1982–83 John Player Trophy

The 1982–83 John Player Trophy was a British rugby league knockout tournament sponsored by John Player & Sons. It was the 12th season that the competition was held.

Wigan claimed the trophy by beating Leeds by the score of 22-11 in the final played at Elland Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire. The attendance was 19,553 and receipts were £49,027.

Background
This season saw no changes in the entrants, no new members and no withdrawals, the number remaining at thirty-three.

The preliminary round of one match remained

Preliminary round
Involved 1 matches and 2 Clubs

Round 1 - First Round
Involved 16 matches and 32 Clubs

Round 2 - Second Round
Involved 8 matches and 16 Clubs

Round 2 - Second Round Replays
Involved 1 match and 2 Clubs

Round 3 -Quarter Finals
Involved 4 matches with 8 clubs

Round 4 – Semi-Finals
Involved 2 matches and 4 Clubs

Final
This game was the first time Wigan and Leeds had met in a cup final. The Leeds team was weakened by the absence of several players, with Keith Rayne, Kevin Rayne and Alan Smith all missing out due to injury.

The final was contested at Elland Road, and was won by Wigan through second-half tries scored by Gill and Juliff. Wigan stand-off Martin Foy received the man of the match award.

Teams and scorers
Scoring - Try = three points - Goal = two points - Drop goal = one point

Prize money
As part of the sponsorship deal and funds, the prize money awarded to the competing teams for this season is as follows:

The road to success
This tree excludes any preliminary round fixtures