# 1973–74 Player's No.6 Trophy

This was the third season of rugby league's League Cup competition, which for sponsorship reasons was known as the Players No.6 Trophy.
Warrington won the final, beating Rochdale Hornets by the score of 27–16 in the match played at Central Park, Wigan. The attendance was 9,347 and receipts were £4380.

## Background

This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at thirty-two.

## 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 15 Sep 1973 | Bramley | 20-12 | Hull F.C. | McLaren Field | 750 | |
| 2 | Sat 15 Sep 1973 | Keighley | 30-10 | Huyton | Lawkholme Lane | 595 | 1 |
| 3 | Sat 15 Sep 1973 | St. Helens | 34-16 | Featherstone Rovers | Knowsley Road | 3000 | 2 |
| 4 | Sat 15 Sep 1973 | Whitehaven | 26-3 | Dewsbury Celtic | Recreation Ground | 1276 | 3, 4 |
| 5 | Sat 15 Sep 1973 | Wigan | 34-0 | Batley | Central Park | 4149 | |
| 6 | Sun 16 Sep 1973 | Bradford Northern | 12-34 | Leeds | Odsal | 9028 | |
| 7 | Sun 16 Sep 1973 | Castleford | 88-5 | Millom | Wheldon Road | 1031 | 5, 6 |
| 8 | Sun 16 Sep 1973 | Dewsbury | 33-24 | Widnes | Crown Flatt | 2508 | 7 |
| 9 | Sun 16 Sep 1973 | Halifax | 20-5 | Barrow | Thrum Hall | 1281 | 8 |
| 10 | Sun 16 Sep 1973 | New Hunslet | 11-26 | Leigh | Elland Road Greyhound Stadium | 2000 | |
| 11 | Sun 16 Sep 1973 | Rochdale Hornets | 18-2 | Huddersfield | Athletic Grounds | 1952 | |
| 12 | Sun 16 Sep 1973 | Salford | 47-17 | Doncaster | The Willows | 4122 | |
| 13 | Sun 16 Sep 1973 | Wakefield Trinity | 47-13 | Blackpool Borough | Belle Vue | 2462 | |
| 14 | Sun 16 Sep 1973 | Warrington | 31-14 | Oldham | Wilderspool | 5238 | |
| 15 | Sun 16 Sep 1973 | Workington Town | 20-9 | Hull Kingston Rovers | Derwent Park | 1503 | |
| 16 | Sun 16 Sep 1973 | York | 32-13 | Swinton | Clarence Street | 2509 | |

### Round 2 - Second Round

Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs NOTE - Matches in this round kicked off earlier to make maximum use of the daylight Use of Floodlights in sporting events was banned by government order from 15 November 1973 due to mining strikes
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Notes |
| 1 | Sat 15 Dec 1973 | Bramley | 24-12 | Leigh | McLaren Field | 750 | 9 |
| 2 | Sat 15 Dec 1973 | Warrington | 18-9 | Castleford | Wilderspool | 2208 | 9 |
| 3 | Sun 16 Dec 1973 | Halifax | 7-16 | Dewsbury | Thrum Hall | 2050 | 9 |
| 4 | Sun 16 Dec 1973 | Rochdale Hornets | 11-0 | York | Athletic Grounds | 2274 | 9 |
| 5 | Sun 16 Dec 1973 | St. Helens | 28-2 | Whitehaven | Knowsley Road | 2310 | 9, 10 |
| 6 | Sun 16 Dec 1973 | Salford | 4-17 | Leeds | The Willows | 821 | 9 |
| 7 | Sun 16 Dec 1973 | Wakefield Trinity | 10-7 | Workington Town | Belle Vue | 1835 | 9 |
| 8 | Sun 16 Dec 1973 | Wigan | 10-14 | Keighley | Central Park | 2509 | 9, 11 |

### Round 3 -Quarter Finals

Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Notes |
| 1 | Sat 29 Dec 1973 | Wakefield Trinity | 18-18 | St. Helens | Belle Vue | 2890 | 12 |
| 2 | Sun 30 Dec 1973 | Keighley | 8-11 | Bramley | Lawkholme Lane | 2887 | 13 |
| 3 | Sun 30 Dec 1973 | Rochdale Hornets | 7-5 | Leeds | Athletic Grounds | 5389 | 13 |
| 4 | Sun 30 Dec 1973 | Warrington | 20-12 | Dewsbury | Wilderspool | 6090 | 13 |

### Round 3 -Quarter Finals - Replays

Involved 1 match with 2 clubs
| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref |
| 1 | Sun 6 Jan 1974 | St. Helens | 16-10 | Wakefield Trinity | Knowsley Road | 7287 | | | |

### 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 | Sun 6 Jan 1974 | Rochdale Hornets | 14-2 | Bramley | Athletic Grounds | 2835 | | 14 | |
| 2 | Sat 12 Jan 1974 | Warrington | 20-9 | St. Helens | Wilderspool | 5352 | | | |

