It was Championship against League One as two more sides began their road to Wembley with Barrow Raiders taking on an Oldham side who finished the 2023 season in fourth place in League One but who have undergone a massive transformation under coach Sean Long.

Barrow were slight favourites with the bookmakers and were handicapped by two points on the coupon as they looked to secure an away game in Round Four against the victors in tomorrow afternoon’s game between Swinton Lions and West Hull.

The forecast was for a chilly but dry afternoon as the two sides took to the field at Craven Park for what promised to be an evenly matched encounter with a potential cup shock on the cards.

A place in the elite group of the Women’s Super League awaited the winners of a play-off encounter between Barrow Raiders and Leigh Leopards as the teams that finished second and third after the regular season looked to replace the Huddersfield Giants at the top table.

The sides were only separated by a point at the end of the regular season with honours shared so far in the 2023 season, Barrow winning the game at Leigh in early September by 14-12, and Leigh being victorious in the first encounter of the season back at the start of May by 30-22.

There was plenty at stake for both sides after terrific seasons as they looked to make the next step as all eyes focussed on the LNER Community Stadium in York for the first of this afternoon’s double header of women’s rugby league.

The Cumbrian derby, tenth placed Whitehaven against a relegation threatened Barrow Raiders who were languishing in thirteenth spot in the table but who had their eyes on eleventh spot should they wrestle a crucial two points from their neighbours in this round twenty-two match.

It had been honours shared so far this season with Whitehaven winning the game in Barrow in April by 16-14 while Barrow took the points at the summer bash by 32-16.

There was plenty at stake for both sides, and indeed for Cumbrian rugby league.

It was #RememberRycroft night at Odsal, a cause close to our hearts at RLFANS, as the Bradford Bulls took on the Barrow Raiders in a fifth against thirteenth battle which could see the visitors out of the relegation places if they could pull off a win against a Bulls side who were looking to consolidate in the play-off places.

Donations were still open with JustGiving as a fabulous fundraising effort for three great charities heads for the £50,000 mark in remembrance of Rycroft Alport Foster, thanks to massive and generous support from the rugby league community.

The bookies could only see one winner, the Bulls winning it for Rycroft’s memory and they had given the visitors a massive points start on the coupon.

The Cumbrians were just making up the numbers.

This was as mid-table as you could get as fifth took on sixth in the televised Monday night game to complete the fixtures in round sixteen of the 2022 Betfred Championship.

Both sides needed the win to consolidate their place in the top six to have a shot at the play-offs, and whoever emerged victorious at the end of eighty minutes would finish the round in fifth spot.

The bookies fancied Halifax for the win and gave them a six-point handicap on the coupon and with the Batley Bulldogs showing yesterday that Featherstone Rovers are fallible, the sides in the lower play-off places will have a new enthusiasm for their chances of making the Million Pound game.

The two sides met a couple of months ago the Shay with the Panthers taking a 40-18 win, the Raiders looking to level the score tonight.

Fresh from their stunning AB Sundecks 1895 Trophy win over the Featherstone Rovers, Leigh Centurions travelled up the M6 in a ´jubilant´ mood with the aim of taking two points off an impressive Barrow Raiders side who are still in the top half of the table as the season mid-stage approaches.

The Centurions made several changes from the side which triumphed at the Tottenham Stadium with Brand, Roberts, Hitchcox, Hingano, Amone, Ipape, Nakubuwai, and O´Donnell all named in the starting thirteen.

Barrow too were forced into a handful of changes due to injuries.

Leigh needed a win to have the chance of going top, but more likely maintaining the pressure on Featherstone, while a win for Leigh could lift them into fifth spot should Whitehaven beat the Batley Bulldogs.

The odds were on a Leigh win.

 

Two sides in the top half of the table met for the final game in round ten of the Betfred Championship as third placed York City Knights made a long Bank Holiday Monday trip across country to Cumbria to take on the Barrow Raiders who came into the game in sixth place but with a chance of closing the gap on the sides above them.

The smart money was on a City Knights win with the bookies giving Barrow a fourteen-point start on the handicap coupon, a strong expectation before kick-off that York would pick up their seventh win of the season.

Barrow Raiders needed to get back on the bike as they continued their push for a play-off place, and to be the top Cumbrian sides, as they travelled to West Yorkshire and The New Shay to take on the Halifax Panthers who themselves have great expectations of finishing in the higher echelons.

