1978–79 Northern Rugby Football League season

The 1978 Kangaroo tour took place during the first half of the season and involved matches between a number of clubs.

Hull Kingston Rovers won their third Championship this season.

The Challenge Cup Winners were Widnes who beat Wakefield Trinity 12-3 in the final.

Rugby League Premiership Trophy Winners were Leeds who beat Bradford Northern 24-2 in the final.

The BBC2 Floodlit Trophy Winners were Widnes who beat St. Helens 13-7 in the final.

2nd Division Champions were Hull F.C., with a very unusual perfect season. New Hunslet, York and Blackpool Borough were also promoted to the First Division.[1]

Geoff 'Sammy' Lloyd of Hull F.C. equalled the club match record for scoring goals when he was successful 14 times in the match against Oldham on 10 September 1978. They were part of a club record 170 goals in a season, and a club record 369 points in a season.[2]

Widnes beat Workington Town (from Cumbria) 15–13 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Bradford Northern beat York 18–8 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.

Widnes beat Wakefield Trinity 12-3 in the State Express Challenge Cup Final played at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 5 May 1979, in front of a crowd of 94,218.[3]

This was Widnes' fifth cup final win in seven Final appearances. To date, this was Wakefield Trinity’s last appearance in a Challenge Cup Final.

The Wakefield Trinity stand-off, David Topliss, won the Lance Todd Trophy.

The following are the top points scorers in the 1978–79 season.[4]

The months of September, October and November also saw the appearance of the Australian team in England on their 1978 Kangaroo Tour. Other than the three test Ashes series against Great Britain (won 2–1 by Australia), The Kangaroos played and won matches against 12 club and county representative sides as well as playing Wales in a non-test international.

The 1978 Kangaroos were coached by dual Manly-Warringah NSWRFL premiership coach Frank Stanton who had previously toured as a player in 1963–64. The team was captained by brilliant centre / stand-off Bob Fulton making his second tour after being a part of the 1973 squad.

The 11–10 loss to Widnes at Naughton Park on 25 October remains (as of 2017) the last time that the Kangaroos have lost to an English club or county team.

game	Date	Result	Venue	Attendance
1	30 September	Australia def. Blackpool Borough 39–1	Borough Park, Blackpool	2,700
2	1 October	Australia def. Cumbria 47–7	Craven Park, Barrow-in-Furness	5,964
3	4 October	Australia def. Great Britain U/24 30–8	Craven Park, Hull	6,418
4	8 October	Australia def. Bradford Northern 21–11	Odsal Stadium, Bradford	15,755
5	11 October	Australia def. Warrington 15–12	Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington	10,143
6	15 October	Australia def.  Wales 8–3	St Helens Rugby Ground, Swansea	4,250
7	17 October	Australia def. Leeds 25–19	Headingley, Leeds	9,781
8	21 October	Australia def.  Great Britain 15–9	Central Park, Wigan	17,644
9	25 October	Widnes def. Australia 11–10	Naughton Park, Widnes	12,202
10	29 October	Australia def. Hull F.C. 34–2	The Boulevard, Hull	10,723
11	1 November	Australia def. Salford 14–2	The Willows, Salford	6,155
12	5 November	Great Britain def.  Australia 18–14	Odsal Stadium, Bradford	26,761
13	8 November	Australia def. Wigan 28–2	Central Park, Wigan	10,645
14	12 November	Australia def. St Helens 26–4	Knowsley Road, St Helens	16,352
15	14 November	Australia def. York 29–2	Clarence Street, York	5,155
16	18 November	Australia def.  Great Britain 23–6	Headingley, Leeds	30,604

• 1978-79 Rugby Football League season at wigan.rlfans.com
• The Challenge Cup at The Rugby Football League website