2009 RFL Championship

The 2009 RFL Championship was the 1st season of the RFL Championship under its current name and the 42nd season under its current league status.
There was no automatic promotion to Super League due to licensing being used. Qualifying for the Grand Final is a prerequisite for Championship clubs to be able to apply for license in the next round of applications for the 2012–14 [Super League licences|2012–14 period].
The Grand Final was won by Barrow Raiders, who also won the League leaders Shield, beating Halifax 26-18.
Toulouse Olympique were exempt from relegation meaning Leigh Centurions were relegated along with bottom placed Doncaster. Following the completion of the season, Gateshead Thunder were eliminated following salary cap breaches and subsequently relegated, meaning Leigh Centurions retained their place in the Championship.

Table

Play-offs

Eliminators

Semi finals

Elimination final

Grand Final

Team bracket

Statistics

The following are the top points scorers in the 2009 Championship season. Statistics include points scored in both league and play-off appearances.
Most tries

Player	Team	Tries
James Nixon	Barrow Raiders	26
Jermaine McGillvary	Batley Bulldogs	20
Shad Royston	Halifax	20
Gregg McNally	Whitehaven	19
Paddy Flynn	Widnes Vikings	18
Ian Hardman	Featherstone Rovers	16
Ben McAlpine	Gateshead Thunder	15
Nick Youngquest	Gateshead Thunder	15
Craig Calvert	Batley Bulldogs	15
Luke Branighan	Barrow Raiders	13
Rob Worrincy	Widnes Vikings	13

Most goals

Player	Team	Goals
Lee Patterson	Halifax	106
Jonny Woodcock	Sheffield Eagles	85
Michael Knowles	Gateshead Thunder	84
Nathan Wynn	Toulouse Olympique	76
Stuart Dickens	Featherstone Rovers	65
Gregg McNally	Whitehaven	65
Ian Mort	Leigh Centurions	52
Paul Mennell	Batley Bulldogs	50
Jamie Rooney	Barrow Raiders	44
Tim Hartley	Widnes Vikings	42

Attendances

	Team	Played	Highest	Lowest	Total	Average
1	Widnes Vikings	12	5,236	2,375	43,752	3,646
2	Halifax	11	3,274	2,002	25,812	2,347
3	Barrow Raiders	11	3,050	1,693	25,326	2,302
4	Toulouse Olympique	10	3,206	1,200	21,788	2,179
5	Leigh Centurions	10	2,721	1,394	19,843	1,984
6	Featherstone Rovers	10	2,673	1,346	18,084	1,808
7	Whitehaven	10	2,708	1,175	16,698	1,670
8	Sheffield Eagles	11	1,457	809	12,546	1,141
9	Batley Bulldogs	10	1,430	580	8,952	895
10	Doncaster	10	1,096	275	6,693	669
11	Gateshead Thunder	10	1,033	405	6,470	647
	Total	115	11,398	275	217,362	1,874