# 2024 RFL Women's Championship

The 2024 RFL Women's Championship (also known as the Betfred Women's Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the eighth season of the RFL Women's Championship and the first of its restructure and expansion to include teams from across the country.
The competition was split into three regional leagues: Northern, Midlands, and Southern. The winners of the Northern and Southern Championship faced each other for the National Championship title and the winner of this match entered a promotion play-off on 6 October with the last placed team of the 2024 RFL Women's Super League for a place in the 2025 Super League.
The Northern Championship was won by Leigh Leopards and the Southern Championship was won by London Broncos. Leigh defeated London in the National Championship Final and then won against Featherstone Rovers in the promotion play-off.
The Midlands Championship was jointly awarded to Leamington Royals and Nottingham Outlaws.

## Teams

In January 2024, the RFL confirmed the nine clubs in the Northern Championship and four of the clubs in Southern Championship. The teams in the Midlands Championship were announced in May.
| Northern | Midlands | Southern |
| Bradford Bulls  Castleford Tigers  Dewsbury Moor  Hull Kingston Rovers  Leigh Leopards  Oulton Raidettes  Salford Red Devils  Sheffield Eagles  Stanningley | Coventry Bears Leamington Royals Nottingham Outlaws Telford Raiders | Army  Bedford Tigers  Cardiff Demons  London Broncos |

## Northern Championship

The 2024 RFL Northern Women's Championship began on 2 March and concluded on 22 September, and comprised 18 regular season matchweeks and playoffs.

### Table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
| 1 | Leigh Leopards (L) | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 808 | 64 | +744 | 32 | Advance to semi-finals |
| 2 | Sheffield Eagles | 16 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 453 | 237 | +216 | 25 | Advance to semi-finals |
| 3 | Salford Red Devils | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 392 | 248 | +144 | 20 | Advance to semi-finals |
| 4 | Oulton Raidettes | 16 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 430 | 296 | +134 | 20 | Advance to semi-finals |
| 5 | Dewsbury Moor | 16 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 388 | 254 | +134 | 17 | |
| 6 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 16 | 7 | 0 | 9 | 298 | 424 | −126 | 14 | |
| 7 | Bradford Bulls | 16 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 182 | 518 | −336 | 6 | |
| 8 | Stanningley | 16 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 208 | 464 | −256 | 5 | |
| 9 | Castleford Tigers | 16 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 83 | 737 | −654 | 5 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | LEI | SHE | SAL | OUL | DEW | HKR | BRA | STA | CAS |
| Leigh Leopards | — | 42–14 14 Apr | 40–0 10 Mar | 46–8 23 Jun | 48–4 21 Apr | 52–8 12 May | 60–0 31 Aug | 70–6 16 Jun | 96–4 4 Aug |
| Sheffield Eagles | 6–30 14 Jul | — | 40–20 19 May | 26–16 11 Aug | 24–6 8 Sep | 56–8 7 Jul | 38–0 21 Apr | 36–6 28 Apr | 32–0 23 Jun |
| Salford Red Devils | 4–44 7 Jul | 26–6 18 Aug | — | 16–14 28 Apr | 14–12 2 Jun | 4–16 2 Mar | 44–4 14 Apr | 48–4 21 Jul | 48–0 8 Sep |
| Oulton Raidettes | 6–26 3 Mar | 32–46 12 May | 30–14 4 Aug | — | 18–16 18 Aug | 30–10 8 Sep | 42–18 7 Jul | 30–12 14 Apr | 42–8 2 Jun |
| Dewsbury Moor | 0–26 21 Jul | 20–30 16 Jun | 8–0 1 Sep | 40–14 19 May | — | 16–24 14 Apr | 24–10 28 Apr | 20–20 17 Mar | 48–4 7 Jul |
| Hull Kingston Rovers | 4–58 11 Aug | 20–28 30 Jun | 22–24 23 Jun | 0–28 16 Jun | 0–56 14 Jul | — | 32–8 19 May | 20–12 1 Sep | 70–8 21 Apr |
| Bradford Bulls | 0–62 2 Jun | 10–46 21 Jul | 0–18 14 Jul | 8–22 10 Mar | 6–52 4 Aug | 10–24 18 Aug | — | 20–14 23 Jun | 54–4 12 May |
| Stanningley | 0–24 8 Sep | 0–18 4 Aug | 8–20 21 Apr | 4–62 14 Jul | 16–24 12 May | 12–26 2 Jun | 22–28 3 Mar | — | 30–12 24 Mar |
| Castleford Tigers | 0–84 28 Apr | C–C 3 Mar | 0–92 16 Jun | 6–36 1 Sep | 0–42 10 Mar | 16–14 21 Jul | 14–6 11 Aug | 6–42 19 May | — |
* ↑ originally scheduled for 8 March but postponed due to waterlogged pitch
* ↑ scheduled for 3 March but cancelled due to waterlogged pitch – result given as a draw

## Southern Championship

The restructuring of the national pyramid meant that the Super League South was replaced by the Southern Championship with four of the six of clubs from the 2023 Super League South continuing in the new competition format. The two other teams took part in the tier 3 competitions sitting directly below the Southern Championship: Thurrock combined with North Herts Crusaders to compete in the Southern East League 1, and the Bristol Golden Ferns were part of the Southern West League 1. The Southern Championship started on 25 May and concluded on 7 September with the Grand Final played at Cardiff University playing fields.