### Final

| Game No | Fixture Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team | Venue | Att | Rec | Notes | Ref |
| | Saturday 9 February 1974 | Warrington | 27-16 | Rochdale Hornets | Central Park | 9347 | 4380 | 15, 16 | |

#### Teams and Scorers John Player yearbook 1974–75

| Warrington | № | Rochdale Hornets |
| | teams | |
| Derek Whitehead | 1 | James "Jim"/"Jimmy" Crellin |
| Michael "Mick"/"Mike" Philbin | 2 | Norman Brelsford |
| Derek Noonan | 3 | Tom Brophy |
| Frank Reynolds | 4 | David Taylor |
| John Bevan | 5 | Willie Aspinall |
| Alan Whittle | 6 | John Butler |
| Parry Gordon | 7 | Stephen/Steven "Steve" Gartland |
| David "Dave" Chisnall | 8 | William "Bill" Holliday |
| Kevin Ashcroft (c) | 9 | R. Harris |
| Brian Brady Archived 2015-02-23 at the Wayback Machine | 10 | S. Whitehead |
| David "Dave" Wright | 11 | Terry Fogerty |
| Robert "Bobby" Wanbon | 12 | William "Bill"/"Billy" Sheffield |
| Barry Philbin | 13 | Tony Halmshaw |
| William "Bill"/"Billy" Pickup (for Derek Noonan or Frank Reynolds) | 14 | Harry Wood (for John Butler or Terry Foggerty) |
| Mike Nicholas (for Dave Chisnall 19-mins) | 15 | ? Not used |
| | Coach | Henry Delooze |
| 27 | score | 16 |
| 12 | HT | 0 |
| | Scorers | |
| | Tries | |
| Derek Whitehead (1) | T | Norman Brelsford (2) |
| Derek Noonan (2) | T | Tom Brophy (1) |
| John Bevan (1) | T | David Taylor (1) |
| Mike Nicholas (1) | T | |
| | Goals | |
| Derek Whitehead (6) | G | William "Bill" Holliday (2) |
| Referee | | D. Gerald "Gerry" Kershaw (York) |
| Man of the match | | Kevin Ashcroft - Warrington - Hooker |
| Competition Sponsor | | Player's №6 |
Scoring - Try = three points - Goal = two points - Drop goal = one point

#### Timeline in the final

| Time | Incident | Score |
| ? | Penalty Goal: Derek Whitehead | 2-0 |
| 27 min | Try: Mike Nicholas | 5-0 |
| | Conversion: Derek Whitehead | 7-0 |
| 39 min | Try: Derek Noonan | 10-0 |
| | Conversion: Derek Whitehead | 12-0 |
| Half Time | | 12-0 |
| | Penalty Goal: Colin Whitfield | 12-0 |
| 43 min | Try: Norman Brelsford | 15-3 |
| ? | Try: Derek Noonan | 15-3 |
| | Conversion: Derek Whitehead | 17-3 |
| ? | Try: David Taylor | 17-6 |
| | Conversion: Bill Holliday | 17-8 |
| approx 50 min | Try: John Bevan | 20-8 |
| | Conversion: Derek Whitehead | 22-8 |
| approx 60 min | Try: Derek Whitehead | 25-8 |
| | Conversion: Derek Whitehead | 27-8 |
| ? | Try: Norman Brelsford | 27-11 |
| | Conversion: Bill Holliday | 27-13 |
| 79 min | Try: Tom Brophy | 27-16 |
| Full Time | | 27-16 |

### 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 | £5,000 | 1 | £5,000 |
| Runner-up | £2,500 | 1 | £2,500 |
| Semi-finalist | £1,000 | 2 | £2,000 |
| Loser in Rd 3 | £450 | 4 | £1,800 |
| Loser in Rd 2 | £300 | 8 | £2,400 |
| Loser in Rd 1 | £150 | 16 | £2,400 |
| Grand Total | Grand Total | Grand Total | £16,100 |

