# 1933–34 Northern Rugby Football League season

The 1933–34 Rugby Football League season was the 39th season of rugby league football. The first rugby league club in London, London Highfield competed in its inaugural season.

## Season summary

Wigan won their fourth Championship when they beat Salford 15-3 in the play-off final.
Salford had ended the regular season as league leaders.
The Challenge Cup winners were Hunslet who beat Widnes 11-5.
Work begins at a former quarry that was being used as a waste dump at Odsal Top in Bradford after Bradford Northern sign a ten-year lease with the local council. This was to become the site of their current home ground, Odsal Stadium.
Salford won the Lancashire League, and Leeds won the Yorkshire League. Oldham beat St Helens Recs 12–0 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and York beat Hull Kingston Rovers 10–4 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.

## Championship

| | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | Pts |
| 1 | Salford | 38 | 31 | 1 | 6 | 715 | 281 | 63 |
| 2 | Wigan | 38 | 26 | 0 | 12 | 739 | 334 | 52 |
| 3 | Leeds | 38 | 26 | 0 | 12 | 597 | 376 | 52 |
| 4 | Halifax | 38 | 26 | 0 | 12 | 457 | 340 | 52 |
| 5 | York | 38 | 24 | 1 | 13 | 481 | 370 | 49 |
| 6 | Hunslet | 38 | 23 | 1 | 14 | 608 | 441 | 47 |
| 7 | Widnes | 38 | 21 | 4 | 13 | 393 | 324 | 46 |
| 8 | Warrington | 38 | 22 | 1 | 15 | 508 | 370 | 45 |
| 9 | Swinton | 38 | 22 | 1 | 15 | 418 | 322 | 45 |
| 10 | Hull | 38 | 21 | 3 | 14 | 553 | 438 | 45 |
| 11 | Keighley | 38 | 22 | 1 | 15 | 429 | 367 | 45 |
| 12 | Huddersfield | 38 | 20 | 1 | 17 | 500 | 330 | 41 |
| 13 | St. Helens | 38 | 20 | 0 | 18 | 550 | 500 | 40 |
| 14 | London Highfield | 38 | 20 | 0 | 18 | 509 | 489 | 40 |
| 15 | Oldham | 38 | 17 | 3 | 18 | 400 | 520 | 37 |
| 16 | Castleford | 38 | 17 | 1 | 20 | 476 | 468 | 35 |
| 17 | Rochdale Hornets | 38 | 17 | 0 | 21 | 442 | 524 | 34 |
| 18 | St Helens Recs | 38 | 16 | 1 | 21 | 455 | 477 | 33 |
| 19 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 38 | 16 | 1 | 21 | 444 | 482 | 33 |
| 20 | Batley | 38 | 16 | 1 | 21 | 390 | 436 | 33 |
| 21 | Leigh | 38 | 15 | 2 | 21 | 479 | 537 | 32 |
| 22 | Wakefield Trinity | 38 | 15 | 2 | 21 | 332 | 404 | 32 |
| 23 | Broughton Rangers | 38 | 15 | 1 | 22 | 415 | 495 | 31 |
| 24 | Barrow | 38 | 15 | 0 | 23 | 375 | 464 | 30 |
| 25 | Dewsbury | 38 | 12 | 1 | 25 | 313 | 587 | 25 |
| 26 | Bramley | 38 | 11 | 1 | 26 | 367 | 790 | 23 |
| 27 | Bradford Northern | 38 | 8 | 0 | 30 | 337 | 714 | 16 |
| 28 | Featherstone Rovers | 38 | 4 | 0 | 34 | 232 | 734 | 8 |

## Championship play-off

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Championship final | Championship final | Championship final |
| 1 | Salford | 28 | | | |
| 4 | Halifax | 3 | | | |
| 4 | Halifax | 3 | Salford | Salford | 3 |
| | | | Wigan | Wigan | 15 |
| 2 | Wigan | 14 | Wigan | Wigan | 15 |
| 3 | Leeds | 10 | | | |

## Challenge Cup

Hunslet defeated Widnes 11-5 in the final at Wembley before a crowd of 41,280.
This was Hunslet’s second Cup Final win, the first being in 1907–08, in their third Cup Final appearance.

