Super League III
JJB Sports Super League III was the official name for the year 1998's Super League championship season, the 104th season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the third season played in summer. The League format changed in 1998 and the championship became a playoff series to determine the Super League champions, similar to the way the Premiership was played for the previous 23 seasons. This meant the first Final to determine the British champions since the 1972–73 season. The team which finished on the top of the table were, from this season, awarded the League Leaders' Shield, with the inaugural honours going to Wigan. Huddersfield Giants, the league's bottom club was saved from relegation in 1998 due to the expansion of the league to fourteen teams in Super League IV. The season culminated in the grand final between Leeds Rhinos and Wigan Warriors, which Wigan won, claiming the 1998 Championship.
| Super League III | |
|---|---|
| League | Super League |
| Duration | 23 Rounds |
| Teams | 12 |
| Highest attendance | 19,188 Bradford Bulls vs Leeds Rhinos (12 April) |
| Lowest attendance | 2,014 London Broncos vs Huddersfield Giants (23 Aug) |
| Broadcast partners |  Sky Sports |
| 1998 Season | |
| Champions |  Wigan Warriors1st Super League title 18th English title |
| League Leaders | Wigan Warriors |
| Man of Steel |  Iestyn Harris |
| Top point-scorer(s) | Iestyn Harris (255) |
| Top try-scorer(s) |  Anthony Sullivan (20) |
| New franchise | |
| Awarded to |  Gateshead Thunder |
| Promotion and relegation | |
| Promoted from First Division |  Hull Sharks Huddersfield Giants |
Teams
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Reigning Champions | |
| Challenge Cup Holders | |
| Promoted | |
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | City/Area | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bradford Bulls |
Odsal | 27,000 | Bradford, West Yorkshire | |
 Castleford Tigers |
Wheldon Road | 11,750 | Castleford, West Yorkshire | |
 Halifax Blue Sox |
Thrum Hall | 9,832 | Halifax, West Yorkshire | |
| Huddersfield Giants |
Galpharm Stadium | 24,500 | Huddersfield, West Yorkshire | |
| Hull Sharks |
The Boulevard | 10,500 | Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire | |
| Leeds Rhinos |
Headingley | 21,500 | Leeds, West Yorkshire | |
 London Broncos |
The Valley | 27,000 | Charlton, Greater London | |
 Salford Reds |
The Willows | 11,363 | Salford, Greater Manchester | |
 Sheffield Eagles |
Don Valley Stadium | 25,000 | Sheffield, South Yorkshire | |
| St Helens |
Knowsley Road | 17,500 | St Helens, Mersyside | |
 Warrington Wolves |
Wilderspool | 9,200 | Warrington, Cheshire | |
| Wigan Warriors |
Central Park | 18,000 | Wigan, Greater Manchester |
Table
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wigan Warriors |
23 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 762 | 222 | +540 | 42 | Play-offs Semi Final |
| 2 | Leeds Rhinos |
23 | 19 | 0 | 4 | 662 | 369 | +293 | 38 | Play-offs Qualifying Final |
| 3 | Halifax Blue Sox |
23 | 18 | 0 | 5 | 658 | 390 | +268 | 36 | |
| 4 | St Helens |
23 | 14 | 1 | 8 | 673 | 459 | +214 | 29 | Play-offs Eliminator Final |
| 5 | Bradford Bulls |
23 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 498 | 450 | +48 | 24 | |
| 6 |  Castleford Tigers |
23 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 446 | 522 | -76 | 21 | |
| 7 | London Broncos |
23 | 10 | 0 | 13 | 415 | 476 | -61 | 20 | |
| 8 | Sheffield Eagles |
23 | 8 | 2 | 13 | 495 | 541 | -46 | 18 | |
| 9 | Hull Sharks |
23 | 8 | 0 | 15 | 421 | 574 | -153 | 16 | |
| 10 | Warrington Wolves |
23 | 7 | 1 | 15 | 411 | 645 | -234 | 15 | |
| 11 | Salford Reds |
23 | 6 | 1 | 16 | 319 | 575 | -256 | 13 | |
| 12 | Huddersfield Giants |
23 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 288 | 825 | -537 | 4 |
Play-offs
The top five clubs at the end of the 23-round regular season entered the play-offs to decide the championship.
The format was to have an elimination play off between the fourth and fifth teams (the fourth team gaining home advantage) and then have a qualifying play-off between the second and third placed teams (the second placed team gaining home advantage). The winner of the qualifier would play the team finishing first in the first semi final whilst the losing team got a second chance and played against the winner of the eliminating play off between fourth and fifth. The winner of the qualifying semi final would progress to the final of the Super League championship and the losing side would get another chance and play against the winning side of the elimination semi final.
| Qualifying play-off 4 October 1998 | Qualifying semi-final 11 October 1998 | Preliminary final | Grand Final 24 October 1998 | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Wigan Warriors | 17 | Wigan Warriors | 10 | ||||||||||||||
| Leeds Rhinos | 4 | Leeds Rhinos | 4 | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | Leeds Rhinos | 13 | Leeds Rhinos | 44 | ||||||||||||||
| 3 | Halifax Blue Sox | 6 | Elimination semi-final 9 October 1998 | St. Helens | 16 | |||||||||||||
| Halifax Blue Sox | 30 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | St. Helens | 46 | St. Helens | 37 | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | Bradford Bulls | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
Grand final
24 October 1998 |
| Wigan Warriors |
10–4 | Leeds Rhinos |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Robinson Goals: Farrell (3) |
Report |
Tries: Blackmore |
Dream Team
The Super League Dream Team for the 1998 season was: 1. Kris Radlinski (Wigan) 2. Jason Robinson (Wigan) 3. Gary Connolly (Wigan) 4. Brad Godden (Leeds) 5. Anthony Sullivan (St. Helens) 6. Iestyn Harris (Leeds) 7. Gavin Clinch (Halifax) 8. Dale Laughton (Sheffield) 9. Robbie McCormack (Wigan) 10. Tony Mestrov (Wigan) 11. Steele Retchless (London Broncos) 12. Adrian Morley (Leeds) 13. Andy Farrell (Wigan).[2]
See also
References
- "Wonderful Wigan add Final chapter to illustrious history". The Birmingham Post. England. 1998-10-26. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
- "League proposes show in S Africa". independent.co.uk. 2011-12-31. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2012-01-01.