2011 RFL Championship

Co-operative Championship 2011
The Co-operative Championship logo
League	Co-operative Championship
Duration	22 Rounds (Followed by 4 round playoffs)
Teams	10
Broadcast partners	Sky Sports
2011 Season
Grand Final winners	Featherstone Rovers
League leaders	Featherstone Rovers
Top point-scorer(s)	Mick Nanyn (296)
Top try-scorer(s)	Jamie Ellis, Mick Nanyn (22)

The 2011 Rugby Football League Championship is known as Co-operative Championship due to sponsorship by The Co-operative Group.

The 2011 Co-operative Championship is a semi-professional rugby league football competition played in the UK and France one tier below the first tier Super League. The two worst performing teams during the season, with the exception of Toulouse Olympique, will be relegated to Championship 1.

There is no automatic promotion from this league to Super League, which uses a licensing system renewed every three years. Qualifying for the Grand Final or winning the Northern Rail Cup is a prerequisite for Championship clubs to be able to apply for a licence in the next round of applications for the 2012–14 period.

All of the teams in the 2011 Co-operative Championship will also compete in the 2011 Challenge Cup where they will enter in the third round. All of the teams will also compete in the 2011 National League Cup which starts before the Co-operative Championship with the finals held mid season.

Teams

This competition features mostly the same teams as it did in 2010. The Hunslet Hawks and York City Knights were promoted from the 2010 Championship 1 while the Keighley Cougars and Whitehaven were relegated.

Season Standings

2011 Co-operative Championship
#	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Bns	Pts
1	Featherstone Rovers	20	18	1	1	840	348	+492	0	56
2	Leigh Centurions	20	18	1	1	776	368	+408	1	53
3	Batley Bulldogs	20	12	0	8	498	406	+92	0	41
4	Sheffield Eagles	20	12	0	8	577	488	+89	0	39
5	Widnes Vikings	20	11	1	8	555	532	+23	0	38
6	Halifax	20	10	0	10	569	543	+26	1	36
7	Hunslet Hawks	20	4	1	15	395	630	-235	3	20
8	York City Knights	20	5	1	14	416	788	-372	3	19
9	Dewsbury Rams	20	4	1	15	413	618	−205	0	18
10	Toulouse Olympique(R)	20	4	0	16	358	663	−305	0	15
11	Barrow Raiders (R)	20	9	0	11	527	540	-13	1	0

This table is correct as of 25 August 2010 (1:12pm). Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20110322190230/http://www.cooperativechampionship.co.uk/table_nl1.php

Classification: 1st on competition points; 2nd on match points difference.
Competition points: For win = 3; For draw = 2; For loss by 12 points or fewer = 1.

Season Results

Play-offs

Elimination play-offs

8 September 2011	Batley Bulldogs	22 – 32	Halifax	Batley
	Tries: Preece (2), Daley Williams, Manning Goals: Handforth 2/3, Mennell 1/3		Tries: Haley, Bannister, Worrincy, Penkywicz, Beswick Goals: Jones 6/6	Stadium: Mount Pleasant Attendance: 1,179 Referee: Clint Sharrad

9 September 2011	Sheffield Eagles	36 – 20	Widnes Vikings	Sheffield
	Tries: Laulu-Togagae (2), McDonald (2), Taulapapa Goals: Brown 8/9		Tries: Flynn (2), Ropati, Craven Goals: Craven 2/4	Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 564 Referee: Matthew Thomason

Qualifying semi-final

15 September 2011	Featherstone Rovers	35 – 20	Leigh Centurions	Featherstone
	Tries: Cockayne, Finn, Saxton (3), Bostock Goals: Finn 5/7 Drop goals: Finn		Tries: Maden, Mills, Ridyard, Nanyn Goals: Nanyn 2/4	Stadium: Post Office Road Attendance: 2,031 Referee: Tim Roby

Elimination semi-final

18 September 2011	Sheffield Eagles	50 – 12	Halifax	Sheffield
	Tries: Laulu-Togagae, Hirst, Henderson (2), McDonald (2), Taulapapa, Woodcock Goals: Brown 9/11		Tries: Goddard, Penkywicz Goals: Jones 2/2	Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 1,233 Referee: Matthew Thomason

Elimination final

22 September 2011	Leigh Centurions	10 – 20	Sheffield Eagles	Leigh
	Tries: Donlan, Nanyn Goals: Nanyn 1/2		Tries: S. Scott, Finigan, Laulu-Togagae Goals: Brown 4/4	Stadium: Leigh Sports Village Attendance: 1,818 Referee: Ben Thaler

Grand Final

2 October 2011

Featherstone Rovers	40 – 4	Sheffield Eagles
Tries: Spears, Finn (2), Hardman, Cockayne, Hepworth, Saxton Goals: Finn 6/7		Tries: McDonald Goals: Brown 0/1

Halliwell Jones Stadium, Warrington Attendance: 7,263 Referee: Matthew Thomason

	Elimination play-offs					Qualifying / Elimination semi-finals					Elimination final				Grand Final
							QSF: 15 September 2011
						1	Featherstone Rovers	35
						2	Leigh Centurions	20							GF: 2 October 2011
															Featherstone Rovers	40
		EPO1: 8 September 2011									EF: 22 September 2011				' Sheffield Eagles	4
	3	Batley Bulldogs	22								Leigh Centurions	10
	6	Halifax	32				ESF: 18 September 2011				Sheffield Eagles	20
							Halifax	12
		EPO2: 9 September 2011					Sheffield Eagles	50
	4	Sheffield Eagles	36
	5	Widnes Vikings	20
				Key:         Losing team progressing     Winning team progressing

Statistics

The following are the top points scorers in the Championship during the 2011 season. Statistics also include tries and goals scored in the play-offs.^[1]

Most points

See also

• Co-operative Championship
• 2011 Championship 1
• British rugby league system
• Super League
• Rugby League Conference
• Northern Ford Premiership
• National League Cup
• Rugby League Reserve Team Championship

References