2025 RFL League One
| 2025 RFL League One | |
|---|---|
| League | League One |
| Duration | 23 February – 7 September 2025 |
| Teams | 11 (10 from 2 April) |
| Matches played | 90 |
| Points scored | 4,077 |
| Highest attendance | 2,310 (Workington v Whitehaven, 18 April) |
| 2025 | |
| Champions | North Wales Crusaders |
| Biggest home win | 74–0 (North Wales Crusaders v Newcastle Thunder, 18 May) |
| Biggest away win | 6–72 (North Wales Crusaders at Newcastle Thunder, 27 July) |
| Top point-scorer(s) | Jake Carter (Workington Town), 161 points[1] |
| Top try-scorer(s) | 21: Sam Wilde (North Wales Crusaders) & Luke Forber (Rochdale Hornets)[1] |
| Withdrew | Cornwall |
The 2025 RFL League One was a professional rugby league football competition played in the United Kingdom and the third tier of the sport for Rugby Football League (RFL) affiliated clubs. The sponsors for the league were the bookmakers, Betfred and the league continued to be known as the Betfred League One.
Eleven teams were due to compete in the league playing 20 matches each over 22 rounds in the regular season. On 2 April, after four rounds had been played, Cornwall announced that the club were withdrawing from the league with immediate effect and would not be fulfilling their remaining fixtures.[2]
Cornwall's membership of the RFL was terminated on 2 May and the club's three results for 2025 expunged.[3] The competition continued as a 10 club league with each team playing 18 games.[4]
The season was the 22nd and final season of the third-tier competition as League One and the Championship merged at the end of the season.
Team changes
[edit]The league had increased in size from 2024 with 11 teams competing, up from nine in 2024. At the end of the 2024 season Dewsbury Rams, Swinton Lions and Whitehaven were relegated from the Championship replacing Oldham and Hunslet who won promotion. Goole Vikings were admitted to the league, the first new team since Cornwall in 2022.
Structure changes
[edit]Until 2023 promotion and relegation was on a 2-up, 2-down basis between the Championship and League One but was subject to a review of the league structure.[5]
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 was to have seen 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.[6]
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.[7]
Rule changes
[edit]Three rule changes were brought in for 2025:[8]
- 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
[edit]Stadiums and locations
[edit]
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
 Cornwall (until 2 April)
|
Penryn | The Memorial Ground | 4,000 |
 Dewsbury Rams
|
Dewsbury | Crown Flatt | 5,100 |
 Goole Vikings
|
Goole | Victoria Pleasure Grounds | 3,000 |
 Keighley Cougars
|
Keighley | Cougar Park | 7,800 |
 Midlands Hurricanes
|
Birmingham | Alexander Stadium | 18,000 |
 Newcastle Thunder
|
Swalwell | Crow Trees Ground | 2,000 |
 North Wales Crusaders
|
Colwyn Bay | Eirias Stadium | 5,500 |
 Rochdale Hornets
|
Rochdale | Spotland Stadium | 10,249 |
 Swinton Lions
|
Sale | Heywood Road | 3,387 |
 Whitehaven
|
Whitehaven | Recreation Ground | 7,500 |
 Workington Town
|
Workington | Derwent Park | 10,000 |
Results
[edit]Table
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Wales Crusaders
|
18 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 568 | 236 | +332 | 28 | Champions |
| 2 | Workington Town
|
18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 502 | 270 | +232 | 27 | |
| 3 | Swinton Lions
|
18 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 385 | 328 | +57 | 24 | |
| 4 | Dewsbury Rams
|
18 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 464 | 342 | +122 | 21 | |
| 5 | Midlands Hurricanes
|
18 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 432 | 333 | +99 | 19 | |
| 6 | Rochdale Hornets
|
18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 529 | 335 | +194 | 18 | |
| 7 | Goole Vikings
|
18 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 353 | 399 | −46 | 16 | |
| 8 | Whitehaven
|
18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 384 | 420 | −36 | 15 | |
| 9 | Keighley Cougars
|
18 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 362 | 422 | −60 | 12 | |
| 10 | Newcastle Thunder
|
18 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 98 | 992 | −894 | 0 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "League One: Leading Scorers". Love Rugby League. 24 September 2025. Archived from the original on 24 September 2025.
- ^ "Cornwall RLFC | Club Statement". Cornwall RLFC. 2 April 2025. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ "Betfred League One - Update". RFL. 2 May 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
- ^ "RFL League 1 structure updated after Cornwall's withdrawal from sport". Love Rugby League. 2 May 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
- ^ Walker, Callum (21 November 2024). "Championship Summer Bash set to be scrapped as clubs learn structure fate". Total Rugby League. Retrieved 3 December 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.