Sat 26th-Mon 28th Feb: The Betfred Challenge Cup Round Four Match Thread

[John Drake]

Discuss the Betfred Challenge Cup Round Four games here.

SATURDAY 26th FEBRUARY
Betfred Challenge Cup - Round Four
North Wales Crusaders v Hunslet KO 14:00
at Caldy RUFC, Telegraph Road, Caldy

SUNDAY 27th FEBRUARY
Betfred Challenge Cup - Round Four
Batley Bulldogs v The Royal Navy KO 13:00 (BBC Sport)
Doncaster v Whitehaven KO 14:00
Halifax Panthers v Featherstone Rovers KO 15:00
Hunslet Club Parkside v Sheffield Eagles KO 14:00
London Broncos v Bradford Bulls KO 15:00
Rochdale Hornets v Barrow Raiders KO 15:00
Workington Town v Dewsbury Rams KO 14:00
York City Knights v Newcastle Thunder KO 15:00 (Sportsman)

MONDAY 28th FEBRUARY 
Betfred Challenge Cup - Round Four
Leigh Centurions v Widnes Vikings KO 19:45 (Premier)
 

[Cw25]

North Wales Crusaders 28-24 Hunslet

Batley 42-14 The Royal Navy

Doncaster 18-24 Whitehaven

Halifax 18-34 Featherstone

Hunslet club Parkside 12-40 Sheffield

London Broncos 20-18 Bradford

Rochdale 6-60 Barrow

Workington 18-19 Dewsbury

York 38-16 Newcastle

Leigh 30-22 Widnes

My predictions. Yes, my 2nd team will get through against Bradford.

 

 

[fearnowt]

45 minutes ago, John Drake said:

Discuss the Betfred Challenge Cup Round Four games here.

SATURDAY 26th FEBRUARY
Betfred Challenge Cup - Round Four
North Wales Crusaders v Hunslet KO 14:30
at Paton Field, Caldy RUFC

SUNDAY 27th FEBRUARY
Betfred Challenge Cup - Round Four
Batley Bulldogs v The Royal Navy KO 13:00 (BBC Sport)
Doncaster v Whitehaven KO 14:00
Halifax Panthers v Featherstone Rovers KO 15:00
Hunslet Club Parkside v Sheffield Eagles KO 14:00
London Broncos v Bradford Bulls KO 15:00
Rochdale Hornets v Barrow Raiders KO 15:00
Workington Town v Dewsbury Rams KO 14:00
York City Knights v Newcastle Thunder KO 15:00 (Sportsman)

MONDAY 28th FEBRUARY 
Betfred Challenge Cup - Round Four
Leigh Centurions v Widnes Vikings KO 19:45 (Premier)
 

North Wales Crusaders v Hunslet kicks off at 14:00

[DavidM]

48 minutes ago, John Drake said:

Discuss the Betfred Challenge Cup Round Four games here.

SATURDAY 26th FEBRUARY
Betfred Challenge Cup - Round Four
North Wales Crusaders 22-18 Hunslet 

SUNDAY 27th FEBRUARY
Betfred Challenge Cup - Round Four
Batley Bulldogs 70-4 The Royal Navy 
Doncaster 46-2 Whitehaven 
Halifax Panthers 14-24 Featherstone Rovers 
Hunslet Club Parkside 8- 38 Sheffield Eagles 
London Broncos 12- 28 Bradford Bulls 
Rochdale Hornets 10 - 32 Barrow Raiders 
Workington Town 30-0 Dewsbury Rams 
York City Knights 32- 12 Newcastle Thunder 

 

 

48 minutes ago, John Drake said:

MONDAY 28th FEBRUARY 
Betfred Challenge Cup - Round Four
Leigh Centurions 26- 16 Widnes Vikings 
 

 

[Spike]

54 minutes ago, John Drake said:

Discuss the Betfred Challenge Cup Round Four games here.

