# 2024 RFL Championship

The 2024 RFL Championship, (officially known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons), was a professional rugby league club competition. The second tier of the British rugby league system comprises 14 clubs – 13 from England and one from France.
The season comprised 26 rounds in the regular season with the top six teams taking part in the play-offs to determine the champions.
The title was won by Wakefield Trinity who beat Toulouse Olympique in the grand final. Wakefield also won the league leader's shield winning 25 of their 26 matches during the regular season.
Wakefield's Max Jowitt became the first player in the British game to score 500 points in a season. Going into the grand final on 494 points, Jowitt kicked the three goals he needed to reach the 500 mark.
Despite Wakefield winning the Championship, there is no automatic promotion to Super League, due to Super League status being dependent on a club's performance under the IMG grading system. However, on 22 October 2024, it was announced that Wakefield had improved their rating to a Grade A, which will now see them playing in Super League for the 2025 season.

## Team changes

London Broncos won promotion to the Super League at the end of 2023 and were replaced by Wakefield Trinity who were relegated from Super League. Promoted from League 1 in 2023 were Dewsbury Rams and Doncaster who replaced the 2023 relegated teams, Keighley Cougars and Newcastle Thunder.

## Structure changes

There was no automatic promotion from the Championship to Super League at the end of the season. This was due to the introduction of the grading scheme where clubs are graded by a number of factors, not all based on on-field performance.
The Summer Bash round which saw all the fixtures played at one location over a weekend was dropped for 2024 following disappointing attendance figures for the 2022 and 2023 events which were played in Leeds and York respectively.
Following a review of the league structure below Super League, the RFL announced that by the start of the 2026 season, the Championship and League 1 would be equalised in size at 12 teams each. The first step was to reduce the Championship from 14 clubs to 13 at the end of the 2024 season. This was achieved by the bottom two clubs being relegated to League 1 but only the League 1 champions being promoted. The team finishing third-bottom in 2024 played the team winning the League 1 play-offs for the 13th spot in the 2025 Championship.

## Rule changes

A number of changes were introduced for 2024.
The "six again" rule was amended so that set restarts would only be awarded if the ball was in the defending team's half of the field. Infringements in the attacking team's half would result in a penalty to the attacking team.
The use of the 18th man was allowed after two players (reduced from three) had failed head impact assessments or a player was unable to continue through injury (not just a head injury) resulting from foul play where the opposing player was sin-binned or sent-off. The use of the green card by the referee ordering injured players off the field for treatment was discontinued in the Championship.
A team awarded a penalty at a scrum had the option to reset the scrum instead of taking the penalty.
For disciplinary processes a category of "reckless tackle" was introduced.
On 26 February 2024, the RFL announced that changes would be made to the 'head on head contact' rule that was previously implemented to start the season. This came after Nu Brown of Super League club Hull FC was controversially shown a red card for a tackle during his side's match against Warrington Wolves. The RFL stated that the rule will be amended, "emphasising that it applies only to initial contact".

## Clubs

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Barrow Raiders | Barrow-in-Furness | Northern Competitions Stadium | 6,000 |
| Batley Bulldogs | Batley | Mount Pleasant | 7,500 |
| Bradford Bulls | Bradford | Odsal Stadium | 22,000 |
| Dewsbury Rams | Dewsbury | Crown Flatt | 5,100 |
| Doncaster | Doncaster | Eco-Power Stadium | 15,231 |
| Featherstone Rovers | Featherstone | Millennium Stadium | 8,000 |
| Halifax Panthers | Halifax | The Shay | 10,401 |
| Sheffield Eagles | Sheffield | Olympic Legacy Park | 1,320 |
| Swinton Lions | Sale | Heywood Road | 3,387 |
| Toulouse Olympique | Toulouse | Stade Ernest-Wallon | 19,500 |
| Wakefield Trinity | Wakefield | DIY Kitchens Stadium | 9,333 |
| Whitehaven | Whitehaven | Recreation Ground | 7,500 |
| Widnes Vikings | Widnes | DCBL Stadium | 13,350 |
| York Knights | York | York Community Stadium | 8,005 |

