1996 RFL Division One
British rugby league championship
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The 1996 Division One Championship season was the second tier of British rugby league during the 1996 season, and was also the first season of rugby league to be played in the summer.[1] The competition featured all eleven teams from the 1995–96 Rugby Football League season.
| RFL Division One | |
|---|---|
| League | Rugby Football League Division One |
| Duration | 20 Rounds |
| Teams | 11 |
| 1996 Season | |
| Divisional Premiership winners |  Salford Reds |
| Champions | Salford Reds |
| Tom Bergin Trophy | Cliff Eccles |
Championship
The league was won by Salford Reds for a second successive season, winning promotion to the Super League. The club also won the Divisional Premiership final against Keighley Cougars, with Cliff Eccles winning the Tom Bergin Trophy.
Rochdale Hornets and Batley Bulldogs were both relegated to Division Two.
League table
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salford Reds | 20 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 733 | 298 | 36 |
| 2 | Keighley Cougars | 20 | 14 | 2 | 4 | 558 | 333 | 30 |
| 3 | Hull Sharks | 20 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 565 | 392 | 28 |
| 4 | Featherstone Rovers | 20 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 557 | 371 | 26 |
| 5 | Huddersfield | 20 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 557 | 308 | 24 |
| 6 | Wakefield Trinity | 20 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 485 | 455 | 21 |
| 7 | Widnes | 20 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 413 | 447 | 19 |
| 8 | Dewsbury | 20 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 264 | 618 | 13 |
| 9 | Whitehaven | 20 | 5 | 1 | 14 | 328 | 546 | 11 |
| 10 | Rochdale Hornets | 20 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 348 | 602 | 6 |
| 11 | Batley | 20 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 230 | 668 | 6 |
| Champions | Relegated |
Premiership
8 September 1996 |
| Salford Reds | 19 – 6 | Keighley Cougars |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Naylor, Blakeley Goal: Blakeley (3) Drop goal: Blakeley |
Try: Cantillon Goal: Irving |
Statistics
The following are the top points scorers in Division One during the 1996 season. Statistics are for league matches only.[2]
|
Most tries |
Most goals
|
Most points
| Player | Team | Tries | Goals | DGs | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Pearson | Featherstone Rovers | 14 | 81 | 1 | 219 |
| Steve Blakeley | Salford Reds | 9 | 84 | 0 | 204 |
| Brad Davis | Wakefield Trinity | 15 | 62 | 3 | 187 |
| Mark Hewitt | Hull Sharks | 1 | 67 | 0 | 138 |
| Christian Tyrer | Widnes | 6 | 54 | 3 | 135 |
| Keith Dixon | Keighley Cougars | 5 | 46 | 0 | 112 |
| Barry Eaton | Dewsbury | 2 | 42 | 1 | 93 |
| Greg Austin | Huddersfield Giants | 10 | 25 | 0 | 90 |
| Jason Critchley | Keighley Cougars | 21 | 0 | 0 | 84 |
| Fata Sini | Salford Reds | 15 | 10 | 0 | 80 |