Championship round-up: Featherstone remain unbeaten & Batley win at Bradford

Featherstone sit top of the Championship table after winning all nine of their fixtures in 2023 so far.

It has been an impressive start to the campaign by Sean Long’s outfit, who beat London Broncos 40-10 in the capital on Sunday afternoon.

Australian hooker Connor Jones grabbed a hat-trick for Rovers, with Brad Day going over for a double.

Toulouse are chasing Featherstone’s tail in second place, having eased past Keighley 34-6 on Saturday.

Wales international Josh Ralph bagged a brace for Toulouse, with Jake Shorrocks kicking five goals.

Batley picked up an impressive 21-16 win over Bradford at Odsal. Luke Hooley, on loan at Batley from Leeds, kicked six goals, with Josh Woods kicking the drop goal to secure the win.

A brace from Scotland international Lachlan Walmsley helped Halifax beat York 16-6 at The Shay. Jacob Fairbank also got on the scoresheet for the Panthers.

Whitehaven enjoyed a big 31-6 victory over Newcastle in Cumbria. Josh Rourke, who arrived at the club from Salford, racked up 14 points having scored a try as well as kicking five goals. Jamie Doran also added a drop goal for the hosts.

Widnes edged past Barrow 23-14 at the DCBL Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Adam Lawton, Zach Eckersley, Danny Craven and Ryan Ince scored for the Vikings, with Jack Owens kicking three goals and a drop goal.

There is one more game of Round Nine, which takes place in front of the ViaPlay cameras on Monday night between Sheffield and Swinton.

Championship Round Nine results:

Keighley Cougars 6-34 Toulouse Olympique

Bradford Bulls 16-21 Batley Bulldogs

Halifax Panthers 16-6 York Knights

London Broncos 10-40 Featherstone Rovers

Whitehaven 31-6 Newcastle Thunder

Widnes Vikings 23-14 Barrow Raiders

Sheffield Eagles v Swinton Lions (Mon)

Featherstone are top of the Championship table on 18 points, with Toulouse in second on 14.

At the bottom of the ladder, Newcastle and Barrow are down at the bottom with three points each.

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