### 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 |
| Warrington | Warrington | 31 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oldham | Oldham | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Oldham | Oldham | 14 | Warrington | Warrington | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Castleford | Castleford | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Castleford | Castleford | 88 | Castleford | Castleford | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Millom | Millom | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Millom | Millom | 5 | | | | Warrington | Warrington | 20 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Dewsbury | Dewsbury | 12 | | | | | | | | |
| Halifax | Halifax | 20 | | | | | | | Dewsbury | Dewsbury | 12 | | | | | | | | |
| Barrow | Barrow | 5 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Barrow | Barrow | 5 | Halifax | Halifax | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Dewsbury | Dewsbury | 16 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dewsbury | Dewsbury | 33 | Dewsbury | Dewsbury | 16 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Widnes | Widnes | 24 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Widnes | Widnes | 24 | | | | | | | | Warrington | Warrington | 20 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | St. Helens | St. Helens | 9 | | | | |
| Wakefield Trinity | Wakefield Trinity | 47 | | | | | | | | | | | St. Helens | St. Helens | 9 | | | | |
| Blackpool Borough | Blackpool Borough | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Blackpool Borough | Blackpool Borough | 13 | Wakefield Trinity | Wakefield Trinity | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Workington Town | Workington Town | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Workington Town | Workington Town | 20 | Workington Town | Workington Town | 7 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hull Kingston Rovers | Hull Kingston Rovers | 9 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hull Kingston Rovers | Hull Kingston Rovers | 9 | | | | Wakefield Trinity | Wakefield Trinity | 18 (16) | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | St. Helens | St. Helens | 18 (27) | | | | | | | | |
| St. Helens | St. Helens | 34 | | | | | | | St. Helens | St. Helens | 18 (27) | | | | | | | | |
| Featherstone Rovers | Featherstone Rovers | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Featherstone Rovers | Featherstone Rovers | 13 | St. Helens | St. Helens | 28 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Whitehaven | Whitehaven | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Whitehaven | Whitehaven | 26 | Whitehaven | Whitehaven | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dewsbury Celtic | Dewsbury Celtic | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Dewsbury Celtic | Dewsbury Celtic | 3 | | | | | | | | | | | | Warrington | Warrington | 27 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 16 |
| Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 18 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 16 |
| Huddersfield | Huddersfield | 2 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Huddersfield | Huddersfield | 2 | Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 11 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | York | York | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| York | York | 32 | York | York | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Swinton | Swinton | 13 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Swinton | Swinton | 13 | | | | Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 7 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Leeds | Leeds | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| Salford | Salford | 47 | | | | | | | Leeds | Leeds | 5 | | | | | | | | |
| Doncaster | Doncaster | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Doncaster | Doncaster | 17 | Salford | Salford | 4 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Leeds | Leeds | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Bradford Northern | Bradford Northern | 12 | Leeds | Leeds | 17 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Leeds | Leeds | 34 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Leeds | Leeds | 34 | | | | | | | | Rochdale Hornets | Rochdale Hornets | 14 | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Bramley | Bramley | 2 | | | | |
| Wigan | Wigan | 37 | | | | | | | | | | | Bramley | Bramley | 2 | | | | |
| Batley | Batley | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Batley | Batley | 0 | Wigan | Wigan | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Keighley | Keighley | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Keighley | Keighley | 30 | Keighley | Keighley | 14 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Huyton | Huyton | 10 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Huyton | Huyton | 10 | | | | Keighley | Keighley | 8 | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | Bramley | Bramley | 11 | | | | | | | | |
| Bramley | Bramley | 20 | | | | | | | Bramley | Bramley | 11 | | | | | | | | |
| Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hull F.C. | Hull F.C. | 12 | Bramley | Bramley | 24 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | Leigh | Leigh | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| New Hunslet | New Hunslet | 11 | Leigh | Leigh | 12 | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Leigh | Leigh | 26 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

## Notes and comments

1 * RUGBYLEAGUEproject states that the match was played at Bradford, whereas it was played at Lawkholme Lane, Keighley 2 * St Helens official archives give the attendance as 2,500 whereas RUGBYLEAGUEproject gives it as 3,000 3 * Dewsbury Celtic are a Junior (amateur) club from Dewsbury, home ground is Crow Nest Park 4 * The John Player Yearbook 1974–75 and the News of the World Football Annual 1974–75 give the attendance as 1,250 but RUGBYLEAGUEproject give it as 1,276 5 * Millom are a Junior (amateur) club from Cumbria, current home ground is the Coronation Field ground 6 * The highest score, to date in the competition against a Junior club 7 * Widnes official archives give the result as a Wiidnes win 8 * Wigan official archives show a score of 30-3 but RUGBYLEAGUEproject give it as 20-5 9 * Matches kicked off Earlier to accommodate daylight. Use of Floodlights was banned by government order from 15 November 1973 due to mining strikes. 10 * Wigan official archives give score as 28-3 but RUGBYLEAGUEproject give it as 28-2 11 * Wigan's hooker (Colin Clarke) and two Keighley players (Wilmot and Burke) were sent off during this second half of this match.
12 * The John Player Yearbook 1974–75 give the date as 9-12-1974 but RUGBYLEAGUEproject give the date as 29-12-1974 13 * The John Player Yearbook 1974–75 give the date as 9-12-1974 but RUGBYLEAGUEproject give the date as 30-12-1974 14 * The John Player Yearbook 1974–75, the News of the World Football Annual 1974–75 and Wigan official archives give the date as Saturday 5-1-1974 but RUGBYLEAGUEproject give the date as Sunday 6-1-1974 15 * The John Player Yearbook 1974–75 gives the attendance as 10,047 but RUGBYLEAGUEproject give the attendance as 9,347 16 * Central Park was the home ground of Wigan with a final capacity of 18,000, although the record attendance was 47,747 for Wigan v St Helens 27 March 1959