Five things to look forward to: Magic rematch, Cup upsets, Greater Manchester derby

There are four televised Challenge Cup quarter-finals this weekend as well as live coverage on the Greater Manchester derby from Love Rugby League.

Woolford real life impact

We will be able to see what sort of impact new Huddersfield coach Simon Woolford is really having on the Giants this weekend.

Huddersfield take on Catalans Dragons in the Challenge Cup quarter-finals at the John Smith’s Stadium on Thursday and it will be Woolford’s first ‘real’ game in charge.

Prior to his arrival in the UK last week, he had been giving coaching tips and instructions to Chris Thorman who then implemented the tactics in training. It will be interesting to see what sort of Giants we see against the Dragons.

A Magic rematch between Warrington and Wigan

The Challenge Cup quarter-final match between Warrington Wolves and Wigan Warriors is the tastiest fixture of the weekend by far.

The two teams met at Magic Weekend just two weeks ago and the Warriors ran-out comfortable 38-10 winners, so the Wolves will certainly be looking for revenge at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on Saturday.

Warrington will welcome back Sitaleki Akauola, Mike Cooper and Bryson Goodwin, while Sean O’Loughlin, Tommy Leuluai and Oliver Gildart will return for Wigan. It’s set to be a cracker.

The Greater Manchester derby

Swinton Lions host rivals Rochdale Hornets at Heywood Road on Sunday, 3pm kick-off. The Greater Manchester derby promises to be a feisty battle as they always are!

The Lions actually played the Hornets at Summer Bash in Blackpool last weekend and ran-out 38-12 victors at Bloomfield Road. Both teams are desperate for points at the minute, with them both being sat at the foot of the Championship table with four points each.

It’s going to be scrappy, there’s going to be a lot of points and there’s no doubt going to be biff. Dave Parkinson and James Gordon are providing live commentary on game via our Facebook page.

Hull KR cause upset or Castleford bounce back?

Hull Kingston Rovers welcome Castleford Tigers to the KCOM Craven Park in a rearranged round four game on Friday night, 8pm kick-off.

The teams go into the game on the back of very contrasting results. Rovers pulled off a huge shock last week as they beat Wigan 24-8, while Castleford were thumped 40-18 by St Helens.

It’s going to be intriguing to see if Rovers can cause another upset or if Castleford will return to winning ways with a ruthless performance.

Championship v Super League

Leigh Centurions are the only lower league side left in the Challenge Cup, so kudos to them for reaching the quarter-finals of the historic tournament.

The Championship side face a tough challenge though as they travel to the LD Nutrition Stadium (Featherstone) on Friday night as they face Leeds Rhinos.

However, the Centurions have caught the Rhinos at a good time, with Brian McDermott’s men having lost three of their last four games in all competitions.

Leigh are in good form too, winning 11 of their last 12 games, including a Cup win over Salford Red Devils.

Can Leigh beat Leeds or are the Rhinos a step too far? It’s going to be a belting weekend for the Challenge Cup.