## Table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Wakefield Trinity | 26 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 1010 | 262 | +748 | 50 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Toulouse Olympique | 26 | 18 | 1 | 7 | 782 | 384 | +398 | 37 | Semi-finals |
| 3 | Bradford Bulls | 26 | 16 | 2 | 8 | 682 | 387 | +295 | 34 | Eliminators |
| 4 | York Knights | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 655 | 473 | +182 | 30 | Eliminators |
| 5 | Widnes Vikings | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 551 | 475 | +76 | 29 | Eliminators |
| 6 | Featherstone Rovers | 26 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 622 | 500 | +122 | 28 | Eliminators |
| 7 | Sheffield Eagles | 26 | 14 | 0 | 12 | 626 | 526 | +100 | 28 | |
| 8 | Doncaster | 26 | 12 | 1 | 13 | 498 | 619 | −121 | 25 | |
| 9 | Halifax Panthers | 26 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 509 | 650 | −141 | 22 | |
| 10 | Batley Bulldogs | 26 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 422 | 591 | −169 | 22 | |
| 11 | Barrow Raiders | 26 | 9 | 1 | 16 | 458 | 758 | −300 | 19 | |
| 12 | Swinton Lions | 26 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 466 | 678 | −212 | 18 | League One play-off |
| 13 | Whitehaven | 26 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 451 | 854 | −403 | 18 | Relegation to League One |
| 14 | Dewsbury Rams | 26 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 344 | 919 | −575 | 4 | Relegation to League One |

## Play-offs

| Eliminators | Eliminators | Eliminators | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Grand Final | Grand Final | Grand Final |
| | | | 1 | Wakefield Trinity | 22 | | | |
| 4 | York Knights | 27 | 4 | York Knights | 13 | | | |
| 5 | Widnes Vikings | 10 | | | | 1 | Wakefield Trinity | 36 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Toulouse Olympique | 0 |
| | | | 2 | Toulouse Olympique | 21 | | | |
| 3 | Bradford Bulls | 25 | 3 | Bradford Bulls | 20 | | | |
| 6 | Featherstone Rovers | 12 | | | | | | |

### Week 1: Eliminators

* 5 October 2024 15:00
| York Knights | 27–10 | Widnes Vikings |
| Tries: Williams, Law, Lineham (2), Dee Goals: Williams (3/5) Drop goals: Harris | | Tries: Lloyd Goals: Gilmore (3/3) |
* York Community Stadium Attendance: 2,010 Referee: J. Vella
* 6 October 2024 15:00
| Bradford Bulls | 25–12 | Featherstone Rovers |
| Tries: Myers, Gill, Lilley, Appo Goals: Lilley (4/5) Drop goals: Lilley | | Tries: Hardcastle, Day Goals: Reynolds (2/2) |
* Odsal Stadium Referee: A. Moore

### Week 2: Semi-finals

* 13 October 2024 15:00
| Wakefield Trinity | 22–13 | York Knights |
| Tries: Jowitt, Gale, Olpherts, Thornley Goals: Jowitt (3/4) | | Tries: Field, Hingano Goals: Dagger (2/2) Drop goals: Harris |
* Belle Vue Attendance: 5,946 Referee: A. Moore
* 13 October 2024 17:00
| Toulouse Olympique | 21–20 | Bradford Bulls |
| Tries: Laguerre, Ulberg, Armitage, Marion Goals: Shorrocks (2/4) Drop goals: Pelissier | | Tries: Lilley, Pele, Appo Goals: Lilley (4/4) |
* Stade Ernest Wallon Attendance: 2,680 Referee: T. Grant