SATURDAY 26th FEBRUARY
Betfred Challenge Cup - Round Four
North Wales Crusaders v Hunslet KO 14:30 32-24
at Paton Field, Caldy RUFC

SUNDAY 27th FEBRUARY
Betfred Challenge Cup - Round Four
Batley Bulldogs v The Royal Navy KO 13:00 (BBC Sport)60-10
Doncaster v Whitehaven KO 14:00 20-18
Halifax Panthers v Featherstone Rovers KO 15:00 22-24
Hunslet Club Parkside v Sheffield Eagles KO 14:00 0-72
London Broncos v Bradford Bulls KO 15:00 12-24
Rochdale Hornets v Barrow Raiders KO 15:00 12-40
Workington Town v Dewsbury Rams KO 14:00 30-12
York City Knights v Newcastle Thunder KO 15:00 (Sportsman)30-6

MONDAY 28th FEBRUARY 
Betfred Challenge Cup - Round Four
Leigh Centurions v Widnes Vikings KO 19:45 (Premier)12-10
 

 

[Gav Wilson]

 

34 minutes ago, Cw25 said:

North Wales Crusaders 28-24 Hunslet

Batley 42-14 The Royal Navy

Doncaster 18-24 Whitehaven

Halifax 18-34 Featherstone

Hunslet club Parkside 12-40 Sheffield

London Broncos 20-18 Bradford

Rochdale 6-60 Barrow

Workington 18-19 Dewsbury

York 38-16 Newcastle

Leigh 30-22 Widnes

My predictions. Yes, my 2nd team will get through against Bradford.

 

 

York v Newcastle will be closer than that. The Knights are playing their four developing 18 year old lads.

[The Art of Hand and Foot]

The thing with the Royal Navy is they're not your usual amateur team. They include Royal Marines, these blokes are ultra fit, not only physically but mentally. They have the back up  most super League teams dream of. Physios, medics etc. They train the equivalent to full time. I think they'll give Batley a run for their money. And may come out on top.

[spanishknight]

2 hours ago, John Drake said:

 

North Wales Crusaders 
Batley Bulldogs
Whitehaven 
Featherstone Rovers 
Sheffield Eagles 
Bradford Bulls 
Barrow Raiders 
Dewsbury Rams 
York City Knights 
Leigh Centurions 
 

 

[The Phantom Horseman]

1 hour ago, The Art of Hand and Foot said:

The thing with the Royal Navy is they're not your usual amateur team. They include Royal Marines, these blokes are ultra fit, not only physically but mentally. They have the back up  most super League teams dream of. Physios, medics etc. They train the equivalent to full time. I think they'll give Batley a run for their money. And may come out on top.

Most of the above may be true, but is there anything in the form book to suggest they can beat, or run close, a top-6 Championship team such as Batley? What's the best team they have beaten, for instance? I can't remember any of the armed forces teams beating even a League One team previously, though they have sometimes seemed reasonably well matched with their amateur opponents in the early rounds of the CC.

 

[The Art of Hand and Foot]

24 minutes ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Most of the above may be true, but is there anything in the form book to suggest they can beat, or run close, a top-6 Championship team such as Batley? What's the best team they have beaten, for instance? I can't remember any of the armed forces teams beating even a League One team previously, though they have sometimes seemed reasonably well matched with their amateur opponents in the early rounds of the CC.

 

We'll find out, I guess, this weekend. 

[gogledd]

Please NOTE:

The North Wales Crusaders v Hunslet RLFC will be a 14:00 kick off on Saturday 26th February

We've had to change our game to Caldy RUFC on the Wirral 

Originally our home fixture was Sunday 27th but the Wales Rugby Union objected to our game being played at the Zip World Stadium, because the Wales RU Under20s have a Six Nations Game scheduled for 10th March. The WRU claim they need the pitch in tiptop condition.....

 

.....yet incredibly the RGC rugby union side is playing in the same stadium on 5th March. Its caused no end of problems for us locating a suitable alternative.

 

[Keep The Faith]

1 hour ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Most of the above may be true, but is there anything in the form book to suggest they can beat, or run close, a top-6 Championship team such as Batley? What's the best team they have beaten, for instance? I can't remember any of the armed forces teams beating even a League One team previously, though they have sometimes seemed reasonably well matched with their amateur opponents in the early rounds of the CC.

