The 2026 Betfred Championship season got underway in Salford on Friday Night!
Drawing a bumper crowd of around 5,000, a reborn Salford RLFC played out their first ever fixture, coming up against local rivals Oldham in Round 1 of the new Championship competition.
Both sets of fans were out in their numbers to show their support, with a list of special guests also in attendance at the CorpAcq Stadium, as everyone braced themselves for an emotional evening.
Here's how the game unfolded...
The Roughyeds, a side littered with Super League experience, led 16-0 at the break courtesy of tries from Ben O’Keefe, Ted Chapelhow and Tom Nisbet.
This came after a stoppage in play at approximately 30 minutes in for a medical emergency in the crowd.
The teams returned to action for the remainder of the first half with no further points added, although Oldham would go on to score another 28 unanswered points in the second.
Riley Dean was on the end of a stunning effort, before Jake Bibby, Cole Geyer, Owen Farnworth and Ryan Lannon added themselves to the scoresheet, with the Roughyeds walking away as comfortable 44-0 victors.
Despite the result, this couldn’t dampen the spirts of what was a special night in Salford.
The rest of Round 1 action continues this weekend, with the eight other fixtures taking place on Sunday afternoon.
The full fixture list for the Betfred Championship can be found here.