### Week 3: Championship Grand Final

* 19 October 2024 19:00
| Wakefield Trinity | 36–0 | Toulouse Olympique |
| Tries: Olpherts (2), Ashurst, McGillvary (2), Thornley, Pratt Goals: Jowitt (3/6), McGillvary (1/1) | | |
* Belle Vue Attendance: 8,016 Referee: A. Moore

### Championship play-off

On 13 October Swinton,the team finishing 12th in the regular season, played Hunslet, the League One play-off final winners to decide the 13th team in the 2025 Championship. Swinton lost to Hunslet and were relegated to League One for 2025.
* 13 October 2024 19:30
| Swinton Lions | 20–22 | Hunslet |
| Tries: Williams, Cox, Wood, Vaughan Goals: Abram (2/4) | | Tries: Turner, Berry, Flanagan, Render Goals: Beharrell (3/4) |
* Heywood Road Attendance: 885 Referee: J. Vella

## Player statistics
### Top 10 try scorers

| Rank | Player (s) | Club | Tries |
| 1 | Derrell Olpherts | Wakefield Trinity | 26 |
| 2 | Max Jowitt | Wakefield Trinity | 23 |
| 3 | Paul Ulberg | Toulouse Olympique | 21 |
| 4 | Lachlan Walmsley | Wakefield Trinity | 20 |
| 5 | Connor Wynne | Featherstone Rovers | 19 |
| 6 | Joe Burton | Batley Bulldogs | 18 |
| 7 | Joe Brown | York Knights | 17 |
| 8 | Matty Dawson-Jones | Sheffield Eagles | 16 |
| 8 | Maxime Stefani | Toulouse Olympique | 16 |
| 10 | Kieran Gill | Bradford Bulls | 15 |
| 10 | Jayden Hatton | Swinton Lions | 15 |
| 10 | Ryan Ince | Widnes Vikings | 15 |

### Top 10 goal scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Max Jowitt | Wakefield Trinity | 146 |
| 2 | Jordan Lilley | Bradford Bulls | 108 |
| 3 | Cory Aston | Sheffield Eagles | 88 |
| 4 | Tom Gilmore | Widnes Vikings | 84 |
| 5 | Jake Shorrocks | Toulouse Olympique | 81 |
| 6 | Louis Jouffret | Halifax Panthers | 66 |
| 7 | Connor Robinson | Doncaster RLFC | 65 |
| 8 | Ryan Shaw | Barrow Raiders | 55 |
| 9 | Josh Woods | Batley Bulldogs | 54 |
| 10 | Ben Reynolds | Featherstone Rovers | 48 |

### Top 10 point scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Points |
| 1 | Max Jowitt | Wakefield Trinity | 384 |
| 2 | Jordan Lilley | Bradford Bulls | 245 |
| 3 | Tom Gilmore | Widnes Vikings | 193 |
| 4 | Cory Aston | Sheffield Eagles | 192 |
| 5 | Jake Shorrocks | Toulouse Olympique | 178 |
| 6 | Louis Jouffret | Halifax Panthers | 164 |
| 7 | Connor Robinson | Doncaster RLFC | 151 |
| 8 | Ryan Shaw | Barrow Raiders | 138 |
| 9 | Ben Reynolds | Featherstone Rovers | 124 |
| 10 | Josh Woods | Batley Bulldogs | 115 |
    As of 22 October 2024: (Round 27)

## Discipline
### Red cards

| Rank | Player | Club | Cards |
| 1 | Delaine Gittens-Bedward | Barrow Raiders | 1 |
| 1 | Brad Walker | Barrow Raiders | 1 |
| 1 | Greg Worthington | Barrow Raiders | 1 |
| 1 | Dale Ferguson | Dewsbury Rams | 1 |
| 1 | Gareth Gale | Featherstone Rovers | 1 |
| 1 | Ed Barber | Halifax Panthers | 1 |
| 1 | Matty Gee | Halifax Panthers | 1 |
| 1 | Zack McComb | Halifax Panthers | 1 |
| 1 | Matty Marsh | Sheffield Eagles | 1 |
| 1 | Jordy Gibson | Swinton Lions | 1 |
| 1 | Richard Lepori | Swinton Lions | 1 |
| 1 | Gavin Rodden | Swinton Lions | 1 |
| 1 | Sitaleki Akauola | Toulouse Olympique | 1 |
| 1 | Harrison Hansen | Toulouse Olympique | 1 |
| 1 | Owen McCarron | Whitehaven RLFC | 1 |
| 1 | Jacob Gannon | York Knights | 1 |

