League Leaders' Shield

League Leaders' Shield
Wigan player Jake Bibby holding the League Leaders' Shield and wearing the associated medal, 2020
Country England
 France
Presented bySuper League
History
First award2002[1]
Most wins St. Helens
(9 titles)
Most recent2024
Wigan Warriors
(5th title)

The League Leaders' Shield[2] is a trophy awarded to the team finishing the season top of Super League in the sport of rugby league football. This regular portion of the season precedes the playoffs for the eventual Super League Grand Final. The trophy was first awarded in Super League VII in 2002.[1]

St Helens won the first shield in 2002, and have since won the shield on a total of 9 occasions.

Wigan Warriors become only the 2nd team (along with St Helens), to retain the shield.

History

From 1907 until 1973 the Championship was awarded to the team winning a top-four play-off (excluding the 2 seasons 1962–63 and 1963–64, when the championship was awarded to the top-placed team). From 1907 to 1962 no prize was awarded to the team finishing top. From 1965 to 1973 a 'League Leaders' Trophy' was introduced to reward the team finishing top. In 1996, Super League was formed but continued to use the league to decide the champions until 1998, when they adopted a play-off structure for the championship. Between 1998 and 2001 no trophy was awarded for coming top of the league in the regular season, and it would not be until the 2002 season when the League Leaders' Shield was first awarded.

From 2015 to 2017, League Leaders' Shield winners would participate in the short lived World Club Series. 2015 also saw the prize money increase from £50,000 to £100,000.

In 2016, the League Leaders were awarded medals for the first time.

Shield winners

Year League leaders Pts Runners up Pts
2002 St. Helens(C) 46 Bradford Bulls 46
2003 Bradford Bulls(C) 44 Leeds Rhinos 41
2004 Leeds Rhinos(C) 50 Bradford Bulls 41
2005 St. Helens 47 Leeds Rhinos 44
2006 St. Helens(C) 48 Hull F.C. 40
2007 St. Helens 38 Leeds Rhinos 37
2008 St. Helens 43 Leeds Rhinos 42
2009 Leeds Rhinos(C) 42 St Helens 38
2010 Wigan Warriors(C) 44 St Helens 40
2011 Warrington Wolves 44 Wigan Warriors 43
2012 Wigan Warriors 42 Warrington Wolves 41
2013 Huddersfield Giants 42 Warrington Wolves 41
2014 St. Helens(C) 38 Wigan Warriors 37
2015 Leeds Rhinos(C) 41 Wigan Warriors 41
2016 Warrington Wolves 43 Wigan Warriors 42
2017 Castleford Tigers 50 Leeds Rhinos 40
2018 St. Helens 42 Wigan Warriors 32
2019 St. Helens(C) 52 Wigan Warriors 36
2020 Wigan Warriors 76.47a St. Helens 70.59a
2021 Catalans Dragons 82.61a St. Helens 76.19a
2022 St. Helens(C) 42 Wigan Warriors 38
2023 Wigan Warriors(C) 40 Catalans Dragons 40
2024 Wigan Warriors(C) 44 Hull KR 42
  • a: Shield winners decided by win percentage rather than points

(C) - Team also won the Grand Final to be crowned champions.

Winners

Club Wins Winning years
St. Helens 9 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2014, 2018, 2019, 2022
Wigan Warriors 5 2010, 2012, 2020, 2023, 2024
Leeds Rhinos 3 2004, 2009, 2015
Warrington Wolves 2 2011, 2016
Bradford Bulls 1 2003
Huddersfield Giants 1 2013
Castleford Tigers 1 2017
Catalans Dragons 1 2021

The Treble

Main article: The Treble (rugby league)
Club Wins Winning years
1
Wigan Warriors
 4 1991–92, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2024
2
Huddersfield Giants
 2 1912–13, 1914–15
2
St. Helens
 2 1965–66, 2006
4
Swinton Lions
 1 1927–28
4
Bradford Bulls
 1 2003
4
Leeds Rhinos
 1 2015

The Quadruple

Main article: The Treble (rugby league) § Australia and the World Club Challenge
Club Wins Winning years
1
Wigan Warriors
 2[3][a] 1993–94, 2024[b]
2
Bradford Bulls
 1 2003
2
St. Helens
 1 2006

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Wigan have a widly misreported quadruple in 1994–95[4][5] with the club winning the treble in addition to the 1994–95 Regal Trophy. Note: No World Club Challenge was held in 1995 as it didn't become a regular competition until 2000.
  2. ^ This is the first widly reported quadruple to include the calendar year's World Club Challenge and not the following season's.[6] Note: The 2025 World Club Challenge was abandoned by Penrith Panthers, although no title was awarded for 2025, Wigan, without challenge, would retain their title for a second year.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b "Saints secure 2022 League Leaders Shield". Betfred Super League. August 29, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  2. ^ Wilson, Andy (July 16, 2009). "Battle for Super League play-offs can pull in the fans". The Guardian. Archived from the original on August 1, 2009. Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  3. ^ https://www.skysports.com/rugby-league/story-telling/12215/13232746/how-matt-peets-wigan-completed-rugby-league-in-just-three-super-league-seasons
  4. ^ https://www.wigantoday.net/sport/rugby-league/wigan-warriors-win-grand-final-to-complete-historic-quadruple-with-5-of-the-best-takeaways-from-old-trafford-4821650
  5. ^ https://www.wigantoday.net/heritage-and-retro/retro/retro-sport-the-all-conquering-wigan-warriors-in-1995-4243122
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBCRecap was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ https://amp.theguardian.com/sport/2024/oct/09/penrith-panthers-nrl-abandon-world-club-challenge-isaah-yeo