2025 RFL Championship
| 2025 RFL Championship | |
|---|---|
| Duration | February – October 2025 |
| Teams | 13 |
| Matches played | 156 (regular season) + 5 (play-offs) |
| Points scored | 6927 (regular season) + 190 (play-offs) |
| Highest attendance | 5,390 Toulouse Olympique vs Hunslet R.L.F.C. (22 March 2025) |
| Lowest attendance | 627 Sheffield Eagles vs Batley Bulldogs (25 April 2025) |
| Average attendance | 1,326 |
| Total attendance | 213,553 |
| 2025 season | |
| Grand Final winners | Toulouse Olympique |
| League Leaders' Shield | York Knights |
| Biggest home win | 66–0 (York Knights v Doncaster, 13 April) |
| Biggest away win | 6–72 (Sheffield Eagles at Hunslet, 29 June) |
| Top point-scorer | Liam Harris (232) |
| Top try-scorer | Ben Jones-Bishop (29) |
The 2025 RFL Championship, (officially known as the Betfred Championship for sponsorship reasons), is a professional rugby league club competition. The second tier of the British rugby league system comprises 13 clubs – 12 from England and one from France.
The season comprised 26 rounds in the regular season with each team playing 24 fixtures and having two bye weeks. The top six teams took part in the play-offs to determine the champions. The Championship was won by Toulouse Olympique who finished second in the regular season behing League Leaders' Shield winners York Knights. The two met in the Grand Final on 5 October when Toulouse won 10–8.
Team changes
Wakefield Trinity won promotion to the Super League at the end of 2024 and were replaced by London Broncos who were relegated from Super League under the IMG grading system. Promoted from League One in 2024 were Oldham and Hunslet who replaced the 2024 relegated teams, Swinton Lions, Whitehaven and Dewsbury Rams.
Structure changes
There was no automatic promotion from the Championship to Super League at the end of the season. This is due to the IMG grading scheme where clubs are graded by a number of factors, not all based on on-field performance.[1]
Following a review of the league structure below Super League, the RFL announced that by the start of the 2026 season, the Championship and League 1 would be equalised in size at 12 teams each. In March 2024 the RFL completed the review and announced that the first steps will be taken to equalise the number of teams in the Championship and League One at 12 each by the start of the 2026 season. Following the 2-up, 3-down system in 2024, 2025 would have see the return of the Super 8s format with the top four teams in League One meeting the bottom four teams in the Championship to decide which division those clubs will play in for 2026.[2] However, following the decision to expand Super League from 12 to 14 clubs from 2026, the decision was taken on 27 August 2025 to merge the Championship and League One competitions for 2026. The Super 8s therefore became redundant and were cancelled.[3]
Rule changes
Three rule changes are brought in for 2025:[4]
- Kick chasers will only be offside if they are influencing the play rather than automatically being offside for being within 10 metres.
- Drop-outs that fail to travel 10 metres or go out on the full, result in a play-the-ball rather than a penalty.
- Attacking players as well as defending players can be green-carded if play has to be stopped due to an injury. Previously only defending players could be green-carded.
Clubs
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
 Barrow Raiders
|
Barrow-in-Furness | Craven Park | 4,000 |
 Batley Bulldogs
|
Batley | Mount Pleasant | 7,500 |
 Bradford Bulls
|
Bradford | Odsal Stadium | 22,000 |
 Doncaster
|
Doncaster | Eco-Power Stadium | 15,231 |
 Featherstone Rovers
|
Featherstone | Post Office Road | 8,000 |
 Halifax Panthers
|
Halifax | The Shay | 10,401 |
 Hunslet
|
Hunslet, Leeds | South Leeds Stadium | 3,450 |
 London Broncos
|
Wimbledon, London | Plough Lane | 9,215 |
 Oldham
|
Oldham | Boundary Park | 13,186 |
 Sheffield Eagles
|
Sheffield | Steel City Stadium | 1,320 |
 Toulouse Olympique
|
Toulouse | Stade Ernest-Wallon | 19,500 |
 Widnes Vikings
|
Widnes | DCBL Stadium | 13,350 |
 York Knights
|
