Well that’s the first round of the Betfred Championship done and dusted. What have we discovered after last weekends results? We can safely say we can expect Leigh Centurions and Featherstone Rovers to be the front runners after convincing wins on their travels.
The London Broncos found the going rough against a determined Bradford Bulls side, the Londoners just doing enough to win in the end. Toulouse Olympique came back in the final 5 minutes, with only 12 men to beat unlucky York City Knights. Halifax won at the death against Sheffield Eagles. The two promoted teams Whitehaven and Oldham both had home defeats against Swinton Lions and Widnes Vikings respectively.
This weekend fixtures in Round 2 starts with two games on Saturday, the first one is at the Leigh Sports Village, where Leigh Centurions will be hoping for two wins in a row against Sheffield Eagles. The Eagles came so close at Halifax last Sunday, Ryan Millar continued from his 2019 try scoring feats by grabbing a try in the defeat against Halifax.
A second home game for Toulouse Olympique on Saturday evening where Oldham make the trip to the South of France. Toulouse will be confident of another win against the newly promoted Oldham side, where coach Matt Diskin will be making an emotional visit back to the French city.
Sunday afternoon will see Whitehaven making the long trip to the Capital as they face London Broncos. Danny Ward will be hoping for a more comfortable performance from his Broncos side, after he said his team’s victory last weekend wasn’t the prettiest win.
However it was 2 points in the bag, meanwhile Whitehaven struggled at home to Swinton Lions, and things won’t be easier on Sunday in the Capital.
Next up is Swinton Lions against Dewsbury Rams, Stuart Littler’s men play their first home game of the season at Heywood Road, as the Rams will be hoping to silence the Lion’s in their own den. Hopefully the Rams can edge this one to get that all important first win of the season.
Widnes Vikings will be confident of making it two wins in a row at home against Batley Bulldogs. The spine of the Vikings team is made up of Matty Smith, Danny Craven, Logan Tomkins and Gareth Owen. Craig Lingard’s Bulldogs will have to keep a close eye on these players if they have any chance of picking up their first win of the season.
There should be a big crowd full of passion at Bootham Crescent where York City Knights entertain Bradford Bulls. York might still be kicking themselves after letting the victory over Toulouse Olympique slip out of their hands last weekend. The Bulls squad should be more settled after a few more training sessions together.
The final game on Sunday evening on the OURLEAGUE app is probably the match of the round. Featherstone Rovers face Halifax RLFC at the L.D Nutrition Stadium.
Rovers will be without last week’s star man Dane Chisholm after been suspended for three games. The incident for the suspension happened during a friendly game against Leeds Rhinos. Batley Bulldogs wished the suspension started a week earlier! Halifax will be in confident mood as well for their visit to Post Office Road.
Remember it’s so easy to download the OURLEAGUE app and put down Dewsbury Rams as your favourite team of course. The more sign ups the club has, the more funding the club will get.
This article is written by Rams fan Andy Lumb.
