# 1976–77 Player's No.6 Trophy

The 1976–77 Player's No.6 Trophy was a British rugby league knockout tournament. It was the sixth season that the competition was staged, which was once again known as the Player's No.6 Trophy because of its sponsorship.
Castleford won the final, beating Second Division side Blackpool Borough by the score of 25–15. The match was played at The Willows, Salford. The attendance was 4,512 and receipts were £2,919.

## Background

This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at thirty-two. For the second season there were no drawn matches in the competition.

## 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 | Sat 23 Oct 1976 | Hull F.C. | 18-5 | Warrington | Boulevard | | |
| 2 | Sat 23 Oct 1976 | Leeds | 34-10 | Rochdale Hornets | Headingley | | |
| 3 | Sun 24 Oct 1976 | Blackpool Borough | 16-15 | Barrow | Borough Park | | |
| 4 | Sun 24 Oct 1976 | Bradford Northern | 23-18 | Huddersfield | Odsal | | |
| 5 | Sun 24 Oct 1976 | Bramley | 33-5 | Dewsbury | McLaren Field | | |
| 6 | Sun 24 Oct 1976 | Featherstone Rovers | 43-13 | Whitehaven | Post Office Road | | |
| 7 | Sun 24 Oct 1976 | Ovenden | 4-24 | Halifax | Thrum Hall | 3680 | 1, 2 |
| 8 | Sun 24 Oct 1976 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 7-12 | St. Helens | Craven Park (1) | 5984 | |
| 9 | Sun 24 Oct 1976 | Huyton | 6-8 | York | Alt Park, Huyton | | |
| 10 | Sun 24 Oct 1976 | Leigh | 29-7 | Swinton | Hilton Park | | |
| 11 | Sun 24 Oct 1976 | New Hunslet | 10-24 | Castleford | Elland Road Greyhound Stadium | | |
| 12 | Sun 24 Oct 1976 | Oldham | 17-9 | Batley | Watersheddings | | |
| 13 | Sun 24 Oct 1976 | Ace Caravans | 15-39 | Salford | The Willows | 3037 | 3, 4, 5 |
| 14 | Sun 24 Oct 1976 | Wakefield Trinity | 8-10 | Widnes | Belle Vue | | |
| 15 | Sun 24 Oct 1976 | Wigan | 33-0 | Keighley | Central Park | | |
| 16 | Sun 24 Oct 1976 | Workington Town | 45-15 | Doncaster | Derwent Park | | |

### Round 2 - Second Round

Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Notes |
| 1 | Sat 6 Nov 1976 | Leeds | 18-17 | Salford | Headingley | | |
| 2 | Sat 6 Nov 1976 | St. Helens | 18-22 | Castleford | Knowsley Road | 2691 | |
| 3 | Sun 7 Nov 1976 | Blackpool Borough | 7-3 | Halifax | Borough Park | | |
| 4 | Sun 7 Nov 1976 | Hull F.C. | 19-5 | Bradford Northern | Boulevard | | |
| 5 | Sun 7 Nov 1976 | Oldham | 13-28 | Leigh | Watersheddings | | 6 |
| 6 | Sun 7 Nov 1976 | Widnes | 10-0 | Featherstone Rovers | Naughton Park | | |
| 7 | Sun 7 Nov 1976 | Workington Town | 17-13 | Bramley | Derwent Park | | |
| 8 | Sun 7 Nov 1976 | York | 8-7 | Wigan | Clarence Street | 6503 | 7 |

### Round 3 -Quarter Finals

Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue |
| 1 | Sat 20 Dec 1976 | Leeds | 14-20 | Castleford | Headingley |
| 2 | Sun 21 Dec 1976 | Leigh | 17-12 | Hull F.C. | Hilton Park |
| 3 | Sun 21 Dec 1976 | Widnes | 13-10 | York | Naughton Park |
| 4 | Sun 21 Dec 1976 | Workington Town | 5-11 | Blackpool Borough | Derwent 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 27 Dec 1976 | Castleford | 15-10 | Widnes | Wheldon Road | | | 8 | |
| 2 | Sat 11 Dec 1976 | Blackpool Borough | 15-5 | Leigh | Borough Park | | | 8 | |

### Final

* 22 January 1977
| Castleford | 25 – 15 | Blackpool Borough |
| Tries: Burton, Johnson, Joyner, Stephens, Wraith Goals: Lloyd (5) | | Tries: Machen, Allen, Egan Goals: Egan (3) |
* The Willows, Salford Attendance: 4,512 Referee: Mick Naughton (Widnes) Player of the Match: Gary Stephens and Howard Allen (awarded jointly)

