This situation endured until 1901–1902, when the top teams in each league resigned and formed a new combined first division.

Results from all games counted towards the Rugby Football League Championship, whilst results within the county counted towards the respective county leagues.

The championship often included teams from outside the Yorkshire and Lancashire heartlands; these were allocated to a county league on a practical basis.

Briefly, in the 1908–1909 season, there were enough clubs from Wales to add a third Welsh League to the structure.

Halifax joined the Lancashire League in 1930,[1] remaining there until the start of the Second World War.