
THE CHALLENGE CUP third-round draw will be made tomorrow (Tuesday), despite the majority of first-round ties not yet taking place.
All twelve Super League clubs enter the competition at this stage following a change in the competition structure for this season.
The timing of the draw, in which the top-flight clubs will all be drawn away for games on the weekend of February 8/9, was intended to provide an extra incentive and interest in the second round.
But almost every entrant will be involved in what could be a complicated draw after only three of 17 first-round games took place over the weekend.
The only clubs eliminated were Hammersmith Hills Hoists, Aberavon and Eastern Rhinos, beaten respectively by Siddal, Blackbrook and Wests Warriors.
Freezing temperatures saw most matches rescheduled for this weekend (January 18/19), ahead of the second round on January 25/26.
Round two involves Championship and League One sides, has already been drawn and will see Goole’s first competitive game as a professional club, away at London, screened live by the BBC.
The third-round draw will be made in Warrington, at the Spectrum headquarters of competition sponsors Betfred, alongside the draw for the group stage of the Women’s Challenge Cup.
Both will be broadcast live by the BBC, on iPlayer and the Red Button, with coverage to begin at 6.30pm.
Twelve teams will compete in the Women’s Challenge Cup this year, down from 16 last season.
The dozen will be drawn into four groups of three, with a fixture taking place in each group over three rounds on the weekends of April 5/6, 12/13 and 19/20. The winners and runners-up of each group will progress to the quarter-finals.
The ‘big four’ of holders St Helens, Leeds, Wigan and York will be seeded for the draw and therefore avoid each other in the group stage.
Two of the other eight sides – Barrow, Leigh, Huddersfield and Warrington from Super League plus second-tier Cardiff, Featherstone, London and Sheffield – will be drawn into each group.