# 1977–78 Player's No.6 Trophy

This was the seventh season for the competition, from this season the League Cup was known as the John Player Trophy for sponsorship reasons.
Warrington won the trophy, beating Widnes in the final by the score of 9-4. The match was played at Knowsley Road, St Helens, Merseyside. The attendance was 10,258 and receipts were £8429.

## Background

This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at eighteen. This was the second successive season in which there were no drawn matches. The title of the competition was changed from the previous "Players No 6 Trophy" to the "John Player Trophy".

## Competition and results
### Round 1 - First Round

Involved 16 matches and 32 Clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Notes |
| 1 | Fri 21 Oct 1977 | (NDLB) National Dock Labour Board | 4-18 | New Hunslet | ??? | 3845 | 1, 2 |
| 2 | Fri 21 Oct 1977 | Salford | 27-8 | Rochdale Hornets | The Willows | | |
| 3 | Sat 22 Oct 1977 | Leeds | 22-25 | Wigan | Headingley | | |
| 4 | Sun 23 Oct 1977 | Featherstone Rovers | 25-24 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Post Office Road | | |
| 5 | Sun 23 Oct 1977 | Keighley | 18-16 | Hull F.C. | Lawkholme Lane | | |
| 6 | Sun 23 Oct 1977 | Leigh | 31-15 | Doncaster | Hilton Park | | |
| 7 | Sun 23 Oct 1977 | Wakefield Trinity | 24-5 | Batley | Belle Vue | | 3 |
| 8 | Sun 23 Oct 1977 | Blackpool Borough | 10-31 | Warrington | Borough Park | | |
| 9 | Sun 23 Oct 1977 | Bradford Northern | 19-12 | Bramley | Odsal | | |
| 10 | Sun 23 Oct 1977 | Dewsbury | 0-13 | Castleford | Crown Flatt | | |
| 11 | Sun 23 Oct 1977 | Halifax | 8-9 | Cawoods | Thrum Hall | 1168 | 4, 5 |
| 12 | Sun 23 Oct 1977 | Huddersfield | 33-13 | Whitehaven | Fartown | | |
| 13 | Sun 23 Oct 1977 | Oldham | 16-8 | Barrow | Watersheddings | | |
| 14 | Sun 23 Oct 1977 | Swinton | 11-28 | St. Helens | Station Road | 3000 | |
| 15 | Sun 23 Oct 1977 | Widnes | 22-6 | Huyton | Naughton Park | | 6 |
| 16 | Sun 23 Oct 1977 | York | 12-20 | Workington Town | Clarence Street | | |

### Round 2 - Second Round

Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Notes |
| 1 | Sat 5 Nov 1977 | Widnes | 26-19 | Castleford | Naughton Park | | |
| 2 | Sun 6 Nov 1977 | Bradford Northern | 22-18 | Workington Town | Odsal | | |
| 3 | Sun 6 Nov 1977 | Featherstone Rovers | 17-10 | St. Helens | Post Office Road | 5481 | |
| 4 | Sun 6 Nov 1977 | Huddersfield | 21-11 | Oldham | Fartown | | |
| 5 | Sun 6 Nov 1977 | Keighley | 5-14 | Leigh | Lawkholme Lane | | |
| 6 | Sun 6 Nov 1977 | Wakefield Trinity | 31-7 | Cawoods | Belle Vue | | 4 |
| 7 | Sun 6 Nov 1977 | Warrington | 19-10 | Salford | Wilderspool | | |
| 8 | Sun 6 Nov 1977 | Wigan | 9-7 | New Hunslet | Central Park | 5447 | |

### Round 3 -Quarter Finals

Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue |
| 1 | Sat 19 Nov 1977 | Huddersfield | 0-11 | Bradford Northern | Fartown |
| 2 | Sun 20 Nov 1977 | Featherstone Rovers | 11-14 | Warrington | Post Office Road |
| 3 | Sun 20 Nov 1977 | Wakefield Trinity | 12-9 | Leigh | Belle Vue |
| 4 | Sun 20 Nov 1977 | Widnes | 25-0 | Wigan | Naughton Park |