#### Teams and scorers

| Castleford | No. | Blackpool Borough |
| | teams | |
| Geoffrey Wraith | 1 | Doug Reynolds |
| Steve Fenton | 2 | Doug Robinson |
| John Joyner | 3 | John Heritage |
| Philip Johnson | 4 | Paul Machen |
| Trevor Briggs | 5 | Phil Pitman |
| Bruce Burton | 6 | Ged Marsh |
| Gary Stephens | 7 | Jackie Newall |
| Paul Kahn | 8 | James "Jim"/"Jimmy" Hamilton |
| Robert Spurr | 9 | Howard Allen |
| Alan Dickinson | 10 | Joe Egan |
| Mal Reilly | 11 | Paul Gamble |
| Geoffrey "Sammy" Lloyd | 12 | Ken Groves |
| Steve 'Knocker' Norton | 13 | Malcolm Pattinson |
| ? Not used | 14 | Cliff Lamb (for Phil Pitman) |
| ? Not used | 15 | Phil Hurst (for Ken Groves) |
| | Coach | Jim Crellin |

### 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 | £6,000 | 1 | £6,000 |
| Runner-up | £3,000 | 1 | £3,000 |
| Semi-finalist | £1,500 | 2 | £3,000 |
| Loser in Rd 3 | £700 | 4 | £2,800 |
| Loser in Rd 2 | £550 | 8 | £4,400 |
| Loser in Rd 1 | £400 | 16 | £6,400 |
| Grand Total | Grand Total | Grand Total | £25,600 |

### 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 |
| Leeds | Leeds | 34 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 10 | Leeds | Leeds | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Salford | Salford | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ace Caravans | Ace Caravans | 15 | Salford | Salford | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Salford | Salford | 39 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Salford | Salford | 39 | | | | Leeds | Leeds | 14 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Castleford | Castleford | 20 | | | | | | | | |
| Hull Kingston Rovers | Hull Kingston Rovers | 7 | | | | | | | Castleford | Castleford | 20 | | | | | | | | |
| St. Helens | St. Helens | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| St. Helens | St. Helens | 12 | St. Helens | St. Helens | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Castleford | Castleford | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| New Hunslet | New Hunslet | 10 | Castleford | Castleford | 22 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Castleford | Castleford | 24 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Castleford | Castleford | 24 | | | | | | | | Castleford | Castleford | 15 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Widnes | Widnes | 10 | | | | |
| Wakefield Trinity | Wakefield Trinity | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | Widnes | Widnes | 10 | | | | |
| Widnes | Widnes | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Widnes | Widnes | 10 | Widnes | Widnes | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Featherstone Rovers | Featherstone Rovers | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Featherstone Rovers | Featherstone Rovers | 43 | Featherstone Rovers | Featherstone Rovers | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Whitehaven | Whitehaven | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Whitehaven | Whitehaven | 13 | | | | Widnes | Widnes | 13 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | York | York | 10 | | | | | | | | |
| Huyton | Huyton | 6 | | | | | | | York | York | 10 | | | | | | | | |
| York | York | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| York | York | 8 | York | York | 8 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Wigan | Wigan | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Wigan | Wigan | 33 | Wigan | Wigan | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Keighley | Keighley | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Keighley | Keighley | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | Castleford | Castleford | 25 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Blackpool Borough | Blackpool Borough | 15 |
| Workington Town | Workington Town | 45 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Blackpool Borough | Blackpool Borough | 15 |
| Doncaster | Doncaster | 15 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Doncaster | Doncaster | 15 | Workington Town | Workington Town | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Bramley | Bramley | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bramley | Bramley | 22 | Bramley | Bramley | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dewsbury | Dewsbury | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dewsbury | Dewsbury | 5 | | | | Workington Town | Workington Town | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Blackpool Borough | Blackpool Borough | 11 | | | | | | | | |
| Blackpool Borough | Blackpool Borough | 16 | | | | | | | Blackpool Borough | Blackpool Borough | 11 | | | | | | | | |
| Barrow | Barrow | 15 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Barrow | Barrow | 15 | Blackpool Borough | Blackpool Borough | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Halifax | Halifax | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ovenden | Ovenden | 4 | Halifax | Halifax | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Halifax | Halifax | 24 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Halifax | Halifax | 24 | | | | | | | | Blackpool Borough | Blackpool Borough | 15 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Leigh | Leigh | 5 | | | | |
| Oldham | Oldham | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | Leigh | Leigh | 5 | | | | |
| Batley | Batley | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Batley | Batley | 9 | Oldham | Oldham | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Leigh | Leigh | 28 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Leigh | Leigh | 29 | Leigh | Leigh | 28 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Swinton | Swinton | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Swinton | Swinton | 7 | | | | Leigh | Leigh | 17 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 12 | | | | | | | | |
| Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 18 | | | | | | | Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 12 | | | | | | | | |
| Warrington | Warrington | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Warrington | Warrington | 5 | Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 19 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 23 | Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Huddersfield | Huddersfield | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |