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2003 Super League season

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Super League VIII
LeagueSuper League
Duration28 Rounds
Teams12
Highest attendance21,784
Bradford Bulls vs Leeds Rhinos (23 May)
Lowest attendance1,276
Halifax vs London Broncos (22 Aug)
Attendance1,336,374 Increase
(average 7,955)
Broadcast partnersSky Sports
2003 Season
ChampionsBradford Bulls
3rd Super League title
5th British title
League LeadersBradford Bulls
Man of SteelEngland Jamie Peacock
Top point-scorer(s)England Paul Deacon (286)
Top try-scorer(s)Australia Dennis Moran (24)
Promotion and relegation
Promoted from National League OneSalford City Reds
Relegated to National League OneHalifax

Tetley's Super League VIII was the official name for the year 2003's Super League championship season, the 109th season of top-level professional rugby league held in Britain, and the eighth championship run by Super League.

The season culminated in a replay of the 2001 Grand Final between Bradford Bulls and Wigan Warriors, and again Bradford won, claiming the 2003 Championship, their second in three years.

Rule changes

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  • The knock-on rule was modified so that if in the referee's judgement a player did not play at the ball, a knock-on would not be given.[1]
  • Super League coaches voted 12-0 for new interchange and substitution rules for the 2003 season.[2] The number of interchanges, which now included blood bins, increased from 6 to 12 using a pool of 4 substitutes.[1][2] This change aimed to retain the element of wearing down a team's opponents during the game - which was considered part of the character of the sport.[2] Stuart Cummings, the Rugby Football League's technical controller said the changes "bring us into line with the international rules" and ruled out future increases as well as declaring, "We will never see the unlimited interchange introduced into rugby league in Britain," a change that had caused controversy in Australia during its experiment there.[2]

Table

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Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Qualification
1 Bradford Bulls (L, C) 28 22 0 6 878 529 +349 44 Semi Final
2 Leeds Rhinos 28 19 3 6 751 555 +196 41
3 Wigan Warriors 28 19 2 7 776 512 +264 40 Elimination Semi Final
4 St Helens 28 16 1 11 845 535 +310 31[a]
5 London Broncos 28 14 2 12 643 696 −53 30
6 Warrington Wolves 28 14 1 13 748 619 +129 29
7 Hull F.C. 28 13 3 12 701 577 +124 27[b]
8 Castleford Tigers 28 12 1 15 612 633 −21 25
9 Widnes Vikings 28 12 1 15 640 727 −87 25
10 Huddersfield Giants 28 11 1 16 628 715 −87 23
11 Wakefield Trinity Wildcats 28 7 1 20 505 774 −269 15
12 Halifax (R) 28 1 0 27 372 1227 −855 0[c] Relegation to National League One
Source: Rugby League Project
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Points difference; 3) Number of points scored;
(C) Champions; (L) League Leaders' Shield Winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ St Helens deducted 2 points for salary cap breaches.
  2. ^ Hull FC deducted 2 points for salary cap breaches.
  3. ^ Halifax deducted 2 points for salary cap breaches.

Play-offs

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Source: Rugby League Project[3]

Grand Final

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Media

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Television

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This season was the final year of Sky Sports' contract with the Rugby Football League allowing them to broadcast matches exclusively live, the deal ended in November 2003.[4]

Records

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On 2 March, Matt Crowther of Hull F.C. equalled the club record for goals in a match when he was successful 14 times against Sheffield Eagles.[5]

2003 Transfers

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Players

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Player 2002 Club 2003 Club
Brandon Costin Bradford Bulls Huddersfield Giants
Brian McDermott Bradford Bulls Retirement
Richard Gay Castleford Tigers Retirement
Barrie-Jon Mather Castleford Tigers Kubota Spears (Japanese rugby union)
Gary Mercer Castleford Tigers Retirement
Kyle Warren Castleford Tigers Retirement
Jon Wells Castleford Tigers Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Robbie Beckett Halifax Blue Sox NRL: Wests Tigers
Jamie Bloem Halifax Blue Sox Huddersfield Giants
Gavin Clinch Halifax Blue Sox Salford City Reds (National League One)
Andrew Dunemann Halifax Blue Sox Leeds Rhinos
Jason Flowers Halifax Blue Sox Salford City Reds (National League One)
Jim Gannon Halifax Blue Sox Huddersfield Giants
Brett Goldspink Halifax Blue Sox Retirement
Karle Hammond Halifax Blue Sox Retirement
Jamie Thackray Halifax Blue Sox Castleford Tigers
David Woods Halifax Blue Sox Retirement
Lee Jackson Hull F.C. York City Knights
Graham Mackay Hull F.C. Retirement
Tonie Carroll Leeds Rhinos NRL: Brisbane Broncos
Darren Fleary Leeds Rhinos Huddersfield Giants
Andy Hay Leeds Rhinos Widnes Vikings
Karl Pratt Leeds Rhinos Bradford Bulls
Ryan Sheridan Leeds Rhinos Widnes Vikings
Marcus St Hilaire Leeds Rhinos Huddersfield Giants
Adrian Vowles Leeds Rhinos Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Ben Walker Leeds Rhinos NRL: Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Richie Barnett London Broncos Hull F.C.
Wayne Evans London Broncos Retirement
Michael Gillett London Broncos Retirement
Jason Hetherington London Broncos Retirement
Mark Corvo Salford City Reds Retirement
Damian Gibson Salford City Reds Castleford Tigers
Michael Hancock Salford City Reds Retirement
Graham Holroyd Salford City Reds Huddersfield Giants
Warren Jowitt Salford City Reds Hull F.C.
Francis Maloney Salford City Reds Castleford Tigers
Jason Nicol Salford City Reds Retirement
Nick Pinkney Salford City Reds Hull Kingston Rovers (National League One)
Darren Shaw Salford City Reds Oldham (National League One)
Darren Treacy Salford City Reds NRL: Parramatta Eels
Mike Wainwright Salford City Reds Warrington Wolves
Darren Britt St. Helens Retirement
Sean Hoppe St. Helens Retirement
Sonny Nickle St. Helens Leigh Centurions (National League One)
Peter Shiels St. Helens Retirement
Deon Bird Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Widnes Vikings
Paul Broadbent Wakefield Trinity Wildcats York City Knights
Chris Feather Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Leeds Rhinos
Andrew Frew Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Halifax
Phil Hassan Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Swinton Lions
Paul Jackson Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Castleford Tigers
Neil Law Wakefield Trinity Wildcats York City Knights
Martin Moana Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Halifax
Kris Tassell Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Swinton Lions
Nathan Wood Wakefield Trinity Wildcats Warrington Wolves
Dean Busby Warrington Wolves Hull Kingston Rovers (National League One)
Dale Laughton Warrington Wolves Retirement
Paul Marquet Warrington Wolves Retirement
Matthew Rodwell Warrington Wolves Retirement
Steve Carter Widnes Vikings Retirement
Troy Stone Widnes Vikings Retirement
Craig Weston Widnes Vikings Hiatus
Gary Connolly Wigan Warriors Leeds Rhinos
David Furner Wigan Warriors Leeds Rhinos
Harvey Howard Wigan Warriors Hull Kingston Rovers (National League One)
Marvin Golden Doncaster Dragons (Northern Ford Premiership) Widnes Vikings
Chris Thorman Huddersfield Giants (Northern Ford Premiership) London Broncos
Matt Calland Rochdale Hornets (Northern Ford Premiership) Huddersfield Giants
Darren Smith NRL: Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs St. Helens
Colin Best NRL: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Hull F.C.
Nick Graham NRL: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Wigan Warriors
Chris McKenna NRL: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Leeds Rhinos
Paul Mellor NRL: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Castleford Tigers
Dean Treister NRL: Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Hull F.C.
Ian Sibbit NRL: Melbourne Storm Warrington Wolves
Julian Bailey NRL: Newcastle Knights Huddersfield Giants
Clinton O'Brien NRL: Newcastle Knights Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Bill Peden NRL: Newcastle Knights London Broncos
Shontayne Hape NRL: New Zealand Warriors Bradford Bulls
Anthony Colella NRL: South Sydney Rabbitohs Huddersfield Giants
Brent Grose NRL: South Sydney Rabbitohs Warrington Wolves
Jason Hooper NRL: St. George Illawarra Dragons St. Helens
Shane Millard NRL: St. George Illawarra Dragons Widnes Vikings
Dallas Hood NRL: Sydney Roosters Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Ben Jeffries NRL: Wests Tigers Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Matt Seers NRL: Wests Tigers Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Quentin Pongia Villeneuve Leopards (Elite One Championship) Wigan Warriors
Neil Harmon N/A Halifax
Damian Kennedy N/A London Broncos

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b BBC Sport (20 February 2003). "Sculthorpe questions rule changes". BBC. Archived from the original on 27 February 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  2. ^ a b c d Ray French (16 May 2002). "All change, please". BBC. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  3. ^ "Super League VIII 2003". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2012. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  4. ^ "More money for League from TV deal". The Telegraph. 3 February 2004. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  5. ^ "Hull F.C. History". Retrieved 23 October 2009.[permanent dead link]
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