With the Summer Bash now behind us and the race for the play-offs intensifying, here is a look at all seven matches set to take place in Round 22 of the Betfred Championship.
Bradford Bulls will welcome Workington Town to Odsal on Sunday afternoon. Kick-off is at 3PM.
At the Summer Bash, Bradford faced West Yorkshire rivals, Halifax Panthers. The Bulls trailed at the break; however, they would have been hopeful when Halifax were reduced to 12 after Joe Martin’s red card. But a try straight after for the Panthers dashed all hope for Bradford.
Mark Dunning’s side will be looking to stop their bad run. Bradford have lost their last five Betfred Championship matches. Their last win was at Odsal at the end of June as they hammered Dewsbury Rams 48-6.
Workington Town will head to West Yorkshire in search of their first away win of the season. Town have won only one of their 21 Betfred Championship fixtures, which was a 32-18 win at Derwent Park against London Broncos.
At the Summer Bash, Town took on Cumbrian rivals Whitehaven. Workington led 4-0 after 34 minutes due to two Carl Forber penalties, however Whitehaven struck with two late tries in the half which changed the momentum. Whitehaven raced into a 28-10 lead late on to secure the bragging rights.
Carl Forber is just nine points away from 2500 in his career. Also, the 37-year-old one try away from 100 in his career.
Dewsbury Rams will be looking to bounce back as they host York at the Tetley’s Stadium.
The Rams were emphatically beaten by highflying Batley, with the Bulldogs scoring 11 tries during the 60-6 win.
Dewsbury have won twice and drawn once this season, which sees them sit second bottom in the Betfred Championship. Two weeks ago, the Rams led 22-10 away at Kingston Park halfway through the second half, however Newcastle fought back to lead 24-22 with five minutes remaining. A Paul Sykes penalty three minutes from time won a point for Dewsbury.
Paul Sykes is set to make his 500th career appearance. Sykes has been a regular feature in the Super League and Championship since making his debut in 1999.
York ended their four-game losing streak when they defeat Newcastle Thunder last weekend. James Ford’s side led 10-8 at the break thanks to a double from winger Joe Brown. Matty Marsh and James Glover extended York’s lead, however Thunder fought back. Danny Kirmond crossed late on to confirm the victory for the Knights.
Leigh Centurions will welcome Barrow Raiders to the Leigh Sports Village on Sunday. Kick-off will be at 3PM.
The Centurions extended their winning run to 19 Betfred Championship matches when they defeated second place, Featherstone Rovers. Adrian Lam’s side controlled the match from start to finish in the 46-16 victory. The Leythers scored nine tries which included a try from Blake Ferguson as well as one for Lachlan Lam on his Leigh debut.
Krisnan Inu is only seven points away from 1,500 in his career.
In the previous meeting this season, Barrow caused a scare for the league leaders. The Raiders had a 28-24 lead going into the final ten minutes, but a Blake Ferguson try seven minutes from time was converted by Ben Reynolds as Leigh snatched the 30-28 away from Barrow.
Barrow won their fifth successive Betfred Championship fixture with a hard-fought success over Widnes Vikings last Sunday.
The Vikings took the lead but were pegged back by Barrow. Hakim Miloudi intercepted the ball with five minutes remaining and he was able to assist prolific try scorer, Tee Ritson for his second of the afternoon. Ritson is the Championship joint top scorer with Nene Macdonald, both have 20 tries this season.
Newcastle Thunder and London Broncos will both be hoping to put their defeats from last weekend behind them.
Thunder went to Summer Bash looking to continue their improvement as of recent weeks. They easily defeated Bradford 53-10, before a narrow defeat at in-form Widnes. In their fixture before Bash, they had fought back against Dewsbury before conceding a late penalty to eventually draw the fixture.
Newcastle gave a good account of themselves at Headingley, however, York ultimately had too much for the North East side.
Newcastle travelled to the the capital to face London Broncos in round 11 of the Betfred Championship. Isaac Noakes scored a hat-trick as Thunder defeated the Broncos 52-22.
London Broncos headed to the Summer Bash off the back of two victories. Their away win at Bradford in round 19 was followed up with a very impressive home win over Halifax in the following round. They were brought back down to earth when they lost to Sheffield last weekend.
The Broncos sit one place behind Newcastle in the Championship in 11th position and will be looking to bridge the gap on Sunday.
Sheffield Eagles will be playing their third game in a short period when they host Whitehaven on Sunday.
The Eagles moved up to eighth after their Summer Bash success over London. Since then, they faced Batley on Wednesday in their game in hand.
The Eagles gave a strong account of themselves against Batley. Sheffield trailed 14-10 at the break at the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium, but they were unable to fight back in the second half.
The previous meeting this season saw Sheffield come out with a 44-6 win in round six.
Whitehaven will be hoping that their win at Summer Bash will help to surge them away from relegation.
Whitehaven bounced back from three heavy defeats to Barrow, Featherstone and Leigh with a victory over Cumbrian rivals, Workington Town.
Whitehaven sit 12th in the table and a win could see them rise above London Broncos and into 11th position in the Betfred Championship.
Widnes Vikings will have a tough task when they face Featherstone Rovers at the DCBL Stadium.
Widnes had an unbeaten July until they faced Barrow on Sunday. They gave a good account of themselves, however lost 36-24
Widnes sit seventh in the table and have won 10 of their 21 league fixtures.
Featherstone now trail league leaders, Leigh by five points after they lost to the Leythers last Saturday. Rovers struggled against a red-hot Leigh side in the 46-16 defeat.
The Rovers had won their previous four matches heading into last weekend, but that defeat looks as if they will have to settle for second place.
Featherstone have only dropped points to the two sides who sandwich them in the table.
The final match of the weekend sees fourth place Halifax Panthers host third place Batley Bulldogs.
Halifax defeated local rivals Bradford in the last round. The Panthers have been playing well and have won six of their previous seven matches. Their only defeat during that time came away at London.
Greg Worthington will be looking to hit a milestone in his career on Sunday evening. Worthington is only one try away from 100 in his career.
Batley have surprised many this season. Craig Lingard’s side have done well this season and their midweek victory over Sheffield put them up to third in the table.
The Bulldogs bounced back from their defeat to Widnes at Summer Bash. They made Bash history as they scored the most points by a team in a single fixture. Meanwhile, winger Johnny Campbell became the first player to score four tries in a match at the Summer Bash.
Batley will be looking to cement their third position on Sunday evening.
Fixtures
Sunday
- Bradford Bulls v Workington Town – 3PM
- Dewsbury Rams v York City Knights – 3PM
- Leigh Centurions v Barrow Raiders – 3PM
- Newcastle Thunder v London Broncos – 3PM
- Sheffield Eagles v Whitehaven – 3PM
- Widnes Vikings v Featherstone Rovers – 3PM
- Halifax Panthers v Batley Bulldogs – 6:30PM