### Round 4 – Semi-Finals

Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref |
| 1 | Sat 26 Nov 1977 | Wakefield Trinity | 5-15 | Warrington | Belle Vue | | | 7 | |
| 2 | Sat 3 Dec 1977 | Widnes | 14-10 | Bradford Northern | Naughton Park | | | | |

### Final

| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref |
| | Saturday 28 January 1978 | Warrington | 9-4 | Widnes | Knowsley Road | 10258 | 8429 | 8 | |

#### Teams and scorers

| Warrington | № | Widnes |
| | teams | |
| Derek Finnegan/Derek Finnigan | 1 | David Eckersley |
| Steve Hesford | 2 | Stuart Wright |
| Billy Benyon | 3 | Mal Aspey |
| Frank Wilson | 4 | Mick George |
| John Bevan | 5 | Paul Woods |
| Ken Kelly | 6 | Eric Hughes |
| Parry Gordon | 7 | Reg Bowden |
| Roy Lester | 8 | Bill Ramsey |
| John Dalgreen | 9 | Keith Elwell |
| Mike Nicholas | 10 | Glyndwr "Glyn" Shaw |
| Tommy Martyn | 11 | Mick Adams |
| Barry Philbin | 12 | David Hull |
| Ian Potter | 13 | Doug Laughton |
| ? Not used | 14 | ? Not used |
| ? Not used | 15 | Alan Dearden (for Glyndwr "Glyn" Shaw) |
| | Coach | |
| 9 | score | 4 |
| 4 | HT | 0 |
| | Scorers | |
| | Tries | |
| John Bevan (1) | T | |
| | Goals | |
| Steve Hesford (3) | G | |
| | Drop Goals | |
| | DG | Paul Woods (2) |
| Referee | | William "Billy" H. Thompson (Huddersfield) |
| Man of the match | | Steve Hesford - Warrington - Wing |
| Competition Sponsor | | Player's №6 |
Scoring - Try = three points - Goal = two points - Drop goal = one point

### Prize money

As part of the sponsorship deal and funds, the prize money awarded to the competing teams for this season was as follows:
| Finish Position | Cash Prize | No. receiving prize | Total Cash |
| Winner | £8,000 | 1 | £8,000 |
| Runner-up | £3,500 | 1 | £3,500 |
| Semi-finalist | £1,750 | 2 | £3,500 |
| Loser in Rd 3 | £750 | 4 | £3,000 |
| Loser in Rd 2 | £600 | 8 | £4,800 |
| Loser in Rd 1 | £450 | 16 | £7,200 |
| Grand Total | Grand Total | Grand Total | £30,000 |

