The ties for Round Five of the Betfred Challenge Cup can now be confirmed, following the completion of this weekend’s Round Four fixtures.
Seven Betfred Championship and one League One club will contest four ties across the weekend of 22/23 April, with kick off and live streaming arrangements to be announced as soon as possible.
Stand-out tie of the Fifth Round is undoubtedly the one between Halifax Panthers and Bradford Bulls, who this weekend disposed of Barrow Raiders and Midlands Hurricanes respectively. The Panthers, who defeated the Bulls at Odsal en route to the semi-finals in 2019, just about did enough to keep Barrow Raiders at bay to win 24-18, while the Bulls proved far too strong for League One Midlands Hurricanes in winning 66-18.
Flying the flag for League One will be Dewsbury Rams, who produced a superb performance on home turf to defeat seven-times Challenge Cup winners Widnes Vikings 32-12. The Rams will now travel to face London Broncos, who demolished Doncaster 66-16 in the capital on Saturday.
Two other all-Championship ties make up the rest of the Fifth Round draw: York Knights versus Newcastle Thunder and Batley Bulldogs versus Keighley Cougars.
The Bulldogs and Thunder accounted for the last remaining community sides, Hunslet ARLFC and Rochdale Mayfield respectively. Mayfield, playing in the fourth round of the cup for the first time, led 6-0 as early as the seventh minute and outscored Thunder in the second half before going down 22-12. Thunder will have to step up their game to compete with a Knights side that overcame the 30th minute dismissal of Danny Kirmond to hold off Sheffield Eagles 24-22.
Batley Bulldogs proved far too strong for the Hunslet amateurs, who can nevertheless be mightily proud of their efforts in reaching Round Four of the competition this year. The Bulldogs now face newly-promoted Keighley Cougars, the two sides having enjoyed a see-saw battle in their league encounter earlier this year when Batley came back from 20-8 down and trailed 23-22 with just seconds to go before Dale Morton broke the visitor’s hearts at the very death.
Betfred Challenge Cup Fifth Round (ties to be played 22/23 April)
- Batley Bulldogs v Keighley Cougars
- Halifax Panthers v Bradford Bulls
- London Broncos v Dewsbury Rams
- York Knights v Newcastle Thunder
Betfred Super League sides enter the competition at Round Six (19-21 May). The draw will be broadcast live on the BBC News Channel’s Sportsday programme on Monday 24 April, 6.30pm.
Tickets for the 2023 Men’s and Women’s Challenge Cup finals at Wembley Stadium are on sale now via the RFL website. Fans can take advantage of an Early Bird offer of 25% OFF all tickets, with prices starting from only £15 Adults and £7.50 for Under 16s.
