RFL League One
Every champion of English rugby league's third tier since its fresh 2003 launch as National League Two, renamed Championship 1 (2009), League 1 (2015), and League One (2022) along the way, before merging into an expanded Championship from 2026. Most seasons are decided by regular-season table position rather than a Grand Final, so no score is given for those years.
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
22 seasons with a champion on record. Keighley have won the most titles (2).
Champions
| Season | Champion | Runner-up | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Keighley | — | Launch season, as National League Two. Single-sourced. |
| 2004 | Barrow | — | Single-sourced. |
| 2005 | York | — | Single-sourced. |
| 2006 | Dewsbury | Sheffield | Corroborated by Dewsbury Rams' own honours page. |
| 2007 | Crusaders | Featherstone | Single-sourced. |
| 2008 | Newcastle | — | Barrow and Doncaster also promoted. Single-sourced. |
| 2009 | Dewsbury | Keighley | Renamed Championship 1 this year. Corroborated by Dewsbury Rams' own honours page. |
| 2010 | Hunslet | York | Single-sourced. |
| 2011 | Swinton | Keighley | Single-sourced. |
| 2012 | Doncaster | — | Barrow, Whitehaven, and Workington also promoted. Single-sourced. |
| 2013 | North Wales | Rochdale | Single-sourced. |
| 2014 | Hunslet | — | Single-sourced. |
| 2015 | Oldham | Swinton | Renamed League 1 this year. Single-sourced. |
| 2016 | Rochdale | Toulouse | Single-sourced. |
| 2017 | Toronto | Barrow | Single-sourced. |
| 2018 | York | Bradford | Single-sourced. |
| 2019 | Whitehaven | Oldham | Single-sourced. |
| 2020 | Not held | — | Season cancelled due to COVID-19; Newcastle Thunder elevated to the Championship in lieu of a champion being crowned. |
| 2021 | Barrow | Workington | Single-sourced. |
| 2022 | Keighley | Swinton | Renamed League One this year. Single-sourced. |
| 2023 | Dewsbury Rams | Doncaster | Doncaster beat North Wales Crusaders 18-6 in the promotion play-off (24 Sep 2023). Corroborated by Wikipedia and Dewsbury Rams' own honours page. |
| 2024 | Oldham | Hunslet | Hunslet beat Keighley Cougars 24-20 in the promotion play-off (6 Oct 2024). Corroborated by Wikipedia and rugbyleagueproject.org. |
| 2025 | North Wales Crusaders | Workington Town | Final season of League One as a standalone competition — merged into an expanded Championship from 2026. Independently re-verified by the assistant via Wales Rugby League's own site. |
Merged into the Championship from 2026
2025 was the competition's final season as a standalone third tier.
Sources
← All Rugby League competitions
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