### The road to success

This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures:
| First round | First round | First round | Second round | Second round | Second round | Third round | Third round | Third round | | Semifinals | Semifinals | Semifinals | | Final | Final | Final |
| Wakefield Trinity | Wakefield Trinity | 24 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Batley | Batley | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Batley | Batley | 5 | Wakefield Trinity | Wakefield Trinity | 31 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Cawoods | Cawoods | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Halifax | Halifax | 8 | Cawoods | Cawoods | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Cawoods | Cawoods | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Cawoods | Cawoods | 9 | | | | Wakefield Trinity | Wakefield Trinity | 12 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Leigh | Leigh | 9 | | | | | | | | |
| Keighley | Keighley | 18 | | | | | | | Leigh | Leigh | 9 | | | | | | | | |
| Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 16 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 16 | Keighley | Keighley | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Leigh | Leigh | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Leigh | Leigh | 31 | Leigh | Leigh | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Doncaster | Doncaster | 15 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Doncaster | Doncaster | 15 | | | | | | | | Wakefield Trinity | Wakefield Trinity | 5 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Warrington | Warrington | 15 | | | | |
| Featherstone Rovers | Featherstone Rovers | 25 | | | | | | | | | | | Warrington | Warrington | 15 | | | | |
| Hull Kingston Rovers | Hull Kingston Rovers | 24 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hull Kingston Rovers | Hull Kingston Rovers | 24 | Featherstone Rovers | Featherstone Rovers | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | St. Helens | St. Helens | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Swinton | Swinton | 11 | St. Helens | St. Helens | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| St. Helens | St. Helens | 28 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| St. Helens | St. Helens | 28 | | | | Featherstone Rovers | Featherstone Rovers | 11 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Warrington | Warrington | 14 | | | | | | | | |
| Blackpool Borough | Blackpool Borough | 10 | | | | | | | Warrington | Warrington | 14 | | | | | | | | |
| Warrington | Warrington | 31 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Warrington | Warrington | 31 | Warrington | Warrington | 19 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Salford | Salford | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Salford | Salford | 27 | Salford | Salford | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | Warrington | Warrington | 9 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Widnes | Widnes | 4 |
| Widnes | Widnes | 21 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Widnes | Widnes | 4 |
| Huyton | Huyton | 6 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Huyton | Huyton | 6 | Widnes | Widnes | 26 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Castleford | Castleford | 19 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dewsbury | Dewsbury | 0 | Castleford | Castleford | 19 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Castleford | Castleford | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Castleford | Castleford | 13 | | | | Widnes | Widnes | 25 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Wigan | Wigan | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Leeds | Leeds | 22 | | | | | | | Wigan | Wigan | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Wigan | Wigan | 25 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Wigan | Wigan | 25 | Wigan | Wigan | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | New Hunslet | New Hunslet | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| (NDLB) National Dock Labour Board | (NDLB) National Dock Labour Board | 4 | New Hunslet | New Hunslet | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| New Hunslet | New Hunslet | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| New Hunslet | New Hunslet | 18 | | | | | | | | Widnes | Widnes | 14 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 10 | | | | |
| Huddersfield | Huddersfield | 33 | | | | | | | | | | | Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 10 | | | | |
| Whitehaven | Whitehaven | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Whitehaven | Whitehaven | 13 | Huddersfield | Huddersfield | 21 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Oldham | Oldham | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oldham | Oldham | 16 | Oldham | Oldham | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Barrow | Barrow | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Barrow | Barrow | 8 | | | | Huddersfield | Huddersfield | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 11 | | | | | | | | |
| Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 19 | | | | | | | Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 11 | | | | | | | | |
| Bramley | Bramley | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bramley | Bramley | 12 | Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Workington Town | Workington Town | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| York | York | 12 | Workington Town | Workington Town | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Workington Town | Workington Town | 20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Notes and comments

1 * (NDLB) National Dock Labour Board are a Junior (amateur) club from Hull 2 * Wigan official archives gives the score as 3-18 but RugbyleaguePROJECTS, Rothmans Yearbook 1991-92 and the News of the World/Empire News ANNUAL OF 1978–79 give it as 4-18 3 * Wigan official archives gives the score as 24-3 but RugbyleaguePROJECTS, Wakefield until I die and the News of the World/Empire News Annual 1978–79 give it as 24-5 4 * Cawoods were a Junior (amateur) club from Hull 5 * Cawoods became the first amateur team to beat a professional team in a Rugby League cup tie since 1909 6 * Wigan official archives gives the score as 23-6 but RugbyleaguePROJECTS, Widnes official archives and the News of the World/Empire News annual 1978–79 give it as 22-6 7 * Wigan First Team Players continued with their strike over a bonus payment for the JP second round win over New Hunslet. Wigan chairman Ken Broome issued a statement saying "The situation is bordering on ridiculous. It's beyond money now, it's become a question of whether the players are going to run the club or we are." The actual dispute was over just £5 a man, the club having increased the bonus offer from £55 to £70 but the players wanted £75.
8 * Knowsley Road was the home of St Helens R.F.C. from 1890 until its closure in 2010. The final capacity was 17,500 although the record attendance was 35,695 set on 26 December 1949 for a league game between St Helens and Wigan.