### Yellow cards

| Rank | Player | Club | Cards |
| 1 | Edene Gebbie | Whitehaven RLFC | 5 |
| 2 | Mitchel Souter | Bradford Bulls | 4 |
| 2 | Lambert Belmas | Toulouse Olympique | 4 |
| 2 | Ryan King | Whitehaven RLFC | 4 |
| 5 | Adam Gledhill | Batley Bulldogs | 3 |
| 5 | Dane Manning | Batley Bulldogs | 3 |
| 5 | Jorge Taufua | Bradford Bulls | 3 |
| 5 | Ronan Dixon | Dewsbury Rams | 3 |
| 5 | Danny Addy | Featherstone Rovers | 3 |
| 5 | Dec Patton | Featherstone Rovers | 3 |
| 5 | George Roby | Swinton Lions | 3 |
| 5 | Matty Fleming | Widnes Vikings | 3 |
| 13 | Eribe Doro | Bradford Bulls | 2 |
| 13 | Franklin Pele | Bradford Bulls | 2 |
| 13 | Jayden Myers | Bradford Bulls | 2 |
| 13 | Bailey O'Connor | Dewsbury Rams | 2 |
| 13 | Kieran Rush | Dewsbury Rams | 2 |
| 13 | Brad England | Featherstone Rovers | 2 |
| 13 | Josh Hardcastle | Featherstone Rovers | 2 |
| 13 | Gadwin Springer | Featherstone Rovers | 2 |
| 13 | Jacob Fairbank | Halifax Panthers | 2 |
| 13 | Matty Dawson-Jones | Sheffield Eagles | 2 |
| 13 | Joel Farrell | Sheffield Eagles | 2 |
| 13 | Joshua Eaves | Swinton Lions | 2 |
| 13 | Gavin Rodden | Swinton Lions | 2 |
| 13 | Reubenn Rennie | Toulouse Olympique | 2 |
| 13 | Luke Bain | Wakefield Trinity | 2 |
| 13 | Jack Croft | Wakefield Trinity | 2 |
| 13 | Sam Brooks | Widnes Vikings | 2 |
| 13 | Will Dagger | York Knights | 2 |
| 30 | Brett Carter | Barrow Raiders | 1 |
| 30 | Ryan Johnston | Barrow Raiders | 1 |
| 30 | Ryan Shaw | Barrow Raiders | 1 |
| 30 | Jarrad Stack | Barrow Raiders | 1 |
| 30 | Brad Walker | Barrow Raiders | 1 |
| 30 | Tom Walker | Barrow Raiders | 1 |
| 30 | Josh Wood | Barrow Raiders | 1 |
| 30 | James Brown | Batley Bulldogs | 1 |
| 30 | Kieran Buchanan | Batley Bulldogs | 1 |
| 30 | Luke Hooley | Batley Bulldogs | 1 |
| 30 | Nixon Putt | Batley Bulldogs | 1 |
| 30 | John Davies | Bradford Bulls | 1 |
| 30 | Zac Fulton | Bradford Bulls | 1 |
| 30 | Kieran Gill | Bradford Bulls | 1 |
| 30 | Tom Holmes | Bradford Bulls | 1 |
| 30 | Fenton Rogers | Bradford Bulls | 1 |
| 30 | Jamie Field | Dewsbury Rams | 1 |
| 30 | Matt Garside | Dewsbury Rams | 1 |
| 30 | Jacob Hookem | Dewsbury Rams | 1 |
| 30 | Elliott Morris | Dewsbury Rams | 1 |
| 30 | Paul Sykes | Dewsbury Rams | 1 |
| 30 | Calum Turner | Dewsbury Rams | 1 |
| 30 | Jackson Walker | Dewsbury Rams | 1 |
| 30 | Marcus Walker | Dewsbury Rams | 1 |
