Round Three of the Betfred Championship begins earlier than usual as Sheffield Eagles will host Batley Bulldogs on Friday evening. Here is a look at all seven matches taking places this weekend in the Betfred Championship.
Friday
Sheffield Eagles v Batley Bulldogs
The Sheffield Eagles will welcome Batley Bulldogs to Olympic Legacy Park on Friday evening. The match will be Sheffield’s first game at home this season, as they have had away matches at Halifax and Barrow in the opening two weeks.
Mark Aston’s side bounced back from their opening round defeat, with an away win at Barrow last week.
Ross Oakes and Kris Welham both crossed for braces as the Eagles got on the board with a 36-16 success.
Anthony Thackeray was another try scorer on Sunday. The half-back is now just three points away from 1000 in his career.
The Eagles will be looking for their first victory since the extra time Challenge Cup in 2020.
In recent years, Batley have had a strong record against Sheffield, and they will be looking to continue that run on Friday.
Craig Lingard’s side completed the double last year on route to the Betfred Championship Grand Final.
Johnny Campbell has been prolific against Sheffield. He has scored a try in each of his last four matches against the Eagles.
Batley recorded their first victory in over 30 years in London, however, they have since followed that with a home defeat to Swinton Lions.
Luke Blake could make his 100th appearance for Batley. Blake made his Bulldogs debut at hooker against Workington in 2014 during his first stint at the club.
The Bulldogs have won their last four meetings with Sheffield.
Saturday
Toulouse v York Knights
Toulouse will be looking to continue their unbeaten record when they host York on Saturday afternoon.
After an opening round win against Barrow, Toulouse returned to France and put on a show last Saturday. 11 tries were scored during the 56-0 success over Newcastle Thunder, which included nine different try scorers.
The victory saw Toulouse rise up to the top of the table as they bid to make an immediate return to the Betfred Super League.
So far, Toulouse have only conceded one try, which shows they currently are impressing defensively.
Olympique have won their last six home meetings with York.
Andrew Henderson picked up his first victory as York head coach on Monday.
The Knights fell behind inside the first half, but towards the end of the half, York began to dominate the contest against Bradford.
Saturday’s match will be the first away fixture of the season for York.
Forward, Jordan Thompson, is set for his 300th career appearance. Thompson has made 37 appearances for York.
The Knights will be searching for their first away victory against Toulouse since the 16-10 win in 2011.
Sunday
Bradford Bulls v Widnes Vikings
Bradford won their opening fixture against Whitehaven at Odsal, before a defeat away at York on Monday halted their progress.
Mark Dunning’s side took a lead after 20 minutes thanks to half-back David Foggin-Johnson. But the Bulls failed to capitalise.
Bradford will still be without Jack Walker, who suffered an injury during Round One. They will be looking for their first home victory over Widnes since the 62-0 hammering in Round 19 of the 2019 Championship season.
Widnes head into Sunday as one of just three sides who have won both of their opening fixtures.
In the opening round, the Vikings came out on top in a closely fought contest at York. Before defeating newly promoted Keighley Cougars in Round Two.
Ryan Millar has posed a threat this season on the wing. Millar crossed for a hat-trick against Keighley, which moved his tally to four tries so far, the most of anybody in the Championship.
Prop, Kyle Amor is set to make his 350th career appearance. The experienced forward made 211 appearances for St Helens, before making the switch to Widnes for the 2023 season.
Widnes have won on their last two visits to Bradford.
Featherstone Rovers v Whitehaven
Featherstone have impressed so far and stand out as one of the sides expected to finish towards the top of the table.
Sean Long’s side kicked off their season with an impressive 50-0 success at Keighley.
Since then, Rovers have hosted Halifax last weekend. A fast start put Featherstone on the front foot, which saw them scored eight tries during the 46-22 success.
Riley Dean has stood out as a big threat this season. The half-back has been key to Featherstone’s play and he has also scored three tries.
Featherstone have won the previous six meetings between the two sides.
Whitehaven will have a tough task when they travel to West Yorkshire, however, they will be encouraged by recent performances.
Despite losing their opening two matches, Haven have given a good account of themselves against Bradford and London.
On-loan Jacob Douglas scored two impressive tries last weekend at home to London. The winger scored a long range try and an acrobatic effort, during the defeat.
Whitehaven have failed to beat Featherstone since the 29-0 away win in 2015.
Halifax Panthers v London Broncos
London Broncos will travel to The Shay on Sunday afternoon as they will look for their second away win of the season.
Mike Eccles’ side lost their opening fixture at home to Batley Bulldogs. However, last weekend they made the long trip to Cumbria worthwhile with a win over Whitehaven.
Paul Ulberg scored an impressive team try. Ulberg currently has three tries this season.
London will be searching for their first win at the Shay since the 41-22 success in 2016.
Halifax are looking to make The Shay a fortress this year. A strong first half performance in Round One was enough to get the victory over Sheffield, despite a fightback from the Eagles.
Simon Grix’s side had a tough away trip last weekend to Featherstone. Lachlan Walmsley and James Woodburn-Hall both crossed for doubles during the defeat.
Adam Tangata could make his 150th Halifax Panthers appearance, meanwhile Zack McComb could reach his 100th career appearance.
Halifax have won their last five home meetings with the London Broncos.
Keighley Cougars v Newcastle Thunder
Keighley are in search of their first Betfred Championship win of the season after back-to-back defeats.
Keighley kicked off their 2023 season live on Viaplay Sports. It was a tough evening against a red hot Featherstone side.
Luke Gale scored twice as they lost a close fought game last weekend against Widnes.
Rhys Lovegrove will be hoping his side can find that elusive first success.
The last time Keighley beat Newcastle at Cougar Park was in 2018 in League One, with the hosts coming out on top in a 24-16 win.
Newcastle got off to a great start with an away win at Swinton, but then they had a tough contest the following round.
Thunder struggled against a Toulouse side who scored 11 tries during the Round Two fixture.
Newcastle will be encouraged by recent meetings. The North East side have won their previous four meetings, of which their latest two were both in West Yorkshire at Cougar Park.
Swinton Lions v Barrow Raiders
Despite suffering an opening round defeat, that did not seem to effect Swinton as they bounced back in Round Two.
In their opening match, they conceded two tries inside the final 10 minutes which saw Newcastle leave with the two points.
In their second match they had a tough ask but produced a really impressive performance to get an away win at Batley.
Mike Butt was one of the try scorers last Sunday. The winger has scored four tries in his last three appearances against the Raiders. Butt is just one try away from 100 in his career.
Gavin Bennion could make his 150th career appearance. Bennion has made 56 appearances for the Lions.
Swinton are unbeaten in their last five home matches against Barrow.
Barrow will be hoping they can get their first win of the season when they travel to Swinton on Sunday.
The Raiders have suffered consecutive home defeats at the hands of Toulouse and Sheffield.
This match will be their first on the road this season and they will be hoping to end their unwanted run at Swinton.
Raiders have failed to win a match at Swinton since 2008 and they will be hopeful that by Sunday evening that run has ended.
Round Three Fixtures:
Friday
- Sheffield Eagles v Batley Bulldogs - 7:30PM
Saturday
- Toulouse v York Knights - 5PM (GMT)/6PM CET
Sunday
- Bradford Bulls v Widnes Vikings - 3PM
- Featherstone Rovers v Whitehaven - 3PM
- Halifax Panthers v London Broncos - 3PM
- Keighley Cougars v Newcastle Thunder - 3PM
- Swinton Lions v Barrow Raiders - 3PM
