History of the RL Merit League
The RL Merit League Sponsored by Kukri Sports, formerly the Midlands Merit League, is a summer rugby league tournament in England. It is a feeder league to the Rugby League Conference.
History
The league was founded as the Midlands Merit League in late 2005 to support the growth of rugby league in non-heartland areas. Originally intended as a stand-alone league, support from the Rugby Football League meant that it could be administered as part of the Rugby League Conference set-up. Interest quickly gathered with 13 teams showing an interest in participating in the inaugural season - 8 eventually participated. The first ever game took place on April 8th 2006 at All Saints Sports College, Sheffield, where the Sheffield Forgers beat the Chesterfield Spires by 58 points to 8.
The first cross-league fixture was played in June 2007 when Nottingham Outlaws Academy visited Northampton Casuals of the London League. They also played a return fixture in July.
The 2007 season saw the introduction of an informal under-15 league based on Merit League principles. In 2008 the junior competition featured under-14 and under-16 divisions.
The league was renamed Rugby League Merit League (RLML) for the 2008 season due to its increased geographical spread with teams from the North of England taking part. 2009 saw the largest ever entry, with over 30 teams split into two leagues; "Yorkshire and Humber" and "North West" with the Midlands Rugby League becoming its own competition using Merit League rules.
Season 2006
The 2006 competition operated on a merit table basis with teams organizing fixtures amongst themselves. The first fixtures were in April, with the final date for games to be included in the league table being Sunday 13th August.
The Grand Final for 2006 was held between the top two teams in the table on Sunday 13th August and took place a week later at Hillsborough Arena, home of the Sheffield Hillsborough Hawks. The final table (August 13th) was as follows:
Position |
Club |
Played |
H-Win |
H-Draw |
A-Win |
A-Draw |
Lost |
Def. |
Pts For |
Pts Agst |
Pair |
Long |
Points |
Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
7 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
386 |
100 |
3 |
2 |
23 |
3.28571 |
|
2 |
Nottingham Outlaws 'A' |
7 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
320 |
103 |
3 |
1 |
19 |
2.7143 |
3 |
East Riding RLC |
10 |
3 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
320 |
164 |
4 |
2 |
24 |
2.4 |
4 |
Scunthorpe Braves |
8 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
274 |
238 |
2 |
2 |
16 |
2.0 |
5 |
Telford Trojans |
6 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
149 |
232 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
1.0 |
6 |
Sheffield Forgers |
8 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
0 |
158 |
432 |
3 |
1 |
5 |
0.75 |
7 |
Chesterfield Spires |
10 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
150 |
496 |
3 |
1 |
7 |
0.7 |
8 |
Lincoln City Knights 'A' |
4 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
94 |
86 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
1.0 |
In the Grand Final South Humber Rabbitohs beat the Nottingham Outlaws by 42 points to 18 and became the inaugural champions.
Season 2007
The 2007 season followed the previous year's format, but 2007 also included play-offs and a Shield competition. The regular season closed at the end of July with the play-offs in August culminating in Finals day on August 18th.
The Grand Final for 2007 was held between St Helens Wild Boars and the German Exiles on Saturday 18th August at Dore Moor, home of the Sheffield Tigers Rugby Union Club and was won 46-22 by the Wild Boars. The inaugural Shield Final, on the same day, was between East Riding RLC and the Nottingham Outlaws Academy and was won by East Riding by 32-26. These teams came through the play-off system to reach the final.
