22 Apr 2022

Betfred Championship Preview | Round 9

This weekend's Betfred Championship action gets underway tonight as Sheffield Eagles prepare to take on Newcastle Thunder at their temporary base of Featherstone.

Both sides are well within the play-off hunt at this early stage, with Sheffield - who are yet to play a home game in their home city - producing four wins from their seven games so far. The Eagles boast the league's third-best defence so will be a tough team to beat tonight.

Newcastle meanwhile are tenth in the league but are actually level on points with Sheffield as five clubs share the same points tally of eight, separated by points difference.

Thunder are still adapting to life as a full time club, but have shown signs of promise thanks to four wins from eight games so far, but they left York last week empty handed after falling to a comprehensive 38-6 defeat and will be keen to bounce back tonight.

In Sunday's action, Leigh Centurions will go top of the table should they overcome troubled London Broncos, live on Our League.

A 3pm kick off, the Centurions have only lost one league game all season and know a victory this weekend will see them leapfrog table-topping Featherstone for now as they visit Bradford Monday.

But London - though still yet to win in 2022 - have shown signs of what they're capable of in drawing with Barrow and losing out by the closest of margins to the likes of Bradford and York, while the addition of Dane Chisholm on loan from Featherstone has added another dimension to their attack.

Elsewhere, Dewsbury Rams host Workington Town in a battle of two sides with relegation fears.

Dewsbury are 12th as it stands after one win from their first eight games, while Workington are winless and without a point, sitting bottom.

The Rams will welcome a much needed win to add to their victory over Sheffield earlier in the year, but Workington will see this as an opportunity to get off the mark - they beat Dewsbury in the early rounds of the Challenge Cup this year and are looking for a repeat.

Halifax Panthers are at home to Barrow Raiders in an eye-catching clash of two play-off chasers.

Halifax have recovered from a slow start to climb the table and they currently sit seventh, three points and three places adrift of their visitors this weekend.

The Panthers claimed a win to remember over Easter as they beat Bradford 20-17 at Odsal despite a red card inside a minute and will have their sights set on another two points.

Barrow meanwhile were outplayed at Featherstone on Good Friday, losing 58-6 to the league leaders so will be looking for a return to form this weekend.

In-form Batley - who are the only side to take points from Featherstone this year - travel to out-of-sorts Widnes Vikings on Sunday with both sides desperate for a win, for differing reasons.

Batley picked up where they left off after an impressive 2021 and are fifth in the table after losing just twice so far this year and despite playing a game less than many off their competitors owing to an earlier postponement against Sheffield.

Widnes meanwhile soared to the top of the table after winning their first four matches of the season, but things have taken a turn since then - they have lost their last four, moving down to eighth in the congested table as a result.

Finally on Sunday, York City Knights will look to continue their strong 2022 season when they welcome Whitehaven to the LNER Community Stadium.

York are third in the league, hot on the heels of the top two, and also boast the league's third best attack as it stands so will be strong favourites for this one.

But Whitehaven will be in bouyant mood after their hard-fought derby win over Workington last time out as they look to distance themselves from the bottom two.

On Monday night, league leaders Featherstone Rovers take their unbeaten record to Bradford Bulls, live on Premier Sports.

Rovers have a stacked squad to choose from and still have Johnathan Ford to arrive in the coming weeks and will take plenty of confidence going into Monday's clash after their recent demolition of Barrow.

Bradford on the other hand are ninth in the table and one of five teams sat on eight points after four wins from their opening eight games - can they make it five and surge up the table in front of a live TV audience?

This week's Betfred Championship Fixtures:

Friday