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2001 Super League season

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(Redirected from Super League VI)
Super League VI
LeagueSuper League
Duration28 Rounds
Teams12[1]
Highest attendance21,073
Wigan Warriors vs St. Helens (13 April)
Lowest attendance1,800
London Broncos vs Huddersfield Giants (26 Aug)
Broadcast partnersSky Sports
2001 Season
ChampionsBradford Bulls
2nd Super League title
4th British title
League LeadersBradford Bulls
Man of SteelEngland Paul Sculthorpe
Top point-scorer(s)England Andrew Farrell (388)
Top try-scorer(s)England Kris Radlinski (27)
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from Northern PremiershipWidnes Vikings
Relegated to Northern PremiershipHuddersfield Giants

Tetley's Super League VI was the official name for the year 2001's Super League championship season, the 107th season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the sixth championship run by the Super League. The season began on the first weekend in March and culminated after twenty-eight rounds in a six-game playoff series, involving the top 5 teams.

Rule changes

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  • 20 metre restarts should be allowed to happen quickly and not be delayed by referees.[2]
  • The first and second halves will now end the moment that the hooter sounds, in the past referees could use their discretion to let play continue if they felt the siren had sounded in during play.[2]

Refereeing focus

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The play-the-ball was to be more strictly refereed:

  • Penalising those teams that attempt to delay or interfere with the tackled player.[2] Following a pre-season meeting with coaches the RFL's director of rugby, Greg McCallum, identified the following delaying tactics that would be monitored for:[2]
    • "Flopping" onto the player tackled or pushing them down in a "second effort".[2]
    • Straddling the tackled player.[2]
    • Pulling at the tackled player's leg as they get to their feet.[2]
    • Making contact with the ball in the tackled player's arms.[2]
    • Putting a hand on the shoulders or head of the tackled player.[2]
    • Deliberately knocking into ball-carriers at play-the-ball.[2]
  • Team-mates of tackled players should not attempt to manhandle tacklers off the player in possession.[2]
  • Attacking players must make at least an attempt to play the ball correctly with the foot.[2]
  • Players "milking" penalties would be punished.[2]

Rule deviation

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  • The Rugby Football League opted to retain their existing substitution system of six changes from four available substitutes but allowing unlimited use of the blood bin.[2] This put British rugby league at odds with international interchange rules and impacted preparation for international competitions.[2]

Operational rules

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  • Match commissioners were introduced by the League as a first point of contact for clubs that wish to raise and issue resulting from a match.[2] The introduction of this system follows a successful trial during the 2000 World Cup.[2]

Table

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Bradford Bulls (L, C) 28 22 1 5 1120 474 +646 45 Semi Final
2 Wigan Warriors 28 22 1 5 989 494 +495 45 Qualifying play-off
3 Hull F.C. 28 20 2 6 772 630 +142 42
4 St Helens 28 17 2 9 924 732 +192 36 Elimination play-off
5 Leeds Rhinos 28 16 1 11 774 721 +53 33
6 London Broncos 28 13 1 14 644 603 +41 27
7 Warrington Wolves 28 11 2 15 646 860 −214 24
8 Castleford Tigers 28 10 1 17 581 777 −196 21
9 Halifax Blue Sox 28 9 0 19 630 819 −189 18
10 Salford City Reds 28 8 0 20 587 956 −369 16
11 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 28 8 0 20 529 817 −288 14[a]
12 Huddersfield Giants (R) 28 6 1 21 613 926 −313 13 Relegation to Northern Ford Premiership
Source: Rugby League Project
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (L) League Leaders; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Wakefield deducted 2 points for salary cap breaches.[3]

Play-offs

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Wigan vs St Helens in the preliminary final

Grand Final

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Main article: 2001 Super League Grand Final

The Grand Final, played on October 13 at Old Trafford, was won by Bradford Bulls who defeated Wigan Warriors to become champions. This was legendary Australian centre Steve Renouf's last game of top-level football before retirement.

References

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  1. ^ "Super League Team-by-team guide". telegraph.co.uk. UK: Telegraph Media Group Limited. 1 March 2001. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q BBC Sport (2001-03-02). "Super League rules revamp". BBC. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  3. ^ "Champions lose points". BBC Sport. 29 May 2003. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
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