1897–98 Northern Rugby Football Union season
The 1897–98 Northern Rugby Football Union season was the third season of rugby league football.
Summary
The leading try scorer this season was Hoskins of Salford, who crossed the line 30 times. The leading goal scorer was Albert Goldthorpe of Hunslet who was successful 66 times. The leading points scorer was also Goldthorpe who scored 135 points in the season.Oldham won the Lancashire Senior Competition and Hunslet won in Yorkshire, but only after winning a play-off with Bradford.
Rule changes
- The line-out was abolished and replaced with the punt-out.
- The value of all goals was reduced to two points.
Lancashire Senior Competition
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
| 1 | Oldham | 26 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 295 | 94 | +201 | 47 |
| 2 | Swinton | 26 | 20 | 3 | 3 | 321 | 83 | +238 | 43 |
| 3 | Widnes | 26 | 19 | 1 | 6 | 251 | 114 | +137 | 39 |
| 4 | Salford | 26 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 275 | 182 | +93 | 33 |
| 5 | Broughton Rangers | 26 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 183 | 108 | +75 | 30 |
| 6 | Wigan | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 124 | 173 | -49 | 23 |
| 7 | Leigh | 26 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 176 | 170 | +6 | 22 |
| 8 | St. Helens | 26 | 10 | 2 | 14 | 161 | 192 | -31 | 22 |
| 9 | Warrington | 26 | 10 | 2 | 14 | 131 | 178 | -47 | 22 |
| 10 | Runcorn | 26 | 9 | 2 | 15 | 142 | 184 | -42 | 20 |
| 11 | Stockport | 26 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 154 | 253 | -99 | 18 |
| 12 | Tyldesley | 26 | 8 | 1 | 17 | 111 | 281 | -170 | 17 |
| 13 | Rochdale Hornets | 26 | 7 | 0 | 19 | 146 | 247 | -101 | 14 |
| 14 | Morecambe | 26 | 4 | 2 | 20 | 74 | 285 | -211 | 10 |
Source: .
League points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.
Pld = Games played; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; PF = Match points scored; PA = Match points conceded; PD = Points difference; Pts = League points.
;Notes
Yorkshire Senior Competition
Hunslet and Bradford ended the league season with 48 points. In a championship play-off Hunslet beat Bradford 5–2.| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
| 1 | Hunslet | 30 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 327 | 117 | +210 | 48 |
| 2 | Bradford | 30 | 23 | 2 | 5 | 319 | 139 | +180 | 48 |
| 3 | Batley | 30 | 17 | 3 | 10 | 234 | 111 | +123 | 37 |
| 4 | Halifax | 30 | 16 | 3 | 11 | 193 | 164 | +29 | 35 |
| 5 | Manningham | 30 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 276 | 181 | +95 | 34 |
| 6 | Castleford | 30 | 16 | 1 | 13 | 256 | 208 | +48 | 33 |
| 7 | Wakefield Trinity | 30 | 16 | 1 | 13 | 248 | 214 | +34 | 33 |
| 8 | Leeds Parish Church | 30 | 15 | 1 | 14 | 187 | 213 | -26 | 31 |
| 9 | Leeds | 30 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 186 | 171 | +15 | 30 |
| 10 | Huddersfield | 30 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 208 | 170 | +38 | 27 |
| 11 | Hull | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 192 | 187 | +5 | 26 |
| 12 | Bramley | 30 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 156 | 199 | -43 | 26 |
| 13 | Brighouse Rangers | 30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 143 | 172 | -29 | 23 |
| 14 | Holbeck | 30 | 11 | 0 | 19 | 171 | 310 | -139 | 22 |
| 15 | Heckmondwike | 30 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 148 | 315 | -167 | 20 |
| 16 | Liversedge | 30 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 76 | 449 | -373 | 7 |
Source: .
League points: for win = 2; for draw = 1; for loss = 0.
Pld = Games played; W = Wins; D = Draws; L = Losses; PF = Match points scored; PA = Match points conceded; PD = Points difference; Pts = League points.