The fourth round of the Challenge Cup is here and there’s some intriguing ties to be played.
The round gets underway on Friday night as Wigan Warriors welcome this Super League season’s surprise package Bradford Bulls to the Brick Community Stadium and Wakefield Trinity take on Leeds Rhinos in an all West Yorkshire affair.
York Knights host Keighley Cougars on Saturday, before Goole Vikings travel to Warrington Wolves, Huddersfield Giants take on Hull KR and Hull FC go to Leigh Leopards.
Oldham will be hunting a shock in Perpignan on Saturday night when they face off against Catalans Dragons, and Castleford Tigers bring the round to an end when they face St Helens at Wheldon Road.
Below are all our picks for the round, as well as an update on the predictions leaderboard.
Challenge Cup fourth round predictions
Wakefield Trinity v Leeds Rhinos – Friday 13 March – 8pm
WJ: Wakefield 12-28 Leeds
Daryl Powell’s side remain tough to beat but they’re certainly not firing on all cylinders and I expect to see Leeds get the job done on Friday night, with Maika Sivo set to continue his scoring streak.
SC: Wakefield Trinity 16-20 Leeds Rhinos
Trinity are yet to fully get going but they could push Leeds close here based on their impressive head-to-head record. The Rhinos also boast a poor Challenge Cup record of late but their early-season form should be enough to see them through.
SB: Wakefield Trinity 16-22 Leeds Rhinos
Leeds backed up their Vegas win with victory over Castleford, but boss Brad Arthur said he thought his team looked tired at times. With this game coming just five days after, Leeds will need to dig deep into the energy tank if they want to progress in the Cup.
Wigan Warriors v Bradford Bulls – Friday 13 March – 8pm
WJ: Wigan 20-14 Bradford
The Warriors will be without their two biggest threats this weekend, but I still fancy them to edge out Kurt Haggerty’s game Bradford side. It’s a real shame this one isn’t televised.
SC: Wigan Warriors 28-22 Bradford Bulls
Without star duo Jai Field and Bevan French, Wigan will want to make this an attritional game and they certainly have the forward pack to do so, an area where the Bulls are short after bans to Loghan Lewis and Elliot Peposhi.
SB: Wigan Warriors 14-18 Bradford Bulls
Call me crazy, but this is my shock prediction of the week. With no Bevan French or Jai Field, a Bradford side with a point to prove and Wigan’s early exit last year, there is no reason why the Bulls cannot produce this year’s shock of the competition.
York Knights v Keighley Cougars – Saturday 14 March – 12pm
WJ: York 62-6 Keighley
A straightforward win for York, this.
SC: York Knights 40-0 Keighley Cougars
Hard to predict the margin without knowing what York’s squad will look like but even with a few players rested, Mark Applegarth’s side should have plenty here.
SB: York Knights 30-10 Keighley Cougars
The Knights scored 30 points in defeat to Warrington last week, but that total should be enough to see them through against Championship opposition.
Goole Vikings v Warrington Wolves – Saturday 14 March – 2pm
WJ: Goole 8-70 Warrington
Goole will travel to the Halliwell Jones Stadium with the aim of giving as good as they get, but Warrington just have too much quality.
SC: Goole Vikings 4-42 Warrington Wolves
Wire showed last week that they can ship points so I’ll take Goole to snag a try but they may well also concede plenty as even Wire’s young guns, if that’s who Sam Burgess selects, are special talents.
SB: Goole Vikings 8-46 Warrington Wolves
Despite it being a Goole home game, the Halliwell Jones Stadium will host this one, and after their early-season attacking form, Warrington could easily run away with this one.
Huddersfield Giants v Hull KR – Saturday 14 March – 3pm
WJ: Huddersfield 6-52 Hull KR
Rovers will make a couple of changes but I’d expect this one to be even more one-sided than last week.
SC: Huddersfield Giants 0-52 Hull KR
We saw this match last week with KR winning by six tries to one but with the Giants missing even more players and the Robins having another week of recovery post Las Vegas, I only see the score widening.
SB: Huddersfield Giants 0 -42 Hull KR
The pair faced off on Sunday, and the Robins won convincingly – a result I expect to see again this weekend, particularly with Huddersfield having 16 players unavailable for selection.
Leigh Leopards v Hull FC – Saturday 14 March – 3pm
WJ: Leigh 10-16 Hull
Hull have lost their last three but I think they’re in a better place than Leigh are at the moment. Heads seem to have dropped at Leigh Sports Village and I find it hard to see where their next win is coming from at present.
SC: Leigh Leopards 22-18 Hull FC
Both these sides have struggled so far with injuries certainly an excuse for Leigh but I’m backing them as I think they can ice the big moments better. If John Asiata plays upwards of an hour then I’d favour Hull but I’m not sure he’ll be allowed to play that much.
SB: Leigh Leopards 20-12 Hull FC
This game could easily go either way, but for the wrong reasons. Given the pair’s starts to the year, the tie feels like a game of whoever avoids a loss will progress, rather than who picks up a win.
Catalans Dragons v Oldham – Saturday 14 March 5.30pm
WJ: Catalans 38-12 Oldham
I’d expect Catalans to have far too much for the Championship side here.
SC: Catalans Dragons 38-10 Oldham
Catalans made a big statement by beating Leigh last week and they’ll hope to kick on against Championship opposition.
SB: Catalans Dragons 36-4 Oldham
Les Dracs found themselves back in the winner’s circle last week, and if you combine their home form with the fact they face a struggling Oldham, it should be another victory for Joel Tomkins’ men.
Castleford Tigers v St Helens – Saturday 14 March – 6pm
WJ: Castleford 10-22 St Helens
I’ve been so underwhelmed with Castleford so far. I expect St Helens to get the job done at Wheldon Road.
SC: Castleford Tigers 14-20 St Helens
Saints will be very light on the pack this week but they’re fortunate that Castleford have one of the weaker packs in Super League, particularly without star man Alex Mellor. The Red Vee have managed to grind out wins this year and I’ll just favour them to do the same again.
SB: Castleford Tigers 14-24 St Helens
Two sides hit by key injuries, Saints have more experience in knockout rugby than Castleford do, just ask Leeds fans about last year. That will only help them in ties like this, especially if the score is tight as they approach full-time.
Predictions Leaderboard
1st: Will Jackson – 20
2nd: Sam Cook – 18
3rd: Sam Brocksom – 17
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