Whilst Super League moves into round six this weekend, the Championship pushes onto round seven and there still remains one unbeaten team.
Despite having crashed out of the Challenge Cup to Championship rivals Halifax, Featherstone Rovers sit top of the table with a perfect record of six wins from six and more impressively an average winning scoreline of 48-8.
Sean Long’s men have been dominant but there’s a chasing pack hot on their tails and this weekend two of those chasers face off against each other in what looks to be the game of the weekend.
Here’s everything you need to know about round seven of the Championship along with score predictions.
Sheffield Eagles vs Toulouse Olympique
Kick-off: March 25th 15:00
Prediction: Sheffield 24-20 Toulouse
This is the fixture that pits third vs second and Sheffield can make use of their home advantage and defeat their French opposition. Toulouse have just been hit with the huge blow that Olly Ashall-Bott is out for the season, whilst the Eagles will be looking to bounce back from defeat to Bradford.
Barrow Raiders vs Halifax Panthers
Kick-off: March 26th 15:00
Prediction: Barrow 12-26 Halifax
Barrow have had a dismal start to the campaign and are currently rooted to the bottom of the table whilst the Panthers boast a record of four wins from six, not to mention their impressive victory over Featherstone in the Challenge Cup. Top try scorer Lachlan Walmsley is set to miss out but Simon Grix’s men should have enough to comfortably beat the Raiders.
Featherstone Rovers vs York Knights
Kick-off: March 26th 15:00
Prediction: Featherstone 28-20 York
Featherstone host York and whilst they should win it won’t be easy. York will be reeling following a home loss to Whitehaven and Andrew Henderson will be demanding a huge response from his men. Whether that’s huge enough to overcome the might of Rovers at their own ground is doubtful.
Keighley Cougars vs Bradford Bulls
Kick-off: 26th March 15:00
Prediction: 12-30
Keighley’s two wins so far this season have both come at Cougar Park but with Mark Dunning’s Bradford rolling into town they shouldn’t expect to garner a third win this Sunday. The Bulls are coming off an impressive win over Sheffield and have showed their class in defeating Toulouse this season already, highlighting that they’ll be too much for Keighley to handle.
London Broncos vs Swinton Lions
Kick-off: March 26th 15:00
Prediction: London 22-16 Swinton
Both teams sit on two wins but for London those two wins have come in their last two games whilst for Swinton they’re on a three game slide having opened up with two wins from three. London being the home and form team makes them the prediction but this could be a very competitive fixture.
Whitehaven vs Batley Bulldogs
Kick-off: March 26th 15:00
Prediction: Whitehaven 12-26 Batley
Whitehaven are coming off a huge upset victory over York however form generally suggests that was an outlier. Haven have twice shipped over 70 points this season and have failed to reach 20 points in five of their six games. As for Batley they’re fresh off a TV win over Barrow and also ran Halifax close the week before.
Widnes Vikings vs Newcastle Knights
Kick-off: March 26th 15:00
Prediction: Widnes 42-16 Newcastle
Widnes have lost three of their last four in the league however in those four fixtures they’ve faced teams sat 2nd through 5th in the table. Their sole victory was a hammering of Halifax before they suffered the same fate to Sheffield. Pushing Toulouse to a scoreline of 14-12 this past week suggests they’re back to what John Kear would want and they’ll be too much for a Newcastle side that haven’t won since opening day.
Leigh Leopards
Leigh Leopards and their problem position