### Table and results

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | CAR | LON | ARM | BED |
| 1 | Cardiff Demons | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 246 | 66 | +180 | 10 | — | 22–0 | 52–6 | 72–8 |
| 2 | London Broncos | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 218 | 50 | +168 | 10 | 18–14 | — | 48–8 | 48–0 |
| 3 | Army | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 150 | 202 | −52 | 4 | 34–38 | 6–36 | — | 48–0 |
| 4 | Bedford Tigers | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 36 | 332 | −296 | −1 | 0–48 | 0–68 | 28–48 | — |
* ↑ Match forfeited
* ↑ Bedford deducted 1 point: forfeited fixture (Army v Bedford: 20 July)

## Midlands Championship

The 2024 Midlands Championship was played using a festival format and because of this the teams were ineligible for the National Championship Final. The competition saw a soft launch in 2023 and was played between Cheltenham Phoenix, Coventry Bears, Leamington Royals, and Telford Raiders. Nottingham Outlaws replaced Cheltenham in the schedule for the 2024 competition which began on 1 June and in which teams played two games on each of the three fixture days, followed by a finals day on 4 August. The final between Nottingham and Lemington was abandoned due to a significant player injury. Both teams were awarded the title.

## Play-offs

In the Southern play-offs, London Broncos advanced to the Grand Final as the Army forfeited their semi-final match. The Southern Grand Final was played on 7 September at Cardiff University Playing Fields. In a repeat of the 2023 Super League South competition, London Broncos faced Cardiff Demons in the final and defeated them 28–8 to win the competition.
The Northern Championship semi-finals were played on 15 September. Leigh Leopards, who won the League Leaders' Shield, advanced to the final after fourth-placed Oulton Raidettes forfeited their semi-final match. They were joined by second-placed Sheffield Eagles who defeated third-placed Salford Red Devils. The Northern Championship Grand Final was played on 22 September. Leigh Leopards won 46–6 against Sheffield Eagles to claim the division title and advance to the National Championship match.
The National Championship Final was played on 29 September by the winners of the Northern and Southern Championship. Leigh Leopards defeated London Broncos 22–18 to win the title.
The promotion play-off match was contested by the winner of the Championship Grand Final and the last placed team of the 2024 RFL Women's Super League, and took place on 6 October as a double-header with the Grand Final of the Super League. Leigh Leopards defeated Featherstone Rovers 34–16 to earn promotion to the Super League.

### Team bracket

| Northern semi-finals | Northern semi-finals | Northern semi-finals | Northern Grand Final | Northern Grand Final | Northern Grand Final | National Championship Final | National Championship Final | National Championship Final | Promotion/Relegation play-off | Promotion/Relegation play-off | Promotion/Relegation play-off |
| N1 | Leigh Leopards | 48 | | | | | | | | | |
| N4 | Oulton Raidettes | 0 | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | N1 | Leigh Leopards | 46 | | | | | | |
| | | | N2 | Sheffield Eagles | 6 | | | | | | |
| N2 | Sheffield Eagles | 20 | | | | | | | | | |
| N2 | Sheffield Eagles | 20 | | | | | | | SL | Featherstone Rovers | 16 |
| N3 | Salford Red Devils | 6 | | | | | | | SL | Featherstone Rovers | 16 |
| N3 | Salford Red Devils | 6 | | | | N1 | Leigh Leopards | 22 | N1 | Leigh Leopards | 34 |
| | | | | | | S2 | London Broncos | 18 | | | |
| Southern semi-finals | Southern semi-finals | Southern semi-finals | Southern Grand Final | Southern Grand Final | Southern Grand Final | S2 | London Broncos | 18 | | | |
| | | | S1 | Cardiff Demons | 8 | | | | | | |
| S2 | London Broncos | 48 | S2 | London Broncos | 28 | | | | | | |
| S3 | Army | 0 | | | | | | | | | |

### Southern play-offs

Southern Championship: Semi-finals :
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date | Venue |
| London Broncos | 48–0 | Army | 18 August | Rosslyn Park |
| Cardiff Demons | – | Bye | — | — |
| Source: |||||
* ↑ Match forfeited
Southern Championship: Grand Final :
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date | Venue |
| Cardiff Demons | 08–28 | London Broncos | 7 September | Cardiff University Playing Fields |
| Source: |||||

### Northern play-offs

Northern Championship: Semi-finals :
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date | Venue |
| Leigh Leopards | 48–0 | Oulton Raidettes | 15 September | Twist Lane |
| Sheffield Eagles | 20–60 | Salford Red Devils | 15 September | Sheffield Hallam University Sports Park |
| Source: |||||
* ↑ Match forfeited
Northern Championship: Grand Final :
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | Match Information |
| Home | Score | Away | Date | Venue |
| Leigh Leopards | 46–60 | Sheffield Eagles | 22 September | Twist Lane |
| Source: |||||

### National Championship Final

National Championship Final :
| Northern | Score | Southern | Match Information | Match Information |
| Northern | Score | Southern | Date | Venue |
| Leigh Leopards | 22–18 | London Broncos | 29 September | Alexander Stadium, Birmingham |
| Source: |||||

### Promotion play-off match

Promotion Play-off Match :
| Super League | Score | Championship | Match Information | Match Information |
| Super League | Score | Championship | Date | Venue |
| Featherstone Rovers | 16–34 | Leigh Leopards | 6 October | Totally Wicked Stadium |
| Source: |||||