Bradford Bulls coach John Kear (pictured) admits he was delighted last week when his side was drawn against his former club Wakefield Trinity in the fifth round of the Challenge Cup.
Kear will return to his old stomping ground on Friday March 13 and is relishing the prospect of facing Super League opposition again.
He said: “There was a wry smile, although I’d have preferred to draw them at home.
“It should be a good pay day for the club and it allows us to test ourselves against great opposition.
“It’s a nice little sideshow to the league campaign, and I consider myself good friends with Michael Carter and Chris Chester.
“I still talk to Chris fairly frequently and Danny Brough the same.
“It’s a good draw and it will be nice for us to go in as underdogs.”
The majority of the matches will be played on the weekend of 14 and 15 March, but Huddersfield Giants will face Toronto Wolfpack at the John Smith’s Stadium on Wednesday 11 March, which is the same night that Whitehaven will face Dewsbury Rams in a fourth round tie that was postponed last week.
The winner of that game will travel to Newcastle Thunder four days later for a match that will be live streamed by the BBC.
And an RFL spokesman explained to League Express why the Giants will face Toronto on a Wednesday evening.
“Huddersfield informed us that they wouldn’t want to play on the Sunday (15th), because they’re on Sky the following Thursday (19th) at home to Hull,” he said.
“John Smith’s Stadium also unavailable on Friday and Saturday, because Huddersfield Town are at home on the Saturday.
“Therefore they suggested Thursday 12th.
“That would have meant clashing with the Sky Super League game – Hull v Warrington.
“We therefore suggested to them and Toronto that they could play on Wednesday 11th (as both play early in the previous weekend – Toronto at Leeds on Thursday 5th, and Huddersfield at Saints on Friday 6th.
“That also opened up the possibility of Our League coverage. We thought it’s a game Rugby League fans would want to see, and from our angle it provides a rare chance to show men’s Super League clubs in addition to the regular coverage of other competitions.
“And it will be interesting to see the effect of the Wednesday night slot on viewing figures.
“We’re grateful to both clubs for agreeing to that request and to Huddersfield for their ticket pricing initiative which will hopefully attract a bigger crowd for a rare Wednesday night fixture.
Coral Challenge Cup fifth round draw: Wakefield Trinity v Bradford Bulls, Widnes Vikings v Swinton Lions, Sheffield Eagles v Workington Town, Newcastle Thunder v Whitehaven/Dewsbury Rams, Featherstone Rovers v Hunslet, Huddersfield Giants v Toronto Wolfpack, Hull Kingston Rovers v Leigh Centurions, York City Knights v Rochdale Hornets.
Matches to be played between 11 & 15 March
