The Betfred Championship action gets underway beneath the Friday night lights at Odsal when the Bradford Bulls host Doncaster.
Brian Noble’s Bulls come into the clash in good form, with four wins from their last five matches. Their only blemish in that time coming against top of the table, York Knights.
A victory on Friday night would close the gap on the Knights, putting pressure on them ahead of their clash on Sunday.
Doncaster have failed to defeat Bradford on their last 15 meetings, a run which stretches back to 1973. That victory came at home as their last away win against Bradford came 10 years earlier on September 4th, 1963.
Experienced back Craig Hall is just one try away from 250 in his career. Hall has scored eight of his 249 tries since joining the Dons.
The remaining fixtures all take place on Sunday at 3PM, except London’s home clash with Toulouse which gets underway at the earlier time of 1PM.
London and Toulouse have produced many memorable games, with the scorelines often being tight. Toulouse had an eight-point success when the sides met in Round 13, this was their first meeting since London got promoted to Super League after winning the Championship Grand Final in 2023.
Some good victories in recent weeks has seen Mike Eccles’ Broncos move up the table, meanwhile, Toulouse will be looking to keep up the pressure on York and Bradford as they sit third in the Betfred Championship.
Halifax Panthers have Sheffield Eagles arriving at Odsal with the visitors looking for their first win since the away success in Round 13 at Barrow.
The Panthers picked up two crucial wins by defeating Toulouse and Batley, but since followed that up with defeats to the top two sides in the league.
This meeting will be the first time the sides face-off since their opening day match, which Halifax left South Yorkshire with the two points.
Two sides at the opposite ends of the table meet at the South Leeds Stadium, as bottom Hunslet welcome top of the table York Knights.
Hunslet will be looking for their third league win of the season and a first home success against the Knights since 2013.
Mark Applegarth’s York Knights are arguably the most in-form team in Rugby League at the moment, having won their last 12 Betfred Championship matches, a run which stretches back to April. During that period, they did defeat Hunslet 58-8 in Round 10 back in May.
Ben Jones-Bishop could be in for a big afternoon, he is three tries away from 250 in his career, which if he does that it would take him to 1000 career points. Jones-Bishop is six points away from that milestone so a brace would see him reach that on Sunday.
Oldham will be looking to take a step closer to securing a top four spot, as Barrow visit.
Sean Long’s side have made a big impact since being promoted from Betfred League One.
This will be the fourth meeting between the two sides this season. With the sides meeting in both the 1895 Cup and Challenge Cup, as well as in Round Three of the Betfred Championship. So far, Oldham have the advantage, having won the two cup meetings, however, Barrow did take the two points in the Championship clash.
Ninth place Widnes have 12th place Batley visiting the DCBL Stadium, as Allan Coleman’s side will be looking to push up the table.
Widnes came from behind last week to win at Sheffield, a victory which ended a run of three straight defeats.
Meanwhile, Batley come into this off the back of four defeats and will be hoping it is a run that doesn’t continue
Betfred Championship Round 21 fixtures:
Bradford Bulls v Doncaster
London Broncos v Toulouse
Halifax Panthers v Sheffield Eagles
Hunslet v York Knights
Oldham v Barrow Raiders
Widnes Vikings v Batley Bulldogs
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The Betfred Championship’s full fixture list can be found here.