York | York Community Stadium | 8,500 |
Regular season
Results
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | York Knights (L, Y)
|
24 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 764 | 299 | +465 | 40 | Semi-finals |
| 2 | Toulouse Olympique (C)
|
24 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 651 | 314 | +337 | 38 | |
| 3 | Bradford Bulls
|
24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 678 | 366 | +312 | 36 | Eliminators |
| 4 | Oldham
|
24 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 602 | 450 | +152 | 32 | |
| 5 | Halifax Panthers
|
24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 594 | 424 | +170 | 29 | |
| 6 | Featherstone Rovers
|
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 640 | 461 | +179 | 28 | |
| 7 | Widnes Vikings
|
24 | 11 | 2 | 11 | 454 | 475 | −21 | 24 | |
| 8 | Doncaster
|
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 528 | 533 | −5 | 22 | |
| 9 | Barrow Raiders
|
24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 525 | 559 | −34 | 21 | |
| 10 | London Broncos
|
24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 468 | 548 | −80 | 16 | |
| 11 | Sheffield Eagles
|
24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 381 | 689 | −308 | 12 | |
| 12 | Batley Bulldogs
|
24 | 4 | 2 | 18 | 386 | 751 | −365 | 10 | |
| 13 | Hunslet
|
24 | 2 | 0 | 22 | 256 | 1058 | −802 | 4 |
Rules for classification: 1) Competition points; 2) Points difference; 3) Points percentage (points scored/points conceded x 100)
(C) Champions; (L) League Leaders Shield; (Y) Runners-up
Play-offs
Team bracket
| Eliminators | Semi-finals | Grand Final | ||||||||||||
| 1 | York Knights | 30 | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Oldham | 4 | 5 | Halifax Panthers | 18 | |||||||||
| 5 | Halifax Panthers | 40 | 1 | York Knights | 8 | |||||||||
| 2 | Toulouse Olympique | 10 | ||||||||||||
| 2 | Toulouse Olympique | 24 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Bradford Bulls | 28 | 3 | Bradford Bulls | 20 | |||||||||
| 6 | Featherstone Rovers | 8 | ||||||||||||
Week 1: Eliminators
19 September
19:45 |
| Bradford Bulls | 28–8 | Featherstone Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Okunbor (2), Taufua (2), Scurr Goals: Lilley (1), Hooley (3) |
[1] |
Tries: Aekins Goals: Addy (2) |
Odsal Stadium
Referee: S. Mikalauskas |
19 September
20:00 |
| Oldham | 4–40 | Halifax Panthers |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Ryan |
[2] |
Tries: C. Graham (2), Douglas, Crooks, Nofoaluma, Woodburn-Hall, Fairbank Goals: Whitby (6) |
Week 2: Semi-finals
27 September
18:00 |
| York Knights | 30–18 | Halifax Panthers |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Jones-Bishop, Galeano, Buchanan, Mata'afa (2) Goals: Harris (5/7) |
[3] |
Tries: Johnson, Crooks, Douglas Goals: Whitby (3/3) |
York Community Stadium
Referee: T. Grant |
28 September
16:00 |
| Toulouse Olympique | 24–20 | Bradford Bulls |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Ashall-Bott (2), Rennie, Ulberg Goals: Shorrocks (4/4) |
[4] |
Tries: Blake, Gee, Okunbor (2) Goals: Hooley (2/4) |
Week 3: Championship Grand Final
5 October
14:00 |
| York Knights | 8–10 | Toulouse Olympique |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Mataafa, Buchanan Goals: Harris (0/2) |
[5] |
Goals: Shorrocks (5/5) |
York Community Stadium
Referee: T. Grant |
| York Knights | Position | Toulouse Olympique | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Number | Number | Name | |
| Toa Mata’afa | 36 | 1 | Olly Ashall-Bott | |
| Ben Jones-Bishop | 34 | 5 | Paul Marcon | |
| Kieran Buchanan | 3 | 26 | Romeo Tropis | |
| Oli Field | 20 | 3 | Reubenn Rennie | |
| Scott Galeano | 35 | 2 | Paul Ulberg | |
| Ata Hingano | 6 | 25 | Thomas Lacans | |
| Liam Harris | 7 | 7 | Jake Shorrocks | |
| Jack Martin | 8 | 8 | Lambert Belmas | |
| Paul McShane | 9 | 35 | Brendan Hands | |
| Bailey Antrobus | 25 | 17 | Rob Butler | |
| Jesse Dee | 11 | 4 | Mathieu Jussaume | |
| Connor Bailey | 12 | 11 | Maxime Stefani | |
| Jordan Thompson | 13 | 13 | Anthony Marion | |
| Brenden Santi | 10 | 10 | James Roumanos | |
| Sam Cook | 20 | 15 | Joe Cator | |