 

The Navy have lost previous encounters to Blackpool and Hunslet in previous years 

[Wakefield Ram]

3 hours ago, The Art of Hand and Foot said:

The thing with the Royal Navy is they're not your usual amateur team. They include Royal Marines, these blokes are ultra fit, not only physically but mentally. They have the back up  most super League teams dream of. Physios, medics etc. They train the equivalent to full time. I think they'll give Batley a run for their money. And may come out on top.

Watched Royal Navy v Army game and think RN would give most League 1 teams a good game. Think Batley will beat them comfortably.

[John Drake]

34 minutes ago, gogledd said:

Please NOTE:

The North Wales Crusaders v Hunslet RLFC will be a 14:00 kick off on Saturday 26th February

We've had to change our game to Caldy RUFC on the Wirral 

Originally our home fixture was Sunday 27th but the Wales Rugby Union objected to our game being played at the Zip World Stadium, because the Wales RU Under20s have a Six Nations Game scheduled for 10th March. The WRU claim they need the pitch in tiptop condition.....

 

.....yet incredibly the RGC rugby union side is playing in the same stadium on 5th March. Its caused no end of problems for us locating a suitable alternative.

 

I've updated the details in the original post. 

[The Phantom Horseman]

51 minutes ago, Keep The Faith said:

The Navy have lost previous encounters to Blackpool and Hunslet in previous years 

Yep, they lost to West Hull in 2019 and West Bank Bears in 2020, amateur clubs didn't enter in 2021, this year they've beaten Bridgend Blue Bulls, The Army, and York Acorn. I haven't seen any of those games so was just wondering where the theory they might be a match for Batley came from.

[fearnowt]

39 minutes ago, gogledd said:

Please NOTE:

The North Wales Crusaders v Hunslet RLFC will be a 14:00 kick off on Saturday 26th February

We've had to change our game to Caldy RUFC on the Wirral 

Originally our home fixture was Sunday 27th but the Wales Rugby Union objected to our game being played at the Zip World Stadium, because the Wales RU Under20s have a Six Nations Game scheduled for 10th March. The WRU claim they need the pitch in tiptop condition.....

 

.....yet incredibly the RGC rugby union side is playing in the same stadium on 5th March. Its caused no end of problems for us locating a suitable alternative.

 

The Wales RU under 20s also have a six nations game scheduled for 20th March at the Zip World Stadium (their last game in this years six nations), so in the event of us progressing to the fifth round and being drawn at home, we are going to face the same problem.

This is going to affect us dearly, as many of our fans have other arrangements for Saturday and won't be able to attend. I would have expected a crowd of around 500 at Colwyn Bay on Sunday, but we'll be lucky to see half of that at Caldy.

Our move to Colwyn Bay was one of the good news stories for the sport last year, and has thrown us a lifeline (we may well have folded without the move), but there's always a catch, and now we find out the stadium won't be available until the end of March, after the six nations. This is going to happen every year, so we need an alternative venue pencilled in, which in this part of the world is easier said than done.

Can I just say that I am full of admiration for the directors of North Wales Crusaders, especially our CEO Andy Moulsdale, who somehow keeps pulling rabbits out of the hat to overcome the endless obstacles put in the way of the club.

[Harry Stottle]

4 hours ago, The Art of Hand and Foot said:

The thing with the Royal Navy is they're not your usual amateur team. They include Royal Marines, these blokes are ultra fit, not only physically but mentally. They have the back up  most super League teams dream of. Physios, medics etc. They train the equivalent to full time. I think they'll give Batley a run for their money. And may come out on top.

Not a snowball in hell's chance has the Navy got in beating Batley, they will have to much experience and guile for a team full of amateurs.

