1908–09 Northern Rugby Football Union season
The 1908–09 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the 14th season of rugby league football. Season summary. Wigan won their first Championship this season beating Oldham 7-3 in the play-off final. They had also ended the regular season as the league leaders . It was the first time that a team from outside the top two in the league had reached the Championship final. Wakefield Trinity beat Hull F.C. 17-0 to win their first Challenge Cup in their first final. Aberdare, Barry, Mid-Rhondda and Treherbert joined, taking the competition to 31  teams. Bradford disbanded and became Bradford Northern. They also moved for the second time in as many seasons to their new ground at Birch Lane. Wigan won the Lancashire League, and Halifax won the Yorkshire League. Wigan beat Oldham 10–9 to win the Lancashire Cup, and Halifax beat Hunslet 9–5 to win the Yorkshire County Cup. Australia toured England this season. On 17 October 1908, they drew 9-9 at Salford. Championship. Play-Offs. Final. The Championship final was played on a rainy afternoon of 1 May 1909 before a crowd of around 12,000 at The Willows in Salford. Wigan : Oldham: In the third minute, Wigan took the lead through a penalty goal by Jim Leytham. Oldham however scored the first try when Bill Jardine crossed in the fifteenth minute. Wigan's Dick Ramsdale took his side back into the lead with a try in the thirtieth minute. Leytham converted to give Wigan a 7-3 lead at half time. No further points were scored during the match. Challenge Cup. Wakefield Trinity beat Hull F.C. 17-0 in the final to win their first Cup in their first final. This was Hull's second successive defeat in a Challenge Cup  final, having failed to score a point in either final. Wakefield Trinity Tries: Thomas "Tommy" 'Trapper' Newbould, Ezra Sidwell, Arthur Kenealy "Nealy" Crosland, Ernest W. Bennett, William 'Billie ' G. Simpson Wakefield Trinity Goals: James "Jimmy" D. Metcalfe Half-time: 6-0 Attendance: 23,587 (at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds) Teams: Wakefield Trinity: James "Jimmy" D. Metcalfe, Ernest W. Bennett, William "Billy" Lynch, Ezra Sidwell, William 'Billie ' G. Simpson, Harry Slater, Thomas "Tommy" 'Trapper' Newbould, Arthur Kenealy "Nealy" Crosland, James Auton, Joseph Taylor, John "Jack" Walton, Herbert Kershaw, Harry 'Dickie' Beaumont Hull FC: Harry Taylor, J. Dechan, G. Connell, G. T. Cottrell , (E. or Ned) Rogers, Harry Wallace, Billie Anderson, Tom Herridge, William Holder, Frank Boylen, F. Britton, H. Havelock, W. J. Carroll