| Pixels: | 160px |
| Founded: | 2006 |
| Teams: | 10 |
| Levels: | 5 |
| Domest Cup: | Challenge Cup |
The Midlands Rugby League is a series of summer rugby league competition for amateur teams in the Midlands. The competition was formed in 2006 as the RLC Midlands Premier.[1] Its name changed following the 2012 restructure of amateur rugby league in Great Britain
At current the league operates the Midlands Rugby League Premier Division and Midlands Rugby League Championship, in addition to a Midlands Cup and Plate.[2]
See also: History of the Rugby League Conference. The Rugby League Conference (RLC) was born in 1997, then known as the Southern Conference.
The RLC Midlands Division (now Midlands Rugby League Championship) was first created in 2001 and lasted until 2003 as the league was split in two parallel divisions due to it being oversubscribed.
The RLC Premier Divisions were set up in 2005 for teams who had achieved a certain playing standard and were able to travel further afield to find stronger opposition. The new Premier Divisions included the North Premier, the South Premier, the Central Premier and the Welsh Premier. The Central Premier had two Midlands clubs Telford Raiders and Nottingham Outlaws and the rest of the clubs were from Yorkshire or Lancashire.[3]
The Midlands Premier was created one season later in 2006, and placed between the existing RLC Midlands Division and the RLC National Division. The founder members were Coventry Bears, Telford Raiders, Nottingham Outlaws, Derby City, Birmingham Bulldogs, Leicester Phoenix and Wolverhampton Wizards.
A Midlands Merit League (now defunct) was founded in late 2005 as a feeder league for the RLC Midlands Division, this later Midlands Rugby League Division Two before folding.
In 2012 the Rugby League Conference was disbanded and all divisions adopting the name Midlands Rugby League.
See also: British rugby league system.
As of 2024: Birmingham Bulldogs, Coventry Bears, Leamington Royals, Oxford Cavaliers, Nottingham Outlaws, Sherwood Wolf Hunt, Swindon St George, Telford Raiders.[4]
| width=200 | Current Teams | width=50 | 2006 | width=50 | 2007 | width=50 | 2008 | width=50 | 2009 | width=50 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x | x | 3rd | x | x | |||||||
| 6th | 6th | 6th | 4th | ||||||||
| x | x | x | 3rd | ||||||||
| 2nd | bgcolor=gold | 1st | 2nd | bgcolor=gold | 1st | ||||||
| 4th | 5th | 5th | 2nd | ||||||||
| x | 3rd | 4th | 6th | ||||||||
| 3rd | 8th | 7th | 5th | ||||||||
| bgcolor=gold | 1st | 2nd | bgcolor=gold | 1st | x | x | |||||
| x | x | x | DNF | x | |||||||
| x | 4th | x | x | x | |||||||
| 5th | 7th | x | 7th | x | |||||||
| 7th | x | x | x | x | |||||||
| DNF | Did not complete the season |
| x | Did not participate |
| Divisional winner | |
| Qualified for divisional play-off | |
| Finished bottom | |
See also: Rugby League Conference trophy winners.
The 2007 season saw the introduction of an informal under-15 league Midlands Junior League based on Merit League principles. In 2008 the junior competition featured under-14 and under-16 divisions.
Midlands clubs voted against clubs outside the Midlands being included for the 2010 season. In 2010 the Under-12s took a tournament based format and Under-11s and Girls Under-12s started on a similar basis.
2011 saw the addition of an Under-18s league and saw the Under-14s take on a tournament based format, with the Under-12s replaced by an Under-13s.
From 2018, the league system was replaced by friendly matches and festivals, returning the region to the Midlands Junior Development League. Clubs were encouraged to arrange their own fixtures and to also attend centralised festivals throughout the summer months. Bassetlaw Bulldogs and Immmingham Wasps played the first game in the RFL's new flagship Player Development League on 12th May 2018.
Following a number of years of steady growth, in 2023, the Midlands Junior League continued its development, following the formation of a new Midlands Junior League Steering group. 4 regional festivals at U7-U16 age groups were played during the summer of 2023, with a host of friendly fixtures arranged between clubs also.
Festivals were held at Bassetlaw Bulldogs, Shrewsbury Lions, Sherwood Wolfhunt and NEW Ravens RLFC.
The following teams participated in 2023, across a range of age groups from U7s to U15s:
| Club | Further information | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Website Facebook Twitter | ||
| 2 | Bolsover Bulls | Website Facebook Twitter | |
| 3 | Website Facebook Twitter | ||
| 4 | Immingham Wasps | Facebook Twitter | |
| 5 | Isle of Axholm | Facebook Twitter | |
| 6 | Website Facebook Twitter | ||
| 7 | Moorends Marauders | Website Facebook Twitter | |
| 8 | NEW Ravens | Website Facebook Twitter | |
| 9 | Sherwood Wolfhunt | Website Facebook Twitter | |
| 10 | Shrewsbury Knights | Website Facebook Twitter | |
| 11 | Swindon St George | Website Facebook Twitter | |
| 12 | Website Facebook Twitter |