RFL Championship 2025: The favourites and outsiders to lift League Leaders’ Shield ranked
Clockwise from top left: Bradford Bulls, York, Featherstone Rovers and Widnes Vikings are all among the frontrunners to taste glory in the second tier in 2025
The 2025 season is just around the corner, which means bookmakers up and down the country are preparing their odds – including on who will lift the Championship League Leaders’ Shield.
For the first time in a long time, there is no absolute standout in terms of a team likely to dominate the second tier – like Leigh in 2023 or Wakefield in 2024.
Trinity did the treble last term – lifting the 1895 Cup and League Leaders’ Shield before beating Toulouse Olympique in the Championship Grand Final.
Of course, due to IMG, winning the Grand Final no longer brings automatic promotion to Super League – with a whole host of other factors playing a part. Winning the competition does provide an advantage in terms of IMG points though.
The odds on the Championship winner aren’t available just yet, but the ones for the League Leaders’ Shield – or the ‘regular season winner’ – are.
Below are those odds – as stated by principal competition sponsors Betfred – on February 11, 2025.
Championship odds 2024: The favourites and outsiders to lift League Leaders’ Shield ranked
The Championship will comprise of 13 teams this year, and below, we’ve assembled a league table-style ranking based upon each side’s odds to lift the League Leaders’ Shield.
Newly-promoted Hunslet are the rank outsiders at 100/1, with Bradford Bulls – who beat Super League outfit Castleford Tigers in the Challenge Cup Third Round over the weekend – the favourites at 15/8 following Brian Noble’s return!
Second-favourites, as you might expect, are Toulouse Olympique – with Featherstone Rovers not too far behind them.
Elsewhere, York are in at 7/1 and from there on, the odds extend out quite a fair bit.
Widnes Vikings and Oldham, who won the League title last year, are locked together at 16/1.
The full list of odds can be seen below…
13. Hunslet – 100/1
12. Barrow Raiders – 66/1
= Batley Bulldogs – 66/1
10. Doncaster – 33/1
= Halifax Panthers – 33/1
8. London Broncos – 20/1
7. Oldham – 16/1
= Widnes Vikings – 16/1
5. Sheffield Eagles – 14/1
4. York – 7/1
3. Featherstone Rovers – 9/2
2. Toulouse Olympique – 5/2
1. Bradford Bulls – 15/8
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