Championship Weekend Preview

The Championship returns this weekend following the Challenge Cup break, with Featherstone, Sheffield, Halifax and Dewsbury all looking to maintain their perfect starts.

Leigh Centurions v York City Knights (Fri, 8.00pm)

New signing James Laithwaite makes his Leigh Centurions debut after joining the club on Tuesday on dual-registration terms.

Leigh coach Paul Rowley said: “He’s captained England Youth and he’s a big, strong runner. James’ running game is his real strength. He hits good lines out wide and we’ll be trying to make the most of those.”

Tommy Goulden is struggling to overcome a hamstring problem and is not expected to play.

Rowley added: “Chris Thorman, Jordan Tansey and Jack Lee are all stand-outs at York. We’ve got to shut down their space, because they’re clever enough and dangerous enough to cause you real problems.” 

Nathan Freer is set to be included in Chris Thorman‘s York City Knights squad after re-joining the Knights from Featherstone.

But Chris Green, Paul King, Ed Smith and Rhys Clarke are all unavailable for York.

Thorman said: “We’ve got a fair few injuries to deal with, and I’ll have to change a few things, but that’s part of professional sport.”

On Leigh, he added: “They play very direct. They’ve got a big, experienced pack with the likes of Ricky Bibey and Rob Parker, while John Duffy has been great for them and continues to do well.”

Dewsbury Rams v Featherstone Rovers (Sun, 3.00pm)

Dewsbury Rams coach Warren Jowitt expects Cain Southernwood (wrist) and Ayden Faal (back) to both miss Sunday’s Co-operative Championship clash with Featherstone Rovers.

But London star Ben Bolger will feature after Dewsbury agreed dual-registration terms with the Broncos.

Jowitt said: “Ben comes straight into contention. I haven’t brought him here for a holiday.”

He added: “We’ve got a short turnaround coming up so I’ve got to box clever with selections, especially against the likes of Featherstone and Batley.

“It’s no fluke that Featherstone have been the best team outside Super League in recent years. They’ve got the money and the best players, a good set-up, good facilities, and they’re in front of everybody else.

“Having said that, we’ve shown a lot of improvement since we played them in the Northern Rail Cup. If we’re competitive, it could be anybody’s game.”

Rovers stalwart Stuart Dickens will make his 400th career appearance if he is included in Daryl Powell’s Featherstone squad.

However, Jack Bussey is unavailable after breaking his cheekbone against Hunslet Old Boys in last week’s Carnegie Challenge Cup tie.

Keighley Cougars v Hunslet Hawks (Sun, 2.00pm)

Keighley Cougars coach Jason Demetriou has highlighted his former Wakefield team-mate David March as Hunslet Hawks’ key threat ahead of Sunday’s Co-operative Championship fixture.

Demetriou said: “My old mate Dave is the lynchpin of this Hunslet team. Everything revolves around him.

“He can create or score points from anywhere on the field, and we’ll have to keep a close eye on him. We can’t give him time and space.”

James Davey is set to feature for the Cougars, who have also been boosted by Ryan Smith‘s return to reserve team rugby.

Smith, who has been out of action since January 8, is set to play in Keighley’s reserve team on Thursday night.

Barry Eaton makes his first return to Cougar Park in what will be an emotional afternoon for the former Keighley coach.

Eaton said: “I’ve got great memories from my time there. It’s always good to go back somewhere you enjoyed working, and I’m great friends with a lot of the Keighley squad, but it’s not about me. It’s about Hunlset and Keighley players performing on Sunday and us doing our best to get the points.”

Richard Blakeway and John Oates both look set to feature for Hunslet, but Steve Dooler is rated by Eaton as “60/40 against”.

Jack Bradbury remains a couple of weeks away from full match fitness, despite coming off the bench in last week’s Carnegie Challenge Cup win over Bradford Dudley Hill. Joe McLoughlin could return after recovering from a bout of flu.

Swinton Lions v Batley Bulldogs (Sun, 2.00pm)

Swinton Lions coach Steve McCormack hopes last week’s nilling of amateurs Siddal will give his team more defensive bite in the Co-operative Championship.

Swinton have conceded 90 points in their two league fixtures this term, but won 66-0 against Siddal.

McCormack said: “We did not want them to score and we need to take that attitude against Batley.”

Swinton three-quarter Gavin Dodd needs just 16 points to reach 1,000 in his career.

Batley Bulldogs coach John Kear looks set to be without Danny Maun and Chris Buttery for the next three to four weeks as the pair battle to overcome knee problems.

Danny Mills is also expected to miss Sunday’s trip to Swinton after suffering a foot injury in training.

However, Johnny Walker returns from a shoulder injury, Mark Toohey‘s back problem has eased, and Kris Lythe could also feature after recovering from a dead leg.

Kear said: “Defensively we were outstanding last week, and we’ll need to be again when we face Swinton.

“Having looked at them, they’re very similar to Workington (Bulldogs’ Challenge Cup opponents last week) in how they clear their own end.

“They’ve got some big guys who carry the ball aggressively, and some clever players behind that.

“Ian Watson seems to have been around forever, but he can still play rugby and guide a team around the park. We’ll have to be on our mettle.”