2008 National League One was a semi-professional rugby league football competition played in the United Kingdom, the second tier of the sport in the country. In July 2008, it was announced that Celtic Crusaders and Salford City Reds (who went on to finish as the top two in the league and contest the grand final) had been granted licenses to join the Super League in 2009.[1] Dewsbury Rams, the bottom-placed team, were relegated to renamed Championship 1 (formerly National League 2).[2]
National League One
Table
| Position | Club | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Pts For | Pts Agst | Pts Diff | B.P. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salford City Reds | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 614 | 302 | 312 | 3 | 45 |
| 2 | Celtic Crusaders | 18 | 12 | 0 | 6 | 511 | 391 | 120 | 4 | 40 |
| 3 | Halifax | 18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 634 | 514 | 120 | 3 | 38 |
| 4 | Leigh Centurions | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 448 | 448 | 0 | 4 | 34 |
| 5 | Whitehaven | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 420 | 399 | 21 | 2 | 32 |
| 6 | Widnes Vikings | 18 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 453 | 410 | 43 | 5 | 30 |
| 7 | Sheffield Eagles | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 425 | 530 | -105 | 3 | 29 |
| 8 | Featherstone Rovers | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 452 | 515 | -63 | 6 | 26 |
| 9 | Batley Bulldogs | 18 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 387 | 538 | -151 | 8 | 23 |
| 10 | Dewsbury Rams | 18 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 315 | 612 | -297 | 7 | 13 |
- Source:[3]
Playoffs
| Elimination play-offs | Qualifying/Elimination semifinal | Preliminary final | Grand Final | |||||||||||||||
| September 2008 | 28 September 2008 | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 |  Salford City Reds | 18 | Salford City Reds | 36 | ||||||||||||||
| 2 |  Celtic Crusaders | 44 | September 2008 | Celtic Crusaders | 18 | |||||||||||||
| September 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Salford City Reds | 62 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 |  Halifax | 32 | ||||||||||||||||
| September 2008 |  Whitehaven | 18 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 |  Widnes Vikings | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| Halifax | 22 | |||||||||||||||||
| September 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Whitehaven | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 |  Leigh Centurions | 24 | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Whitehaven | 30 | ||||||||||||||||
Week One.
- Halifax (H) beat Widnes (A) (Halifax through to week two, Widnes are eliminated).
- Whitehaven (A) beat Leigh (A) (Whitehaven through to week two, Leigh are eliminated).
Week Two.
- Crusaders (A) beat Salford (H) (Crusaders through to the Grand Final in week four, Salford play in week three).
- Whitehaven (A) beat Halifax (H) (Whitehaven will play Salford in week three’s semi final, Halifax are eliminated).
Week Three.
- Salford (H) beat Whitehaven (A) (Salford are through to the Grand Final in week four, Whitehaven are eliminated).
Week 4.
- Salford City Reds 36 – 18 Celtic Crusaders. Match played at neutral venue Halliwell Jones Stadium.
Salford City Reds were the 2008 League One champions.[4]
References
- ^ “Crusaders & Salford win licences”. BBC Sport. 22 July 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ^ “Ireland and Scotland record historic victories”. The Guardian. 5 November 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
- ^ “National League 1 Table 2008”. National Leagues. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008.
- ^ “2008 National League 1 Grand Final – Salford City Reds 36 Celtic Crusaders 18”. Wales Rugby League. 28 September 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2026.