Midlands Rugby League: Difference between revisions
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It was first contested in 2006. Many of the clubs run juniors in the [[Midlands Junior League]]. |
It was first contested in 2006. Many of the clubs run juniors in the [[Midlands Junior League]]. |
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For the 2011 season, there will be two phases, the first played in regional pools. The top teams will then compete for the premier title and the remaining clubs for the regional title. |
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==History== |
==History== |
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Revision as of 23:45, 10 January 2011
The Rugby League Conference Midlands Premier is a division in the Rugby League Conference. It is the highest level of amateur rugby league in the English Midlands.
It was first contested in 2006. Many of the clubs run juniors in the Midlands Junior League.
For the 2011 season, there will be two phases, the first played in regional pools. The top teams will then compete for the premier title and the remaining clubs for the regional title.
History
The Rugby League Conference was born in 1997, then known as the Southern Conference. The Premier Division were set up in 2005 for teams who had achieved a certain playing standard and where able to travel further afield to find stronger opposition.
The new Premier Divisions included the North Premier, the South Premier, the Central Premier and the Welsh Premier. The Central Premier had two Midlands clubs Telford Raiders and Nottingham Outlaws and the rest of the clubs were from Yorkshire or Lancashire.
The Midlands Premier was created one season later in 2006. The founder members were Coventry Bears, Telford Raiders, Nottingham Outlaws, Derby City, Birmingham Bulldogs, Leicester Phoenix and Wolverhampton Wizards. Coventry and Birmingham had stepped down from National League Three to join the Midlands Premier whereas the other teams had come from regional divisions of the Rugby League Conference.
Wolverhampton Wizards dropped down to the regionals in 2007 to be replaced by promoted sides Gloucestershire Warriors and Somerset Vikings.
The 2008 season saw Telford Raiders and Somerset Vikings return to the Regionals but the elevation of Bedford Tigers from the Eastern division.
Nottingham Outlaws joined a reconstituted NL3 in the form of the National Division for the 2009 season and Bedford Tigers switched to the Premier Division South. However, the division became an 8-team league with Telford Raiders, Bristol Sonics and Redditch Ravens all joining from the regionals as part of a restructure.
Rugby League Conference Pyramid
- RLC National
- RLC Midlands Premier
- RLC East and RLC North Midlands
- Midlands Rugby League
The South Premier is the highest level of amateur rugby league in the Midlands. Above the Midlands Premier is the National Division and below are two regional divisions (East and North Midlands). Below the regional divisions is the Midlands Rugby League.
Other Premier divisions are the South, Welsh, Yorkshire and North West.
2010 structure
| Club | Gegründet | Standort | RLC Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham Bulldogs | 1989 | Birmingham | Western Division: 2000, Midlands Division: 2003 |
| Bristol Sonics | 2002 | Bristol | West Midlands Division: 2007, 2008 |
| Coventry Bears | 1996 | Coventry | Western Division: 2000 Midlands Division: 2001 2002 Harry Jepson Trophy: 2002 National League 3: 2004 Midlands Premier: 2007, 2009, 2010 |
| Derby City | 1990 | Derby | - |
| Gloucestershire Warriors | 1997 | Gloucester | South West Division: 2005, West Midlands and South West Division: 2006 |
| Leicester Storm | 1986 | Leicester | Central Division: 1997, South Midlands Division: 2004 |
Teams play each other on a home-and-away basis. Each Premier division then has its own play-off series to determine the champion with the five divisional winners entering the national play-offs. The winner of the national play-offs is awarded the Harry Jepson Trophy.
League standings
| Current Teams | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bedford Tigers | x | x | 3rd | x | x |
| Birmingham Bulldogs | 6th | 6th | 6th | 4th | |
| Bristol Sonics | x | x | x | 3rd | |
| Coventry Bears | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 1st | |
| Derby City | 4th | 5th | 5th | 2nd | |
| Gloucestershire Warriors | x | 3rd | 4th | 6th | |
| Leicester Phoenix | 3rd | 8th | 7th | 5th | |
| Nottingham Outlaws | 1st | 2nd | 1st | x | x |
| Redditch Ravens | x | x | x | DNF | x |
| Somerset Vikings | x | 4th | x | x | x |
| Telford Raiders | 5th | 7th | x | 7th | x |
| Wolverhampton Wizards | 7th | x | x | x | x |
Key
| DNF | Did not complete the season |
| x | Did not participate |
| Divisional winner | |
| Qualified for divisional play-off | |
| Finished bottom |
Titles
- 2006 Nottingham Outlaws
- 2007 Coventry Bears
- 2008 Nottingham Outlaws
- 2009 Coventry Bears 48 Derby City 16
- 2010 Coventry Bears