2024 Betfred Championship
Teams14
2024 season

The 2024 RFL Championship, (officially known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons), is a professional rugby league club competition. The second tier of the British rugby league system comprises 14 clubs – 13 from England and one from France.

The season comprises 26 rounds in the regular season with the top six teams taking part in the play-offs to determine the champions.

Team changes

London Broncos won promotion to the Super League at the end of 2023 and are replaced by Wakefield Trinity who were relegated from Super League. Promoted from League 1 in 2023 are Dewsbury Rams and Doncaster who replace the 2023 relegated teams, Keighley Cougars and Newcastle Thunder.

Structure changes

There is no automatic promotion from the Championship to Super League at the end of the season. This is due to the introduction of the grading scheme where clubs are graded by a number of factors, not all based on on-field performance.[1]

Promotion and relegation on a 2-up, 2-down basis remains between the Championship and League 1 but a review of the league structure during 2024 may change this.[2]

The Summer Bash round which sees all the fixtures played at one location over a weekend has been dropped for 2024 following disappointing attendance figures for the 2022 and 2023 events which were played in Leeds and York respectively.[2]

Rule changes

A number of changes have been introduced for 2024.[3]

The "six again" rule has been amended so that set restarts will only be awarded if the ball is in the defending team's half of the field. Infringements in the attacking team's half will result in a penalty to the attacking team.

The use of the 18th man will be allowed after two players (reduced from three) have failed head impact assessments or a player is unable to continue through injury (not just a head injury) resulting from foul play where the opposing player was sin-binned or sent-off. The use of the green card by the referee ordering injured players off the field for treatment will be discontinued in the Championship.

A team awarded a penalty at a scrum will have the option to reset the scrum instead of taking the penalty.

For disciplinary processes a category of "reckless tackle" has been introduced.[4]

Clubs

Locations of English teams competing in the 2024 Championship.
Locations of the 2024 RFL Championship teams in West Yorkshire
Locations of 2024 RFL Championship teams in France
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Barrow Raiders Barrow-in-Furness Matt Johnson Prestige Stadium 6,000
Batley Bulldogs Batley Mount Pleasant 7,500
Bradford Bulls Bradford Odsal Stadium 22,000
Dewsbury Rams Dewsbury Crown Flatt 5,100
Doncaster Doncaster Eco-Power Stadium 15,231
Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Millennium Stadium 8,000
Halifax Panthers Halifax The Shay 10,401
Sheffield Eagles Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park 1,320
Swinton Lions Sale Heywood Road 3,387
Toulouse Olympique Toulouse Stade Ernest-Wallon 19,500
Wakefield Trinity Wakefield The Be Well Support Stadium 9,333
Whitehaven Whitehaven Recreation Ground 7,500
Widnes Vikings Widnes DCBL Stadium 13,350
York Knights York York Community Stadium 8,005

Results

Table

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Barrow Raiders 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 League Leaders Shield and qualify for semi-finals
2 Batley Bulldogs 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Semi-finals
3 Bradford Bulls 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Eliminators
4 Dewsbury Rams 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 Doncaster 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
6 Featherstone Rovers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Halifax Panthers 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
8 Sheffield Eagles 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 Swinton Lions 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
10 Toulouse Olympique 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Wakefield Trinity 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
12 Whitehaven 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
13 Widnes Vikings 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Relegation to League One
14 York Knights 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First match(es) will be played: TBC. Source: RFL
Rules for classification: 1) Competition points; 2) Points difference; 3) Points percentage (points scored/points conceded x 100)

Broadcasting

The two-year deal with Viaplay expired at the end of the 2023 season. As of November 2023 no new deal has been arranged with any provider.

References

  1. ↑ "First IMG gradings revealed as clubs learn fate; Leeds Rhinos lead the way, Super League outfit appeal verdict". LoveRugbyLeague. 25 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 Walker, Callum (3 November 2023). "Championship Summer Bash set to be scrapped as clubs learn structure fate". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  3. ↑ "Five law changes approved by the RFL ahead of 2024 season including 'Six Again' rule, 18th man, 'Reckless' tackles". LoveRugbyLeague. 24 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
  4. ↑ "Head injury assessment laws among RFL board tweaks". BBC Sport. 24 November 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2023.
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