[1][2][3][4] Caldy were crowned champions on the 8 April 2017 with two games to go, after beating second place Sale 28–26 in front of a crowd of 1,432 at Paton Field (the biggest in the league that season) to make sure that the Heywood Road side could not catch them.

Despite home advantage Sale were unable to join Caldy in the 2017–18 National League 1 as they lost a close game 14–19 to Old Elthamians in front of a crowd of 1,297 at Heywood Road.

[9][10] With regards to the Tigers, who at one point looked likely to go down, they had an absolute fantastic finish to the season, winning four out of five games to remain in National League 2 North.

There had been some hope that the 14th placed team might have been kept safe but the equivalent side in the 2016–17 National League 2 South, Barnstaple, escaped relegation as they gained more points (51) than their northern counterparts (47).

This was mostly due to the consistent support which went to watch Wharfedale, Tynedale and Hinckley (two of whom were new to the division), along with several good individual attendances at both Caldy and Sale who benefited from being involved in a tightly contested title battle.