Two teams with Challenge Cup history behind them and a single hero who binds them together meet with a place in the final eight up for grabs.
Both Sheffield and Hull were guided to shock Challenge Cup Final wins by John Kear in 1998 and 2005 respectively, but it’ll be Sheffield who are hoping to pull of the surprise against the 2016 and 2017 holders Hull FC.
After such a positive start to the season from Hull FC with four wins from six, they’ll be hoping that momentum propels them one step closer to the final.
Team News:
Sheffield have named a strong squad for this fixture including former Wembley try scorer Ben Jones-Bishop. Meanwhile the on loan Tom Holmes is in line for his second appearance for the club which will likely come from the bench with star halfbacks Anthony Thackeray and Izaac Farrell set to start.
As for Hull, they welcome back Carlos Tuimavave with the game set to be the ideal re-introduction for the centre. There is still no Luke Gale with this being the last game of his five match suspension. The likes of Josh Reynolds and Darnell McIntosh are still unavailable through injury.
Match Preview – Key Battles:
Matty Chrimes vs Connor Wayne: Scorer of six tries in his last two games, Chrimes will be hoping to continue his fine form on the wing having scored four tries in their last cup win. He could come up against young Connor Wynne on the wing as he started there last week. However, the return of Carlos Tuimavave may mean Chrimes is met by Mitieli Vulikijapani on the flank.
Izaac Farrell vs Joe Lovodua: Joe Lovodua has been a superb signing for Hull FC and has stood up well at stand-off which is certainly not his natural position. Full of energy, he’ll give as good as he gets up against one of Sheffield’s star players in Izaac Farrell.
Anthony Thackeray vs Ben McNamara: Experience vs youth here as former Featherstone man Thackeray takes to his old stomping ground with the tie held at Post Office Road hoping to run the show but young McNamara has shown recently he can run a game. This should be an intriguing battle.
Where the game will be won and lost:
In every Championship vs Super League clash, the Championship side will be tasked with limiting what their opponents can do certainly in the middle of the field. That’s especially the case for Sheffield against Hull’s huge pack. If the Eagles can make things difficult for Hull in that area and defend their own line well, they do have ways of causing Hull problems and off the cuff rugby may be the order of the day.
Score Prediction:Â Sheffield Eagles 16-44 Hull FC
Leigh Leopards
NRL side urged to sign Leigh Leopards ‘star’ Edwin Ipape
