Challenge Cup: Third Round Draw

[Agbrigg]

As a wakey fan, our two games either side of Newcastle, with all due respect, very weak teams, is the last thing i wanted

[JonM]

Potentially two home games against amateur opposition for Cornwall.

[bigbaldnmad]

Third and fourth round ties.

Batley Bulldogs or Workington Town v Rochdale Hornets or Midland Hurricanes

Hunslet or Keighley Cougars v Thatto Heath Crusaders or Featherstone Rovers

Cornwall or York Acorn v Stanningley or Wath Brow Hornets

Bradford Bulls or North Wales Crusaders v Widnes Vikings or Doncaster

Swinton Lions or West Hull v Barrow Raiders or Oldham

Siddal or Wakefield Trinity v Lock Lane or Hunslet ARLFC

Halifax Panthers or Whitehaven v Hammersmith Hills Hoists or Wests Warriors

Dewsbury Rams or York Knights v Sheffield Eagles or Newcastle Thunder

[WakefieldCityLoyal]

Siddal away 

Up the Trin 

[Phil W]

5 minutes ago, Agbrigg said:

As a wakey fan, our two games either side of Newcastle, with all due respect, very weak teams, is the last thing i wanted

Reckon the Wakefield squad need three weeks off to make sure they're ok for the season proper. Just remember our pitch at Thunder is artificial so probably best resting players for that one! 

[sam4731]

Really good chance for Cornwall to make a decent run.

[gingerjon]

30 minutes ago, Futtocks said:

Hammersmith Hills Hoists v Wests Warriors - a London derby!

MANDATORY HOT BALLS REFERENCE

[Agbrigg]

So fith round will be the 8 teams left , do all 12 SL teams join in this round ?

[Griff]

3 minutes ago, Agbrigg said:

So fith round will be the 8 teams left , do all 12 SL teams join in this round ?

No.

[sam4731]

25 minutes ago, Agbrigg said:

So fith round will be the 8 teams left , do all 12 SL teams join in this round ?

8 are whittled down to 4 in the 5th round to join the 12 SL teams in Round 6 for the last 16.

[Wollo Wollo Wayoo]

Siddal should get priority over Panthers for use of The Shay.  Potentially a bigger crowd.

[Archie Gordon]

32 minutes ago, sam4731 said:

8 are whittled down to 4 in the 5th round to join the 12 SL teams in Round 6 for the last 16.

R5 into R6 is the point at which the CC loses its lustre, sadly.

[Futtocks]

28 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

R5 into R6 is the point at which the CC loses its lustre, sadly.

It's the tricky point where the people who claim the standard of Sooper Dooper Greed is rubbish and their club would easily beat any of them if the Powers That Be and the Secret Refereeing Cabal weren't keeping them down also have to make lots of posts about how all these one-sided scorelines are a death-knell for the sport.

Edited January 29 by Futtocks

[The Phantom Horseman]

13 hours ago, Wollo Wollo Wayoo said:

Siddal should get priority over Panthers for use of The Shay.  Potentially a bigger crowd.

Personally I reckon Siddal should stick to their guns and play both their 3rd round and their 4th round ties at home.

[Dave W]

There's a few tasty looking matches in the third round. I wonder which one the BBC will pick?

My money would be on Widnes/Doncaster, seeing as they hosted the draw and it's been 40 years since their last cup win. The BBC like an angle.

Edited January 30 by Dave W

[Chronicler of Chiswick]

Bradford at Odslum - yipee. 

[Hopie]

15 hours ago, sam4731 said:

8 are whittled down to 4 in the 5th round to join the 12 SL teams in Round 6 for the last 16.

Still surprises me every time I am reminded of this, what a terrible idea

[Archie Gordon]

58 minutes ago, Hopie said:

Still surprises me every time I am reminded of this, what a terrible idea

I think it's awful. We have a vibrant, colourful first few rounds and then we basically start again with a new sterile comp from R6.

R5 is daft. A round with just 4 ties should be for the QFs.

[Wakefield Ram]

17 hours ago, Agbrigg said:

As a wakey fan, our two games either side of Newcastle, with all due respect, very weak teams, is the last thing i wanted

Can't see it making any difference really. You'll probably top 100 points for 3 games on the trot which will no doubt be a record. 

With £1m+ playing budget and full-time you should be winning league games by 40-60 points as Leigh did in similar circumstances. 

The only possible banana skin is Toulouse in the GF.

[LeeF]

17 hours ago, JonM said:

Potentially two home games against amateur opposition for Cornwall.

And yet in the 1895 Cup professional teams didn’t want to travel to Cornwall

[Cumbrian Fanatic]

2 hours ago, Dave W said:

There's a few tasty looking matches in the third round. I wonder which one the BBC will pick?

My money would be on Widnes/Doncaster, seeing as they hosted the draw and it's been 40 years since their last cup win. The BBC like an angle.

I was thinking that it would be either Widnes v Doncaster or Halifax v Whitehaven 

[The Phantom Horseman]

34 minutes ago, Archie Gordon said:

I think it's awful. We have a vibrant, colourful first few rounds and then we basically start again with a new sterile comp from R6.

R5 is daft. A round with just 4 ties should be for the QFs.

It takes away from what the Cup is all about too. The whole magic and romance of the Challenge Cup has always been about the possibility of an upset, whilst also giving fans of all clubs the chance to visit a ground they don't normally get to see.

Last year, there were just THREE games between SL clubs and lower-league opposition in the entire comp. So for nine SL teams it was just more games against the same teams that they face 2 or 3 times each season. As you say, there's nothing vibrant or colourful about that.

[del capo]

19 hours ago, Futtocks said:

The Hills Hoist: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hills_Hoist - an Australian design icon. The opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics featured giant roaming Hills Hoist robots.

A  club then  incorporating in its name a euphemism  for a good old fashioned ' stiff ' or ' clothes line' tackle. I like their humour. Would the BBC be bold enough to cover them in the London Derby in the next round ? 

I hope somebody does- it's almost  like an AUS v NZ challenge.

[JimBronco]

1 hour ago, del capo said:

A  club then  incorporating in its name a euphemism  for a good old fashioned ' stiff ' or ' clothes line' tackle. I like their humour. Would the BBC be bold enough to cover them in the London Derby in the next round ? 

I hope somebody does- it's almost  like an AUS v NZ challenge.

I love that one team consists of Aussies and the other Kiwis. Likely other nationalities mixed in there. I'm going to follow the SCL closely this season and attend many matches too in Acton and Chiswick. Get familiar with players' faces and style of play. 

[Wollo Wollo Wayoo]

4 hours ago, The Phantom Horseman said:

Personally I reckon Siddal should stick to their guns and play both their 3rd round and their 4th round ties at home.

A double header with Fax v Whitehaven at The Shay shown on the BBC would be good TV.