The Betfred Championship regular season concludes this weekend, with the top six heading into the play-offs next weekend. Here is a look the fixtures set to take place in Round 27 of the Betfred Championship.
Whitehaven will be looking to continue their good run as they welcome Newcastle Thunder on Saturday evening.
Whitehaven were looking over their shoulder at the prospect of relegation, however Haven have safely avoided the drop after three successive wins.
Jonty Gorley’s side could finish 10th, if they are to defeat Newcastle and London fail to win their fixture.
Perry Singleton is just one appearance away from 100 in his career. Singleton has made all 99 appearances for Cumbrian sides, with 80 matches coming for Workington Town and 16 for current club, Whitehaven.
Newcastle will be hoping for a positive end to their season, when they travel to Whitehaven.
Thunder have struggled in the past few months, which has seen them slip down the Betfred Championship table.
Newcastle have not won a match since Round 18, when they hammered Bradford Bulls.
However, Newcastle did defeat Whitehaven earlier in the season. Sam Halsall scored a hat-trick during the 40-24 home victory.
Mitch Clark is just one appearance away from 150 in his career and he could make that on Saturday.
Bradford Bulls and Widnes Vikings will head into the final round knowing whoever comes out on top will finish higher in the table.
Bradford have lost their last three matches; however, Mark Dunning’s side had won successive matches before their current dip in form.
Earlier in the season, Bradford came out on top with Ryan Millar scoring a brace during the 31-6 away win at the DCBL Stadium.
Just like Bradford, Widnes also head into this fixture off the back of three straight defeats.
The Vikings could finish as high as seventh in the table, should they win, and other fixtures go in their favour.
Widnes did beat Bradford at Odsal last season, and they will be hoping to repeat that this season.
Halifax Panthers made sure they sealed third spot on Monday, and they will be looking to set a marker as they host Featherstone on Sunday afternoon.
Simon Grix’s side have been very dominant recently, with just one defeat in their previous 12 league matches.
Halifax have very much emerged as the third best side throughout the season and could potentially cause a few issues to other teams during the play-offs.
This fixture could be repeated in two weeks times in the semi-final of the play-offs.
Featherstone will be looking to head into the play-offs with a victory.
The Rovers have been rewarded with a week off next weekend, after finishing second and they could face Halifax in their next fixture.
In recent years, Featherstone have won their previous seven meetings, including twice earlier this season.
Brian McDermott’s side are unbeaten since the Summer Bash, where they suffered a defeat to league leaders, Leigh Centurions.
Leigh Centurions have impressed many this season with their dominance, as they are just three matches away from a potential return to the Betfred Super League.
Adrian Lam’s side have lost just one of their 26 league matches heading into Sunday.
Keanan Brand scored a first half hat-trick during Leigh’s 52-0 victory over Batley Bulldogs earlier in the 2022 season.
Leigh will be looking to end the season on a high, as they will have a week off and will play the lowest ranked remaining club in the play-offs.
Batley have surprised many and have earnt a well-deserved play-off spot.
Craig Lingard’s side were looking in with a contention of finishing in third, however three straight defeats halted their charge. Since then, Batley have bounced back with victories over Dewsbury and Bradford.
As it stands, Batley will have a home play-off match against Barrow, however the location would change if Batley failed to beat Leigh and Barrow defeat London.
London Broncos will welcome Barrow Raiders to the capital.
London were in danger of relegation at one point earlier in the season, however Mike Eccles turned the tide and the Broncos have raced away from relegation.
Despite struggling earlier in the season, London did pick up a point on the road as they drew 18-18 at Barrow.
Alex Walker has scored in each of his last three meetings with the Raiders. The full-back has scored five tries against Sunday’s opposition.
Barrow will head to the capital seeking their first victory since May 1986.
The Raiders know that they could pick up a home play-off match, which would give them a big advantage heading into the eliminators next weekend.
The Cumbrian side have won three of their last four matches and their one defeat came against second place Featherstone Rovers.
Tee Ritson is the top try scorer in the Championship and the winger will be hoping to hold on to his advantage. Ritson is just two tries away from reaching 100 in his career.
York City Knights will face Workington Town with both sides having contrasting fortunes.
York will head into a play-off match next weekend, meanwhile Workington’s fate was sealed when they were relegated to League One earlier in the season.
James Ford’s side have won their last six meetings with Workington.
The City Knights were rocked by a 100-4 defeat to Leigh, however since then they have been able to win successive matches.
Workington will be hoping that they end their Championship journey with a victory, but it might be a difficult task.
Town have failed to win at York since their 24-20 victory in the National League Two match in April 2008.
Workington have won just one match this season, but they will be hoping to build as they head into Betfred League One next season.
Fixtures:
Saturday:
- Whitehaven v Newcastle Thunder – 3PM
Sunday:
- Bradford Bulls v Widnes Vikings – 3PM
- Halifax Panthers v Featherstone Rovers – 3PM
- Leigh Centurions v Batley Bulldogs – 3PM
- London Broncos v Barrow Raiders – 3PM
- York City Knights v Workington Town – 3PM
