1986–87 Rugby Football League season
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The 1986–87 Rugby Football League season was the 92nd season of rugby league football. Sixteen clubs competed for the Championship which was determined by League position.
Second Division: 18
| 1986–87 Rugby Football League season | |
|---|---|
| League | Stones Bitter Championship |
| Teams | First Division: 16 Second Division: 18 |
| First Division | |
| Champions | Wigan (10th title) |
| Premiership winners | Wigan |
| Man of Steel Award |  Ellery Hanley |
| Top point-scorer | Paul Loughlin (424) |
| Top try-scorer | Ellery Hanley (63) |
| Promotion and relegation | |
| Promoted from Second Division | |
| Relegated to Second Division | |
| Second Division | |
| Champions | Hunslet |
| Runners-up | Swinton |
| Top try-scorer | Derek Bate (31) |
Season summary
Stones Bitter League Champions were Wigan for the tenth time in their history, losing only two league games all season - both to Warrington. Oldham, Featherstone Rovers, Barrow and Wakefield Trinity were relegated. A one-off 'two-up, four-down' promotion was used to reduce the top division to 14 clubs.
A complicated fixture formula was introduced in the Second Division and continued until the 1991–92 season.[1] 2nd Division Champions were Hunslet, and Swinton were also promoted.
A Premiership competition for Second Division teams was introduced for the first time. The structure was the same as the existing First Division Premiership, with the teams in the top eight league positions qualifying for an end-of-season knockout tournament. The finals of both competitions were played on the same day as a double header at Old Trafford.
First Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PP | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wigan (C) | 30 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 941 | 193 | 487.6 | 56 | Qualification for Premiership first round |
| 2 | St Helens | 30 | 20 | 1 | 9 | 835 | 465 | 179.6 | 41 | |
| 3 | Warrington | 30 | 20 | 1 | 9 | 728 | 464 | 156.9 | 41 | |
| 4 | Castleford | 30 | 20 | 0 | 10 | 631 | 429 | 147.1 | 40 | |
| 5 | Halifax | 30 | 17 | 1 | 12 | 553 | 487 | 113.6 | 35 | |
| 6 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 30 | 16 | 0 | 14 | 446 | 531 | 84.0 | 32 | |
| 7 | Bradford Northern | 30 | 15 | 1 | 14 | 555 | 550 | 100.9 | 31 | |
| 8 | Widnes | 30 | 14 | 0 | 16 | 598 | 613 | 97.6 | 28 | |
| 9 | Salford | 30 | 14 | 0 | 16 | 509 | 656 | 77.6 | 28 | |
| 10 | Leigh | 30 | 13 | 1 | 16 | 549 | 610 | 90.0 | 27 | |
| 11 | Hull | 30 | 13 | 1 | 16 | 538 | 650 | 82.8 | 27 | |
| 12 | Leeds | 30 | 13 | 0 | 17 | 565 | 571 | 98.9 | 26 | |
| 13 | Oldham (R) | 30 | 13 | 0 | 17 | 554 | 679 | 81.6 | 26 | Relegated |
| 14 | Featherstone Rovers (R) | 30 | 8 | 1 | 21 | 498 | 776 | 64.2 | 17 | |
| 15 | Barrow (R) | 30 | 7 | 2 | 21 | 456 | 725 | 62.9 | 16 | |
| 16 | Wakefield Trinity (R) | 30 | 4 | 1 | 25 | 386 | 943 | 40.9 | 9 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points scored percentage (points scored divided by points conceded)
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Second Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PP | Pts | Promotion or qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hunslet (C, P) | 28 | 25 | 0 | 3 | 722 | 218 | 331.2 | 50 | Promotion to First Division Qualification for Divisional Premiership first round |
| 2 | Swinton (P) | 28 | 23 | 1 | 4 | 713 | 323 | 220.7 | 47 | |
| 3 | Whitehaven | 28 | 21 | 1 | 6 | 577 | 304 | 189.8 | 43 | Qualification for Divisional Premiership first round |
| 4 | Doncaster | 28 | 20 | 1 | 7 | 586 | 388 | 151.0 | 41 | |
| 5 | Rochdale Hornets | 28 | 19 | 1 | 8 | 519 | 369 | 140.7 | 39 | |
| 6 | Sheffield Eagles | 28 | 17 | 0 | 11 | 625 | 426 | 146.7 | 34 | |
| 7 | Bramley | 28 | 16 | 0 | 12 | 407 | 440 | 92.5 | 32 | |
| 8 | Carlisle | 28 | 15 | 1 | 12 | 463 | 446 | 103.8 | 31 | |
| 9 | Blackpool Borough | 28 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 530 | 477 | 111.1 | 28 | |
| 10 | York | 28 | 11 | 0 | 17 | 492 | 537 | 91.6 | 22 | |
| 11 | Runcorn Highfield | 28 | 10 | 1 | 17 | 391 | 533 | 73.4 | 21 | |
| 12 | Fulham | 28 | 8 | 2 | 18 | 461 | 632 | 72.9 | 18 | |
| 13 | Batley | 28 | 9 | 0 | 19 | 335 | 528 | 63.4 | 18 | |
| 14 | Workington Town | 28 | 9 | 0 | 19 | 405 | 652 | 62.1 | 18 | |
| 15 | Huddersfield Barracudas | 28 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 456 | 673 | 67.8 | 16 | |
| 16 | Mansfield Marksman | 28 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 366 | 592 | 61.8 | 16 | |
| 17 | Dewsbury | 28 | 8 | 0 | 20 | 328 | 563 | 58.3 | 16 | |
| 18 | Keighley | 28 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 366 | 641 | 57.1 | 14 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points scored percentage (points scored divided by points conceded)
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted