We’ve got a fascinating week of varied Rugby League to look forward to – with some key games taking place in front of television cameras.
It all starts with the big Monday-night (February 7) match-up of Championship heavyweights Featherstone and Leigh.
It’s certainly true that promotion isn’t won or lost at this early juncture.
But the first of three regular-season meetings – this pair also clash in the return fixture on Sunday, June 12 and at the Summer Bash at Headingley on Saturday, July 30 – will provide an early-season boost for the winners.
It will also provide Premier Sports subscribers with the chance to see if the channel can build on an impressive first offering, when presenter Emma Louise Jones, pundits Jodie Cunningham, Leon Pryce and Kevin Brown, commentator Mark Wilson and reporter Ross Fiddes did a great job on the York versus Featherstone clash.
Rovers were 30-12 winners, while Leigh swept aside Whitehaven 50-4 the previous day, and of course most observers reckon these two will have a fourth contest to decide promotion.
The two clubs who do make it to the Million Pound Game on the weekend of October 1/2 will be battling it out to follow in the footsteps of Toulouse, who, having earned Super League status six years after re-entering the British Rugby League system, kick-off at home to Huddersfield on Saturday evening.
It’s proved difficult for promoted teams to retain top-flight status – as Leigh will testify – and Toulouse’s task certainly hasn’t been made any easier by the eve-of-season loss of key players Johnathon Ford and Mark Kheirallah.
Nevertheless, Sylvain Houles’ side will be hoping to establish home rule particularly, and the game against the Giants, who are eyeing a big improvement on last season, is live on Sky.
So too are Thursday’s opener and Grand Final repeat between St Helens and Catalans Dragons and Friday’s meeting of Hull KR and Wigan – Matt Peet’s first as coach of the Warriors.
These four, of course, will all be eyeing play-off involvement, as will Leeds and Warrington, who on Saturday lunchtime will become the first two teams to go head-to-head in a live free-to-air television match, courtesy of Channel 4’s new two-year deal.
It’s also the third round of the Challenge Cup this weekend, with Saturday’s ties between Lock Lane, the second-round conquerors of Oldham, and Rochdale and the Royal Navy and York Acorn available on The Sportsman and OuRLeague respectively.
Meanwhile Sunday’s meeting of Hunslet and Siddal is on BBC Sport.
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