UK Elite Teams By Season : 2005

This was Super League X, with twelve teams competing. The Leigh Centurions came in and Castleford Tigers had been relegated. Six teams would qualify for the finals and either one or two teams would be relegated come the end of the season. One space was to go the the Catalan Dragons from France and the other provided the winner of the division below met certain criteria.

The League: St Helens took the title with 47 points, with the Leeds Rhinos next on 44. Bradford Bulls came third (37) and the Warrington Wolves fourth (36). Widnes Vikings were relegated along with the just promoted Leigh. Castleford came back up again for 2006, joining the new side Catalan.

The Challenge Cup: In the quarter finals, Leeds accounted for London 32-12, Saints likewise Wigan 75-0! Toulouse Olympic from France made the semi-finals by winning 40-24 against Widnes and lastly Hull Sharks (FC) were too good for Leigh, beating them 46-14.

In the first semi-final, Hull romped home 34-8 over Saints. Leeds then overcame Toulouse 56-18. The final was by all accounts a cracking match, with Hull squeaking home against strong favourites Leeds 25-24.

The Challenge Cup Final. Picture source: Sky Sports UK.

The Finals: In the elimination play offs, Bradford defeated the London Broncos 44-22 and Hull FC were far too good for Warrington, winning 40-6. The elimination semi-final Bradford routed Hull FC 71-0 while the qualifying semi Leeds narrowly beat Saints 19-16.

In the eliminator final Bradford overcame St Helens 23-18, giving them a finals berth and a match against the Leeds Rhinos. In the grand final, Bradford took the game and trophy with a 15-6 victory.

Summary: By my scoring system, Leeds were the best team overall despite not winning anything. St Helens took the league title and second. Hull FC the Challenge Cup and third with Bradford taking home the grand final trophy got them fourth spot. It was an unusual season with its unpredictable nature.

	Rk	Team	Rnd	Fnl	CC	Total
	1	Leeds	18	16	16	50
	2	St Helens	20	12	12	44
	3	Hull FC	12	8	20	40
	4	Bradford	16	20		36
	5	London	11	4	6	21
	6	Warrington	14	4		18
	7	Wigan	10		6	16
	8	Toulouse			12	12
	8	Widnes	6		6	12
	10	Leigh	5		6	11
	11	Huddersfield	9			9
	12	Salford	8			8
	13	Wakefield	7			7
		Total	136	64	84	284

The 2004 season by be viewed by clicking here.
To see the 2006 season, simply click here.