A win for Barrow would ensure that they wouldn´t finish the round lower than fourth position in the table but it Halifax could pick up the two points then they would likely finish the weekend in the top half of the table.

The bookies fancied a home win with the Raiders being given a twelve-point start on the coupon, indicative of the only winning one game in their last five outings, the one-point win over the Bulls.

The game of the round in the Betfred Championship was the second against third encounter as Featherstone Rovers entertained the surprise package of 2022, Barrow Raiders, with both sides having plenty to play for.

A win for Rivers would see them go back to the top, jumping ahead of the Leigh Centurions who recorded a big win over Widnes during the earlier kick-off, while a Barrow win would see them level on points with their hosts at the end of the round.

As the sun started to dip, Mark Kheirallah made his second appearance for Featherstone against a Barrow side packed with experience.

Barrow Raiders have proven to be the dark horses of the Championship after their promotion at the end of last season and they will have been relishing their cup draw to take on the might of the Huddersfield Giants ever since the balls came out of the hat a couple of weeks ago.

The Giants were without Will Pryce and Tui Lolohea and therefore gave a rare outing to Leroy Cudjoe in the halves and with Barrow having nothing to lose it was a nervous journey to Cumbria for the Super League side as they looked to avoid the humiliation of a cup shock.

Barrow were given a twenty-six point start on the coupon but they really had nothing to lose in the glorious Cumbrian sunshine as they made their bid for the last eight, and a home game against Hull FC.

It was a Cumbrian derby in the fifth round of the Betfred Challenge Cup 2022 as the Championship’s surprise package, the newly promoted Barrow Raiders faced a Workington Town side who are currently winless and languishing at the bottom of the Championship table.

While the sides have yet to meet in the league, Barrow did pick up a win in pre-season friendly back in January.

Barrow beat the Rochdale Hornets in the last round while Workington knocked out the Dewsbury Rams with a 26-12 home victory.

While both sides were keen to secure a place in the last sixteen of the Challenge Cup there was more to play for than just cup progress as the two local rivals met.

It was third against fourth as two of the three unbeaten sides in the 2022 Betfred Championship met at the Halton Stadium, with the Widnes Vikings taking on the Barrow Raiders for the crucial two points on offer.

A Widnes win would see them at the top of the pile and while Barrow knew that although they needed to score at least thirty-four points more than Widnes to change their league position, any victory would lift them level of points with Widnes and Leigh.

It was the final game of round five and played out in front of the Premier Sports cameras.

Our pre-match Twitter poll suggested that 82% expected a win for the home side and the bookies agreed in giving the Barrow Raiders side a twelve-point start on the handicap coupon.

The second round of the 1895 Cup hit Cumbria, where the Barrow Raiders entertained a very youthful looking Bradford Bulls side, looking to banish thoughts of their Challenge Cup exit at the hands of Halifax last Sunday.

It was a strong Barrow side who were giving full respect to the competition, whereas the Bulls had ten debutants in their side with an average squad age of 20 years and 6 months, the youngest ever fielded Bulls side.

Bradford coach Kear had seemingly decided that this wasn’t the competition for them in 2019.

A Wednesday night game in Cumbria harked back a few decades and with the Bulls appearing to just make up the numbers, it was the home side who were firm favourites for the win.

If the Summer Bash weekend had a side who were guaranteed to gather in a crucial two points then most pundits would pick a Sheffield Eagles win in the opening Sunday game when they played Barrow.

Barrow are second bottom in the table after many brave performances and close results which have only yielded three points from their one win and one draw, both in the opening four rounds.

Sheffield, on the other hand, are flying high with eight wins from their twelve games and the two points today would llift them into third spot with a game in hand over their rivals.

The only previous 2019 season encounter between these two was a close affair in round two which the Eagles scraped by just two points thanks to a last minute penalty goal.

The Summer Bash weekend curtain raiser was an eighth against tenth encounter between the Barrow Raiders and the Sheffield Eagles as Bloomfield Road in Blackpool filled with the colours of the Betfred Championship for the opening day.

Both sides are amongst this seasons strugglers although the Raiders have taken some major scalps following their promotion alongside Toronto Wolfpack at the end of last season.