| 30 | Brett Ferres | Doncaster RLFC | 1 |
| 30 | Brad Knowles-Tagg | Doncaster RLFC | 1 |
| 30 | Joe Lovodua | Doncaster RLFC | 1 |
| 30 | Suaia Matagi | Doncaster RLFC | 1 |
| 30 | Pauli Pauli | Doncaster RLFC | 1 |
| 30 | Connor Robinson | Doncaster RLFC | 1 |
| 30 | Jack Arnold | Featherstone Rovers | 1 |
| 30 | Yusuf Aydin | Featherstone Rovers | 1 |
| 30 | Harry Bowes | Featherstone Rovers | 1 |
| 30 | Jack Bussey | Featherstone Rovers | 1 |
| 30 | Ben Reynolds | Featherstone Rovers | 1 |
| 30 | Connor Wynne | Featherstone Rovers | 1 |
| 30 | Ben Kavanagh | Halifax Panthers | 1 |
| 30 | Kevin Larroyer | Halifax Panthers | 1 |
| 30 | Adam Tangata | Halifax Panthers | 1 |
| 30 | Gareth Widdop | Halifax Panthers | 1 |
| 30 | Eddie Battye | Sheffield Eagles | 1 |
| 30 | Blake Broadbent | Sheffield Eagles | 1 |
| 30 | Alex Foster | Sheffield Eagles | 1 |
| 30 | James Glover | Sheffield Eagles | 1 |
| 30 | Bayley Liu | Sheffield Eagles | 1 |
| 30 | Jesse Sene-Lefao | Sheffield Eagles | 1 |
| 30 | Jayden Hatton | Swinton Lions | 1 |
| 30 | Richard Lepori | Swinton Lions | 1 |
| 30 | Robin Brochon | Toulouse Olympique | 1 |
| 30 | Paul Marcon | Toulouse Olympique | 1 |
| 30 | Éloi Pélissier | Toulouse Olympique | 1 |
| 30 | Dominique Peyroux | Toulouse Olympique | 1 |
| 30 | Paul Ulberg | Toulouse Olympique | 1 |
| 30 | Matty Ashurst | Wakefield Trinity | 1 |
| 30 | Liam Hood | Wakefield Trinity | 1 |
| 30 | Max Jowitt | Wakefield Trinity | 1 |
| 30 | Mason Lino | Wakefield Trinity | 1 |
| 30 | Derrell Olpherts | Wakefield Trinity | 1 |
| 30 | Lachlan Walmsley | Wakefield Trinity | 1 |
| 30 | Sam Ackroyd | Whitehaven RLFC | 1 |
| 30 | Lucas Castle | Whitehaven RLFC | 1 |
| 30 | Lachlan Hanneghan | Whitehaven RLFC | 1 |
| 30 | James Newton | Whitehaven RLFC | 1 |
| 30 | Curtis Teare | Whitehaven RLFC | 1 |
| 30 | Sam Web-Campbell | Whitehaven RLFC | 1 |
| 30 | Mike Butt | Widnes Vikings | 1 |
| 30 | Ryan Ince | Widnes Vikings | 1 |
| 30 | Danny Langtree | Widnes Vikings | 1 |
| 30 | Max Roberts | Widnes Vikings | 1 |
| 30 | Connor Bailey | York Knights | 1 |
| 30 | Jordan Thompson | York Knights | 1 |
| 30 | Nikau Williams | York Knights | 1 |
    As of 8 October 2024: (Round 27)

## Broadcasting

The two-year deal with Viaplay expired at the end of the 2023 season. No new deal was arranged with any provider for 2024.