2011 RFL Championship

The 2011 Rugby Football League Championship is known as Co-operative Championship due to sponsorship by The Co-operative Group.

Co-operative Championship 2011
The Co-operative Championship logo
LeagueCo-operative Championship
Duration22 Rounds (Followed by 4 round playoffs)
Teams10
Broadcast partnersSky Sports
2011 Season
Grand Final winnersFeatherstone Rovers
League leadersFeatherstone Rovers
Top point-scorer(s)Mick Nanyn (296)
Top try-scorer(s)Jamie Ellis, Mick Nanyn (22)

The 2011 Co-operative Championship is a semi-professional rugby league football competition played in the UK and France one tier below the first tier Super League. The two worst performing teams during the season, with the exception of Toulouse Olympique, will be relegated to Championship 1.

There is no automatic promotion from this league to Super League, which uses a licensing system renewed every three years. Qualifying for the Grand Final or winning the Northern Rail Cup is a prerequisite for Championship clubs to be able to apply for a licence in the next round of applications for the 2012–14 period.

All of the teams in the 2011 Co-operative Championship will also compete in the 2011 Challenge Cup where they will enter in the third round. All of the teams will also compete in the 2011 National League Cup which starts before the Co-operative Championship with the finals held mid season.

Teams

This competition features mostly the same teams as it did in 2010. The Hunslet Hawks and York City Knights were promoted from the 2010 Championship 1 while the Keighley Cougars and Whitehaven were relegated.

Legend
  Reigning champions
  Defending Northern Rail Cup Champions
  Promoted
Team & Current Season Stadium Capacity Location
Barrow Raiders Craven Park 7,600 Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria
Batley Bulldogs Mount Pleasant 6,000 Batley, West Yorkshire
Dewsbury Rams Tetley's Stadium 3,500 Dewsbury, West Yorkshire
Featherstone Rovers Bigfellas Stadium 6,750 Featherstone, West Yorkshire
Halifax The Shay Stadium 6,561 Halifax, West Yorkshire
Hunslet Hawks South Leeds Stadium 4,000 Leeds, West Yorkshire
Leigh Centurions Leigh Sports Village 12,700 Leigh, Greater Manchester
Sheffield Eagles Bramall Lane 32,702 Sheffield, South Yorkshire
Toulouse Olympique XIII Stade des Minimes 4,066 Toulouse, Midi-Pyrénées, France
Widnes Vikings Stobart Stadium Halton 13,500 Widnes, Cheshire
York City Knights Huntington Stadium 3,428 York, North Yorkshire

Season standings
2011 Co-operative Championship
# Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Bns Pts
1 Featherstone Rovers 201811840348+492056
2 Leigh Centurions 201811776368+408153
3 Batley Bulldogs 201208498406+92041
4 Sheffield Eagles 201208577488+89039
5 Widnes Vikings 201118555532+23038
6 Halifax 2010010569543+26136
7 Hunslet Hawks 204115395630-235320
8 York City Knights 205114416788-372319
9 Dewsbury Rams 204115413618−205018
10 Toulouse Olympique(R) 204016358663−305015
11 Barrow Raiders (R) 209011527540-1310
  Teams qualifying for the Play-offs
  Teams in relegation position
This table is correct as of 25 August 2010 (1:12pm).

Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20110322190230/http://www.cooperativechampionship.co.uk/table_nl1.php

Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference.

Competition points: For win = 3; For draw = 2; For loss by 12 points or fewer = 1.

Season results

Regular season
Main article: 2011 RFL Championship Results

Play-offs

Elimination play-offs

8 September 2011 Batley Bulldogs 22–32 Halifax Batley
Tries: Preece (2), Daley Williams, Manning
Goals: Handforth 2/3, Mennell 1/3		 Tries: Haley, Bannister, Worrincy, Penkywicz, Beswick
Goals: Jones 6/6		 Stadium: Mount Pleasant
Attendance: 1,179
Referee: Clint Sharrad
9 September 2011 Sheffield Eagles 36–20 Widnes Vikings Sheffield
Tries: Laulu-Togagae (2), McDonald (2), Taulapapa
Goals: Brown 8/9		 Tries: Flynn (2), Ropati, Craven
Goals: Craven 2/4		 Stadium: Bramall Lane
Attendance: 564
Referee: Matthew Thomason

Qualifying semi-final

15 September 2011 Featherstone Rovers 35–20 Leigh Centurions Featherstone
Tries: Cockayne, Finn, Saxton (3), Bostock
Goals: Finn 5/7
Drop goals: Finn		 Tries: Maden, Mills, Ridyard, Nanyn
Goals: Nanyn 2/4		 Stadium: Post Office Road
Attendance: 2,031
Referee: Tim Roby

Elimination semi-final

18 September 2011 Sheffield Eagles 50–12 Halifax Sheffield
Tries: Laulu-Togagae, Hirst, Henderson (2), McDonald (2), Taulapapa, Woodcock
Goals: Brown 9/11		 Tries: Goddard, Penkywicz
Goals: Jones 2/2		 Stadium: Bramall Lane
Attendance: 1,233
Referee: Matthew Thomason

Elimination final

22 September 2011 Leigh Centurions 10–20 Sheffield Eagles Leigh
Tries: Donlan, Nanyn
Goals: Nanyn 1/2		 Tries: S. Scott, Finigan, Laulu-Togagae
Goals: Brown 4/4		 Stadium: Leigh Sports Village
Attendance: 1,818
Referee: Ben Thaler

Grand Final

2 October 2011
Featherstone Rovers 40–4 Sheffield Eagles
Tries: Spears, Finn (2), Hardman, Cockayne, Hepworth, Saxton
Goals: Finn 6/7		 Tries: McDonald
Goals: Brown 0/1
Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington
Attendance: 7,263
Referee: Matthew Thomason
Elimination play-offsQualifying/Elimination semifinalElimination finalGrand Final
15 September 20112 October 2011
1 Featherstone Rovers35 Featherstone Rovers40
2 Leigh Centurions2022 September 2011' Sheffield Eagles4
8 September 2011
Leigh Centurions10
3 Batley Bulldogs22
18 September 2011 Sheffield Eagles20
6 Halifax32
Halifax12
9 September 2011
Sheffield Eagles50
4 Sheffield Eagles36
5 Widnes Vikings20

Statistics

The following are the top points scorers in the Championship during the 2011 season. Statistics also include tries and goals scored in the play-offs.[1]

Most points

Player Team Tries Goals DGs Points
Mick NanynLeigh Centurions221040296
Liam FinnFeatherstone Rovers141151287
Simon BrownSheffield Eagles2951199
Steve TyrerWidnes Vikings12690186
Danny JonesHalifax6650154
Jamie RooneyBarrow Raiders6631151
Paul HandforthBatley Bulldogs4590134
Darren NichollsToulouse Olympique13400132
Dominic BrambaniDewsbury Rams6391103
Jamie EllisLeigh Centurions2270102

See also

References
  1. Tim Butcher; Daniel Spencer (November 2011). Gillette Rugby League Yearbook 2011-12. League Publications Limited. ISBN 978-1-901347-24-1.
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