1983–84 Rugby Football League season
The 1983–84 Rugby Football League season was the 89th ever season of professional rugby league football in Britain. Sixteen teams competed from August, 1983 until May, 1984 for the Slalom Lager Championship.
The Second Division was increased to 18 clubs with the introduction of Kent Invicta, who played their home fixtures at Maidstone, this season.
Rule changes
End of possession:- A "handover" was introduced after the sixth tackle, replacing the scrum that had previously been formed at that point. The team receiving possession would now play-the-ball to carry on play.
- Scrum rules were changed which meant the non offending side had head and ball advantage, effectively making the scrum a non contest.
- The number of points a team scored from a try increased from three to four. The aim of this change was to "incentivise scoring tries" over kicking penalty goals, which were worth two points, because the tries were more entertaining.
- The 10-minute "sin bin" was introduced.
Season summary
Hull Kingston Rovers finished on top of the First Division table to claim their fifth championship, and also the Rugby League Premiership competition.
State Express Challenge Cup Winners: Widnes
John Player Special Trophy Winners: Leeds. During the competition, Danny Wilson of Swinton scored a record 5 drop goals in the tie against Hunslet on 6 Nov 1983.
Slalom Lager Premiership Trophy Winners: Hull Kingston Rovers
Barrow beat Widnes 12–8 to win the Lancashire County Cup, and Hull F.C. beat Castleford 13–2 to win the Yorkshire County Cup.
League Tables
Championship
Final Standings| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
| 1 | Hull Kingston Rovers | 30 | 22 | 2 | 6 | 795 | 421 | +374 | 46 |
| 2 | Hull | 30 | 22 | 1 | 7 | 831 | 401 | +430 | 45 |
| 3 | Warrington | 30 | 19 | 2 | 9 | 622 | 528 | +94 | 40 |
| 4 | Castleford | 30 | 18 | 3 | 9 | 686 | 438 | +248 | 39 |
| 5 | Widnes | 30 | 19 | 1 | 10 | 656 | 457 | +199 | 39 |
| 6 | St. Helens | 30 | 18 | 1 | 11 | 649 | 507 | +142 | 37 |
| 7 | Bradford Northern | 30 | 17 | 2 | 11 | 519 | 379 | +140 | 36 |
| 8 | Leeds | 30 | 15 | 3 | 12 | 553 | 514 | +39 | 33 |
| 9 | Wigan | 30 | 16 | 0 | 14 | 533 | 465 | +68 | 32 |
| 10 | Oldham | 30 | 15 | 2 | 13 | 544 | 480 | +64 | 32 |
| 11 | Leigh | 30 | 14 | 0 | 16 | 623 | 599 | +24 | 28 |
| 12 | Featherstone Rovers | 30 | 11 | 2 | 17 | 464 | 562 | -98 | 24 |
| 13 | Fulham | 30 | 9 | 1 | 20 | 401 | 694 | -293 | 19 |
| 14 | Wakefield Trinity | 30 | 7 | 0 | 23 | 415 | 780 | -365 | 14 |
| 15 | Salford | 30 | 5 | 0 | 25 | 352 | 787 | -435 | 10 |
| 16 | Whitehaven | 30 | 3 | 0 | 27 | 325 | 956 | -631 | 6 |
Second Division
| Club | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Pts | |
| 1 | Barrow | 34 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 1126 | 332 | 64 |
| 2 | Workington Town | 34 | 24 | 2 | 8 | 714 | 504 | 50 |
| 3 | Hunslet | 34 | 24 | 0 | 10 | 900 | 597 | 48 |
| 4 | Halifax | 34 | 23 | 2 | 9 | 722 | 539 | 48 |
| 5 | Blackpool Borough | 34 | 20 | 3 | 11 | 615 | 466 | 43 |
| 6 | Swinton | 34 | 21 | 0 | 13 | 764 | 437 | 42 |
| 7 | York | 34 | 19 | 2 | 13 | 743 | 570 | 40 |
| 8 | Bramley | 34 | 16 | 2 | 16 | 584 | 545 | 34 |
| 9 | Kent Invicta | 34 | 17 | 0 | 17 | 595 | 700 | 34 |
| 10 | Huddersfield | 34 | 15 | 3 | 16 | 600 | 545 | 33 |
| 11 | Cardiff City Blue Dragons | 34 | 15 | 1 | 18 | 710 | 717 | 31 |
| 12 | Rochdale Hornets | 34 | 13 | 3 | 18 | 551 | 667 | 29 |
| 13 | Batley | 34 | 13 | 0 | 21 | 477 | 738 | 26 |
| 14 | Dewsbury | 34 | 12 | 0 | 22 | 526 | 698 | 24 |
| 15 | Carlisle | 34 | 12 | 0 | 22 | 539 | 780 | 24 |
| 16 | Huyton | 34 | 9 | 2 | 23 | 431 | 760 | 20 |
| 17 | Keighley | 34 | 7 | 3 | 24 | 425 | 728 | 17 |
| 18 | Doncaster | 34 | 2 | 1 | 31 | 384 | 1083 | 5 |
Challenge Cup
The 1983-84 State Express Challenge Cup was won by Widnes after defeating Wigan 19-6 in the final.The Final was played at Wembley before a crowd of 80,116.