[crashmon]

 

SATURDAY 26th FEBRUARY
Betfred Challenge Cup - Round Four
North Wales Crusaders v Hunslet

Batley Bulldogs v The Royal Navy KO 13:00 (BBC Sport)
Doncaster v Whitehaven KO 14:00
Halifax Panthers v Featherstone Rovers KO 15:00
Hunslet Club Parkside v Sheffield Eagles KO 14:00
London Broncos v Bradford Bulls KO 15:00
Rochdale Hornets v Barrow Raiders KO 15:00
Workington Town v Dewsbury Rams KO 14:00
York City Knights v Newcastle Thunder KO 15:00 (Sportsman)

Leigh Centurions v Widnes Vikings KO 19:45 (Premier)

[gogledd]

1 hour ago, fearnowt said:

The Wales RU under 20s also have a six nations game scheduled for 20th March at the Zip World Stadium (their last game in this years six nations), so in the event of us progressing to the fifth round and being drawn at home, we are going to face the same problem.

This is going to affect us dearly, as many of our fans have other arrangements for Saturday and won't be able to attend. I would have expected a crowd of around 500 at Colwyn Bay on Sunday, but we'll be lucky to see half of that at Caldy.

Our move to Colwyn Bay was one of the good news stories for the sport last year, and has thrown us a lifeline (we may well have folded without the move), but there's always a catch, and now we find out the stadium won't be available until the end of March, after the six nations. This is going to happen every year, so we need an alternative venue pencilled in, which in this part of the world is easier said than done.

Can I just say that I am full of admiration for the directors of North Wales Crusaders, especially our CEO Andy Moulsdale, who somehow keeps pulling rabbits out of the hat to overcome the endless obstacles put in the way of the club.

I could sort of live with the decision of us not playing in the Zip WOrl Staium on 27th Feb IF the RGC team had been stopped too. To me it just smacks of some old-fashioned anti-League WRU blazer-wearing duffer making a decision with absolutely no consequences for them whatsoever. 

You're absolutely right about Andy Moulsdale - hes been working non-stop to get this fixture sorted and deserved our immense gratitude.

[The Blues Ox]

Of the ties I think Doncaster V Haven looks a possible upset. Fax should comfortably dispose of Fev. Worky V Dewsbury should be very tight and just expecting Worky to sneak it.  I think the other games look petty one sided. Batley, Fev(was only kidding before), Sheffield, Bradford, Barrow, York, and Leigh should all have comforatble wins.

[JonM]

5 hours ago, The Art of Hand and Foot said:

The thing with the Royal Navy is they're not your usual amateur team. They include Royal Marines, these blokes are ultra fit, not only physically but mentally. They have the back up  most super League teams dream of. Physios, medics etc. They train the equivalent to full time. I think they'll give Batley a run for their money. And may come out on top.

They've competed in every Challenge Cup since 2000 apart from last year's cutdown version and have gone out to amateur opposition in the first round almost every time (West Bank Bears, Normanton, Myton Warriors in recent seasons). What's changed this year that makes you think they're likely to compete with a top championship club like Batley?

[Barley Mow]

North Wales Crusaders v Hunslet
Batley Bulldogs v The Royal Navy
Doncaster v Whitehaven
Halifax Panthers v Featherstone Rovers
Hunslet Club Parkside v Sheffield Eagles
London Broncos v Bradford Bulls
Rochdale Hornets v Barrow Raiders
Workington Town v Dewsbury Rams
York City Knights v Newcastle Thunder
Leigh Centurions v Widnes Vikings

[Cw25]

News alert

London Broncos will actually win a match or 2 this season. 

[The Blues Ox]

20 minutes ago, Cw25 said:

News alert

London Broncos will actually win a match or 2 this season. 

It just won't be against a half decent side.

[clwydianrange]

1 hour ago, gogledd said:

I could sort of live with the decision of us not playing in the Zip WOrl Staium on 27th Feb IF the RGC team had been stopped too. To me it just smacks of some old-fashioned anti-League WRU blazer-wearing duffer making a decision with absolutely no consequences for them whatsoever. 

You're absolutely right about Andy Moulsdale - hes been working non-stop to get this fixture sorted and deserved our immense gratitude.

I fully agree with you Mark on all counts, especially Andy M, but the decision for us not to play should have been taken by the council who own the ground and not one of their tenants. It’s childish beyond belief.