kohe-Love Bradford Bulls Warrington Wolves
Logan Swann Bradford Bulls Warrington Wolves
Tevita Vaikona Bradford Bulls Saracens F.C. (English rugby union)
Ryan Clayton Castleford Tigers Huddersfield Giants
Damian Gibson Castleford Tigers Halifax (National League One)
Wayne Godwin Castleford Tigers Wigan Warriors
Craig Greenhill Castleford Tigers Retirement
Lee Harland Castleford Tigers Doncaster Dragons (National League One)
Paul Jackson Castleford Tigers Huddersfield Giants
Andy Lynch Castleford Tigers Bradford Bulls
Paul Mellor Castleford Tigers NRL: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
Paul Newlove Castleford Tigers Retirement
Sean Ryan Castleford Tigers Retirement
Tommy Saxton Castleford Tigers Hull F.C.
Ryan Sheridan Castleford Tigers Retirement
Michael Smith Castleford Tigers Hull Kingston Rovers (National League One)
Nathan Sykes Castleford Tigers Featherstone Rovers (National League One)
Jamie Thackray Castleford Tigers Hull F.C.
Mark Tookey Castleford Tigers London Broncos
Ben Cooper Huddersfield Giants Leigh Centurions
Brandon Costin Huddersfield Giants Retirement
Darren Fleary Huddersfield Giants Leigh Centurions
Darren Turner Huddersfield Giants Retirement
Richie Barnett Hull F.C. Retirement
Colin Best Hull F.C. NRL: St. George Illawarra Dragons
Jason Smith Hull F.C. NRL: Canberra Raiders
Matt Adamson Leeds Rhinos NRL: Canberra Raiders
David Furner Leeds Rhinos Retirement
Russell Bawden London Broncos Retirement
Jim Dymock London Broncos Retirement
Rob Jackson London Broncos Leigh Centurions
Dennis Moran London Broncos Wigan Warriors
Steele Retchless London Broncos Retirement
Nigel Roy London Broncos Retirement
Mat Toshack London Broncos Retirement
Joel Caine Salford City Reds Retirement
Gavin Clinch Salford City Reds Retirement
Jason Flowers Salford City Reds Retirement
Martin Moana Salford City Reds Doncaster Dragons (National League One)
Scott Naylor Salford City Reds Retirement
Martin Gleeson St. Helens Warrington Wolves
Chris Joynt St. Helens Retirement
John Stankevitch St. Helens Widnes Vikings
Gareth Ellis Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Leeds Rhinos
Darren Burns Warrington Wolves Retirement
Mike Forshaw Warrington Wolves Retirement
Jérôme Guisset Warrington Wolves Wigan Warriors
Gary Hulse Warrington Wolves Widnes Vikings
Ian Sibbit Warrington Wolves Salford City Reds
Paul Atcheson Widnes Vikings Retirement
Deon Bird Widnes Vikings Castleford Tigers (National League One)
Andy Hay Widnes Vikings Doncaster Dragons (National League One)
Steve McCurrie Widnes Vikings Leigh Centurions
Robert Relf Widnes Vikings Retirement
Mick Cassidy Wigan Warriors Widnes Vikings
Gary Connolly Wigan Warriors Widnes Vikings
Andy Farrell Wigan Warriors Saracens F.C. (English rugby union)
David Hodgson Wigan Warriors Salford City Reds
Adrian Lam Wigan Warriors Retirement
Terry O'Connor Wigan Warriors Widnes Vikings
Quentin Pongia Wigan Warriors Retirement
Luke Robinson Wigan Warriors Salford City Reds
Craig Smith Wigan Warriors NRL: Newcastle Knights
Mark Smith Wigan Warriors Widnes Vikings
Michael De Vere NRL: Brisbane Broncos Huddersfield Giants
Brad Meyers NRL: Brisbane Broncos Bradford Bulls
Brad Drew NRL: Canberra Raiders Huddersfield Giants
Mark McLinden NRL: Canberra Raiders London Broncos
Ben Harris NRL: Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Bradford Bulls
Jason Kent NRL: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Leigh Centurions
Nick Bradley-Qalilawa NRL: Manly Warringah Sea Eagles London Broncos
Solomon Haumono NRL: Manly Warringah Sea Eagles London Broncos
Stephen Kearney NRL: Melbourne Storm Hull F.C.
Danny Williams NRL: Melbourne Storm London Broncos
Vinnie Anderson NRL: New Zealand Warriors St. Helens
Henry Fa'afili NRL: New Zealand Warriors Warrington Wolves
Jerry Seuseu NRL: New Zealand Warriors Wigan Warriors
Lee Hopkins NRL: Parramatta Eels London Broncos
Junior Langi NRL: Parramatta Eels Salford City Reds
Jamie Lyon NRL: Parramatta Eels St. Helens
Craig Stapleton NRL: Parramatta Eels Leigh Centurions
Chris Thorman NRL: Parramatta Eels Huddersfield Giants
David Vaealiki NRL: Parramatta Eels Wigan Warriors
Owen Craigie NRL: South Sydney Rabbitohs Widnes Vikings
Brad Watts NRL: South Sydney Rabbitohs Widnes Vikings
Nathan Blacklock NRL: St. George Illawarra Dragons Hull F.C.
Luke Dorn NRL: Sydney Roosters London Broncos
Robert Mears NRL: Wests Tigers Leigh Centurions
Jason Ferris N/A Leigh Centurions

References

  1. ^ "engage Super League sets attendance record". Archived from the original on 2007-03-13.