## Kangaroo Tour

August until December also saw the appearance of the Australian team in England on their 1933–34 Kangaroo Tour. Other than the three test Ashes series against Great Britain (who played under the name of England), The Kangaroos played matches against club and county representative sides as well as a non-test international against Wales and two internationals against England, the first of which was held at the Stade Pershing in Paris, the first rugby league match played in France.
The Kangaroos were captain-coach by Frank McMillan.
| game | Date | Result | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | 26 August | Australia def. St Helens Recs 13–9 | City Road, St. Helens | 8,880 |
| 2 | 30 August | Australia def. Leigh 16–7 | Mather Lane, Leigh | 4,590 |
| 3 | 2 September | Australia def. Hull Kingston Rovers 20–0 | Craven Park, Hull | 7,831 |
| 4 | 6 September | Australia def. Bramley RLFC 53–6 | Barley Mow, Bramley | 1,902 |
| 5 | 9 September | Australia def. Oldham 38–6 | The Watersheddings, Oldham | 15,281 |
| 6 | 13 September | Yorkshire def. Australia 13–0 | Headingley, Leeds | 10,309 |
| 7 | 16 September | Australia def. Barrow 24–5 | Craven Park, Barrow-in-Furness | 12,221 |
| 8 | 20 September | Australia def. Lancashire 33–7 | Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington | 16,576 |
| 9 | 23 September | Australia def. Wigan 18–17 | Central Park, Wigan | 15,712 |
| 10 | 27 September | Australia def. Castleford 15–2 | Wheldon Road, Castleford | 4,250 |
| 11 | 30 September | Australia def. Halifax 16–5 | Thrum Hall, Halifax | 10,358 |
| 12 | 7 October | England def. Australia 22–14 | Station Road, Swinton | 34,000 |
| 13 | 11 October | Australia def. Bradford Northern 7–5 | Birch Lane, Bradford | 3,328 |
| 14 | 14 October | Australia def. Warrington 15–2 | Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington | 16,431 |
| 15 | 18 October | Australia def. Hunslet 22–18 | Parkside, Hunslet | 6,227 |
| 16 | 21 October | Salford def. Australia 16–9 | The Willows, Salford | 15,761 |
| 17 | 26 October | Australia def. Widnes 31–0 | Naughton Park, Widnes | 6,691 |
| 18 | 28 October | Australia def. Wakefield Trinity 17–6 | Belle Vue, Wakefield | 5,596 |
| 19 | 30 October | Australia def. Bradford Northern 10–7 | Birch Lane, Bradford | 3,328 |
| 20 | 1 November | English League XIII def. Australia 16–9 | Clarence Street, York | 3,158 |
| 21 | 4 November | Swinton def. Australia 10–4 | Station Road, Swinton | 13,341 |
| 22 | 11 November | England def. Australia 7–5 | Headingley, Leeds | 29,618 |
| 23 | 14 November | Australia def. Keighley 10–7 | Lawkholme Lane, Keighley | 3,800 |
| 24 | 18 November | Australia def. Huddersfield 13–5 | Fartown Ground, Huddersfield | 7,522 |
| 25 | 22 November | Australia def. London Highfield 20–5 | White City Stadium, London | 10,541 |
| 26 | 25 November | Australia def. Broughton Rangers 19–0 | Belle Vue Zoological Gardens, Manchester | 5,527 |
| 27 | 29 November | Australia def. Leeds 15–7 | Headingley, Leeds | 5,295 |
| 28 | 2 December | Australia def. St Helens 20–11 | Knowsley Road, St. Helens | 5,735 |
| 29 | 2 December | Australia def. Rochdale Hornets 26–4 | Athletic Grounds, Rochdale | 3,603 |
| 30 | 9 December | Cumberland def. Australia 17–16 | Recreation Ground, Whitehaven | 5,800 |
| 31 | 16 December | England def. Australia 19–16 | Station Road, Swinton | 10,900 |
| 32 | 23 December | Australia def. York 15–7 | Clarence Street, York | 6,500 |
| 33 | 25 December | Australia def. Hull F.C. 9–5 | The Boulevard, Hull | 16,341 |
| 34 | 30 December | Australia def. Wales 51–19 | Wembley Stadium, London | 10,000 |
| 35 | 31 December | Australia def. England 63–13 | Stade Pershing, Paris | 5,000 |
| 36 | 10 January | Australia def. Oldham 38–5 | The Watersheddings, Oldham | 4,000 |
| 37 | 13 January | England def. Australia 19–14 | Redheugh Park, Gateshead | 15,576 |