Super League VIII
Sport	Rugby league
League	Super League
Number of teams	12
Aggregate Attendance	1,336,374 ▲ (average 7,955)
2003 Season
Champions	Bradford Bulls
League Leaders	Bradford Bulls
Man of Steel	Jamie Peacock
Top point-scorer(s)	Paul Deacon (286)
Top try-scorer(s)	Dennis Moran (24)
Promotion and Relegation
Promoted from National League 1	Salford City Reds
Relegated to National League 1	Halifax
< 2002 Seasons 2004 >

Tetley's Super League VIII was the official name for the year 2003's Super League championship season, the 110th season of top-level professional rugby league held in Britain, and the eighth championship run by Super League.

The season culminated in a replay of the 2001 Grand Final between Bradford Bulls and Wigan Warriors, and again Bradford won, claiming the 2003 premiership, their second in three years.

[edit] Rule changes

• The knock-on rule was modified so that if in the referee's judgement a player did not play at the ball, a knock-on would not be given.^[1]
• Super League coaches voted 12-0 for new interchange and substitution rules for the 2003 season.^[2] The number of interchanges, which now included blood bins, increased from 6 to 12 using a pool of 4 substitutes.^[2][1] This change aimed to retain the element of wearing down a team's opponents during the game - which was considered part of the character of the sport.^[2] Stuart Cummings, the Rugby Football League's technical controller said the changes "bring us into line with the international rules" and ruled out future increases as well as declaring, "We will never see the unlimited interchange introduced into rugby league in Britain," a change that had caused controversy in Australia during its experiment there.^[2]

[edit] Table

Regular season final standings

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Bradford Bulls	28	22	0	6	878	529	+349	44
2	Leeds Rhinos	28	19	3	6	751	555	+196	41
3	Wigan Warriors	28	19	2	7	776	512	+264	40
4	St Helens	28	16	1	11	845	535	+310	31a[›]
5	London Broncos	28	14	2	12	643	696	-53	30
6	Warrington Wolves	28	14	1	13	748	619	+129	29
7	Hull F.C.	28	13	3	12	701	577	+124	27b[›]
8	Castleford Tigers	28	12	1	15	612	633	-21	25
9	Widnes Vikings	28	12	1	15	640	727	-87	25
10	Huddersfield Giants	28	11	1	16	628	715	-87	23
11	Wakefield Trinity Wildcats	28	7	1	20	505	774	-269	15
12	Halifax	28	1	0	27	372	1227	-875	0c[›]

Notes

^ a: St Helens 2 points deducted for salary cap breaches
^ b: Hull F.C. 2 points deducted for salary cap breaches
^ c: Halifax 2 points deducted for salary cap breaches

[edit] Play-offs

[edit] Grand Final

[edit] Media

[edit] Television

This season was the final year of Sky Sports' contract with the Rugby Football League allowing them to broadcast matches exclusively live, the deal ended in November 2003.^[3]

[edit] Records

On the 2nd March, Matt Crowther of Hull F.C. equalled the club record for goals in a match when he was successful 14 times against Sheffield Eagles.^[4]

[edit] See also

• 2003 Super League Grand Final
• 2003 World Club Challenge

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Super League VIII at wigan.rlfans.com
• Super League VIII at rugbyleagueproject.com