| Kieran Hudson | 31 | 16 | Joe Bretherton | |
| Mitch Clark | 33 | 28 | AJ Wallace | |
| Mark Applegarth | Coach |
Sylvain Houles | ||
Player statistics
Top 10 try scorers
| Rank | Player (s) | Club | Tries |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ben Jones-Bishop
|
York Knights
|
29 |
| 2 |  Edene Gebbie
|
Doncaster RLFC
|
25 |
| 3 |  Olly Ashall-Bott
|
Toulouse Olympique
|
23 |
| 4 |  Benjamin Laguerre
|
22 | |
| 5 | .svg.png){kind=small} Jayden Okunbor
|
Bradford Bulls
|
21 |
| 6 | Scott Galeano
|
York Knights
|
19 |
| 7 | Liam Tindall
|
London Broncos
|
16 |
| 8 | Guy Armitage
|
Bradford Bulls
|
15 |
| Derrell Olpherts
|
Featherstone Rovers
| ||
| 10 |  Waqa Blake
|
Bradford Bulls
|
13 |
| Liam Harris
|
York Knights
|
Top 10 goal scorers
| Rank | Player (s) | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jake Shorrocks
|
Toulouse Olympique
|
100 |
| 2 | Liam Harris
|
York Knights
|
89 |
| 3 | Ben Reynolds
|
Featherstone Rovers
|
70 |
| 4 | Connor Robinson
|
Doncaster RLFC
|
64 |
| 5 | Luke Hooley
|
Bradford Bulls
|
56 |
| 6 | Josh Drinkwater
|
Oldham RLFC
|
54 |
| 7 | Jordan Lilley
|
Bradford Bulls
|
52 |
| 8 | Jack Smith
|
London Broncos
|
49 |
| 9 | Brad Walker
|
Barrow Raiders
|
44 |
| 10 | Louis Jouffret
|
Halifax Panthers
|
43 |
Top 10 points scorers
| Rank | Player (s) | Club | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liam Harris
|
York Knights
|
232 |
| 2 | Jake Shorrocks
|
Toulouse Olympique
|
209 |
| 3 | Ben Reynolds
|
Featherstone Rovers
|
164 |
| 4 | Luke Hooley
|
Bradford Bulls
|
140 |
| Connor Robinson
|
Doncaster RLFC
| ||
| Josh Drinkwater
|
Oldham RLFC
| ||
| 7 | Jordan Lilley
|
Bradford Bulls
|
128 |
| 8 | Jack Smith
|
London Broncos
|
118 |
| 9 | Ben Jones-Bishop
|
York Knights
|
116 |
| 10 | Louis Jouffret
|
Halifax Panthers
|
110 |
As of 5 October 2025: (Playoff final)
Discipline
Red cards
| Rank | Player | Club |  Cards
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Bishop
|
Barrow Raiders
|
1 |
 Bayley Liu
|
Bradford Bulls
| ||
| Edene Gebbie
|
Doncaster RLFC
| ||
 Suaia Matagi
| |||
| Ben Reynolds
|
Featherstone Rovers
| ||
 Sam Campbell
|
Hunslet RLFC
| ||
| Matthew Fletcher
|
Yellow cards
| Rank | Player | Club |  Cards
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Keelan Foster
|
Hunslet RLFC
|
3 |
| 2 |  Ryan King
|
Barrow Raiders
|
2 |
| Curtis Teare
| |||
| Ronan Dixon
|
Halifax Panthers
| ||
| Adam Lawton
|
Widnes Vikings
| ||
| 6 | Alex Bishop
|
Barrow Raiders
|
1 |
| Ryan Brown
| |||
| Ryan Johnston
| |||
| James Meadows
|
Bradford Bulls
| ||
 Eliot Peposhi
| |||
| Ebon Scurr
| |||
| Suaia Matagi
|
Doncaster RLFC
| ||
| Pauli Pauli
| |||
| Connor Robinson
| |||
| Danny Addy
|
Featherstone Rovers
| ||
| Connor Jones
| |||
| Gadwin Springer
| |||
| King Vuniyayawa
| |||
| William Calcott
|
Halifax Panthers
| ||
| Jacob Fairbank
| |||
| Vila Halafihi
| |||
| Zack McComb
| |||
| Sam Campbell
|
Hunslet RLFC
| ||
| Lachlan Hanneghan
| |||
| Kevin Larroyer
| |||
| Coby Nichol
| |||
| Ethan O'Hanlon
| |||
| Jordan Syme
| |||
| Mackenzie Turner
| |||
| Ben Davies
|
Oldham RLFC
| ||
| Eddie Battye
|
Sheffield Eagles
| ||
| Alex Foster
| |||
| Evan Hodgson
| |||
| Kris Welham
| |||
| Robert Butler
|
Toulouse Olympique
| ||
| Joe Cator
| |||
| Ellis Gillam
| |||
| Baptiste Rodriguez
| |||
 Mike Butt
|
Widnes Vikings
| ||
| Ben Condon
| |||
| Nick Gregson
| |||
| Bailey Antrobus
|
York Knights
| ||
 Sam Cook
| |||
| Jesse Dee
| |||
 Ata Hingano
|
As of 18 September 2025: (Round 24)
References
- ^ "First IMG gradings revealed as clubs learn fate; Leeds Rhinos lead the way, Super League outfit appeal verdict". LoveRugbyLeague. 25 October 2023.
- ^ "Super 8s to return as part of overhaul of Championship rugby league plans". Love Rugby League. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ "RFL: Championship and League One to merge into one league for 2026". BBC Sport. 27 August 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- ^ "Captain's Challenge headlines four major law changes announced by RFL ahead of 2025". Love Rugby League. 4 December 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024.