The final table (July 29th) was as follows:
Position |
Club |
Played |
H-Win |
H-Draw |
A-Win |
A-Draw |
Lost |
Def. |
Pts For |
Pts Agst |
Pair |
Long |
Points |
Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
St Helens Wild Boars |
6 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
276 |
78 |
2 |
4 |
22 |
3.6666 |
2 |
Sheffield Forgers |
10 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
532 |
98 |
3 |
3 |
30 |
3.0 |
3 |
German Exiles |
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
206 |
73 |
1 |
2 |
12 |
3.0 |
4 |
Nottingham Outlaws 'A' |
6 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
240 |
146 |
2 |
3 |
15 |
2.5 |
5 |
East Riding RLC |
6 |
1 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
214 |
144 |
2 |
2 |
12 |
2.0 |
6 |
Shropshire Scorpions |
9 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
223 |
246 |
2 |
2 |
13 |
1.4444 |
7 |
Chesterfield Spires |
8 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
202 |
340 |
3 |
1 |
10 |
1.25 |
8 |
Barton Bulldogs |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
58 |
254 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
1.0 |
9 |
Wolverhampton Warlords |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
0 |
100 |
334 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
0.8 |
10 |
Crewe & Nantwich Steamers |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
14 |
64 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1.0 |
11 |
Leeds Akkies 'B' |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
58 |
148 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
12 |
South Humber Rabbitohs 'A' |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
36 |
40 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
13 |
Scunthorpe Barbarians 'A' |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
38 |
136 |
0 |
0 |
-1 |
-0.3333 |
Play-offs:
Championship semi-final
Sheffield Forgers 24-25 German Exiles
Shield
Chesterfield Spires 40-34 Barton Bulldogs
Nottingham Outlaws Academy 56-4 Shropshire Scorpions East Riding RLC 64-6 Chesterfield Spires
FINALS:
St Helens Wild Boars 46-22 German Exiles
Shield: Nottingham Outlaws Academy 26-32 East Riding RLC
Season 2008
The Grand Final for 2008 was held on Sunday 17th August at The Sycamores, home of Leeds Akkies RLFC.
The final table (July 27th) was as follows:
Position |
Club |
Played |
Won |
Drawn |
Lost |
Def. |
Pts For |
Pts Agst |
Long |
Points |
Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Moorends-Thorne Marauders 'A' |
8 |
7 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
350 |
116 |
1 |
23 |
2.88 |
2 |
Nottingham Outlaws 'A' |
8 |
7 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
286 |
178 |
1 |
23 |
2.88 |
3 |
Wigan Riversiders |
12 |
10 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
542 |
210 |
2 |
34 |
2.83 |
4 |
Sheffield Forgers 'A' |
11 |
9 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
432 |
294 |
0 |
29 |
2.64 |
5 |
Birmingham Bulldogs 'A' |
10 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
306 |
269 |
1 |
23 |
2.30 |
6 |
South Humber Rabbitohs |
11 |
6 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
338 |
324 |
1 |
23 |
2.09 |
7 |
German Exiles |
6 |
3 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
234 |
152 |
0 |
12 |
2.00 |
8 |
Crewe & Nantwich Steamers |
9 |
4 |
0 |
4 |
1 |
230 |
282 |
1 |
16 |
1.77 |
9 |
North Derbyshire Chargers |
11 |
2 |
0 |
8 |
1 |
293 |
410 |
1 |
15 |
1.44 |
10 |
Chester Gladiators |
5 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
84 |
204 |
3 |
10 |
2.00 |
11 |
Wolverhampton Warlords |
4 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
80 |
138 |
1 |
7 |
1.75 |
12 |
Telford Raiders 'A' |
4 |
1 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
94 |
184 |
1 |
7 |
1.75 |
13 |
East Riding 'A' |
5 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
132 |
158 |
0 |
8 |
1.60 |
14 |
Barton Bulldogs |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
28 |
148 |
0 |
3 |
1.00 |
15 |
Redditch Ravens 'A' |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
16 |
24 |
0 |
1 |
1.00 |
16 |
Scarborough Pirates 'A' |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
36 |
0 |
1 |
1.00 |
17 |
Scunthorpe Barbarians 'A' |
7 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
2 |
66 |
320 |
0 |
5 |
0.71 |
Play-offs:
Championship semi-finals
Moorends-Thorne Marauders 'A' 44 Sheffield Forgers 22
Nottingham Outlaws 4 Wigan Riversiders 48
Shield semi-finals
Nottingham 30 German Exiles 24
Sheffield 36 Birmingham Bulldogs 24
FINALS: Sunday, August 17th 2008
GRAND FINAL: Moorends-Thorne Marauders 'A' 28 Wigan Riversiders 18
SHIELD: Nottingham Outlaws 34 Sheffield Forgers 32