2013 RFL Championship
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The 2013 Rugby Football League Championship, which will be known as Kingstone Press Championship due to sponsorship by Kingstone Press Cider, is a semi-professional rugby league football competition played in the UK, one tier below the first tier Super League. The 2013 season is the first season to consist of a 14-team division. This was achieved by scrapping relegation for the 2012 season and having four teams promoted from the Championship 1.[2]
| 2013 RFL Championship | |
|---|---|
| League | Championship |
| Duration | 26 Rounds (Followed by 4 round playoffs) |
| Teams | 14 |
| Highest attendance | 3,890 Featherstone Rovers v Sheffield Eagles (28 August 2013) |
| Lowest attendance | 375 Hunslet Hawks v Whitehaven (10 March 2013) |
| Average attendance | 1,199 |
| Total attendance | 187,103 |
| Broadcast partners |  Premier Sports |
| 2013 Season | |
| Grand Final winners |  Sheffield Eagles |
| League Leaders Shield |  Featherstone Rovers |
| Runners-up | Sheffield Eagles |
| Top point-scorer | Liam Finn (308)[1] |
| Top try-scorer | Menzie Yere (30)[1] |
| Promotion and relegation | |
| Relegated to Championship 1 |  Hunslet Hawks York City Knights |
Relegation to Championship 1 is restored for the 2013 but as in previous years, there is no automatic promotion from this league to Super League, which uses a licensing system renewed every three years. Qualifying for the Grand Final or winning the Northern Rail Cup is a prerequisite for Championship clubs to be able to apply for a licence in the next round of applications for the 2015–17 seasons.
All of the teams in the 2013 Co-operative Championship will also compete in the 2013 Challenge Cup where they will enter in the third round. All of the teams will also compete in the 2013 National League Cup which starts before the Co-operative Championship with the finals held mid season.
Teams
This year's competition features the same 10 teams as it did in 2012 plus the top four teams from the 2012 Championship 1 season, which are Barrow Raiders, Doncaster, Whitehaven and Workington Town.
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Reigning champions | |
| Defending Northern Rail Cup Champions | |
| Promoted | |
| Team & Current Season | Stadium | Capacity | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Barrow Raiders |
Craven Park | 7,600 | Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria | |
 Batley Bulldogs |
loverugbyleague.com Stadium | 6,000 | Batley, West Yorkshire | |
 Dewsbury Rams |
Tetley's Stadium | 3,500 | Dewsbury, West Yorkshire | |
 Doncaster |
Keepmoat Stadium | 15,231 | Doncaster, South Yorkshire | |
| Featherstone Rovers |
Bigfellas Stadium | 6,750 | Featherstone, West Yorkshire | |
 Halifax |
The Shay Stadium | 6,561 | Halifax, West Yorkshire | |
| Hunslet Hawks |
South Leeds Stadium | 4,000 | Leeds, West Yorkshire | |
 Keighley Cougars |
Cougar Park | 7,800 | Keighley, West Yorkshire | |
 Leigh Centurions |
Leigh Sports Village | 12,700 | Leigh, Greater Manchester | |
| Sheffield Eagles |
Bramall Lane | 32,702 | Sheffield, South Yorkshire | |
 Swinton Lions |
Leigh Sports Village | 12,700 | Leigh, Greater Manchester | |
 Whitehaven |
Recreation Ground | 7,500 | Whitehaven, Cumbria | |
 Workington Town |
Derwent Park | 10,000 | Workington, Cumbria | |
| York City Knights |
Huntington Stadium | 3,428 | York, North Yorkshire |
Season standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Featherstone Rovers |
26 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 940 | 362 | +578 | 4 | 70 | Qualifying for the play-offs |
| 2 | Sheffield Eagles |
26 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 806 | 474 | +332 | 1 | 67 | |
| 3 | Halifax |
26 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 817 | 476 | +341 | 1 | 62 | |
| 4 | Leigh Centurions |
26 | 18 | 0 | 8 | 752 | 495 | +257 | 4 | 58 | |
| 5 | Batley Bulldogs |
26 | 16 | 1 | 9 | 670 | 394 | +276 | 7 | 57 | |
| 6 | Doncaster |
26 | 12 | 1 | 13 | 593 | 594 | −1 | 6 | 44 | |
| 7 | Dewsbury Rams |
26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 492 | 620 | −128 | 6 | 42 | |
| 8 | Workington Town |
26 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 483 | 681 | −198 | 6 | 39 | |
| 9 | Whitehaven |
26 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 485 | 774 | −289 | 4 | 37 | |
| 10 | Swinton Lions |
26 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 516 | 738 | −222 | 7 | 34 | |
| 11 | Keighley Cougars |
26 | 8 | 0 | 18 | 492 | 719 | −227 | 9 | 33 | |
| 12 | Barrow Raiders |
26 | 8 | 0 | 18 | 482 | 792 | −310 | 9 | 33 | |
| 13 | Hunslet Hawks (R) |
26 | 6 | 0 | 20 | 529 | 704 | −175 | 12 | 30 | Relegation position |
| 14 | York City Knights (R) |
26 | 6 | 0 | 20 | 493 | 727 | −234 | 8 | 26 |
Rules for classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference.
Competition points: For win = 3; For draw = 2; For loss by 12 points or fewer = 1.[3]
(R) Relegated
Season results
The regular league season sees the 14 teams play each other twice (one home, one away) over 26 matches. The top eight teams at the end of the regular season goes through to the play-offs to determine the winners of the Championship.