UK Elite Teams By Season : 2002

From 2001, the Huddersfield Giants were dropped from the top division, to be replaced by the Widnes Vikings. For this season, the Salford City reds were relegated. 12 teams made up the competition with six going into the playoffs.

The League: St Helens RLFC won the league with 46 points,tied with the Bradford Bulls also on 46. Wigan Warriors collected 39 points for 3rd, Leeds Rhinos on 34 points took 4th. Hull FC (32) and Castleford Tigers (30) made up the top six for the finals.

Challenge Cup: The quarter final results were Leigh Centurions 16-30 Wigan, Castleford 32-14 Doncaster Dragons, Halifax Blue Sox 20-26 St Helens and Leeds 46-10 Wakefield Trinity.

The semi finals Had wigan taking on castleford and prevailing 20-10. In the other fixture Saints were too good for Leeds, winning 42-16. The final was held in Edinburgh, Scotland in front of 62,000 fans. Wigan took the trophy 21-12.

The Finals: In the elimination games Leeds knocked out Hull FC 36-22 and Wiagan likewise Castleford 26-14. Next week the two victors moved on to another sudden death game, with Wigan overpowering Leeds 41-18. The other game that week offered the winner a ticket to the grand final, the offer was taken by Bradford when they just defeated Saints 28-26 away.

St Helens then had to play Wigan to see who would join Bradford at Old Trafford and they did enough with a 24-8 result over their arch rivals. Just over 61,000 witnessed a close encounter, Saints clinching it 19-18. Three tries and goals each but a Sean Long field goal the difference.

The drop goal decider (Pic SkySports)

Summary: Allocating points for the season leads to St Helens being the most successful, winning both the league and grand final. being a losing finalist in the cup stopped them from taking the treble. Wigan's collecting the silverware at the cup was the highlight for them. Leigh and Doncaster were two non-SL teams who collected points via their cup quarter final appearances.

	Rk	Team	Rnd	Fnl	CC	Total
	1	St Helens	20	20	16	56
	2	Wigan	16	12	20	48
	3	Bradford	18	16		34
	3	Leeds	14	8	12	34
	5	Castleford	11	4	12	27
	6	Hull FC	12	4		16
	7	Halifax	8		6	14
	8	Wakefield	6		6	12
	9	Widnes	10			10
	10	London	9			9
	11	Warrington	7			7
	12	Leigh			6	6
	12	Doncaster			6	6
	14	Salford	5			5
		Total	136	64	84	284

The 2001 season is reached by simply clicking here.

The 2003 season can be accessed by clicking here.