While Barrow Raiders are currently sitting in eleventh place in the Championship, they are only one point away from being in the top half of the table and only two away from the play-off positions, their current league location belying some excellent performances in 2024 which has meant some narrow losses.

But the likelihood was that this would be a game that would not help the home side improve on their situation as they welcomed the side who many had already crowned champions and promoted back to Super League before a single ball was kicked in this season’s competition, the high-flying Wakefield Trinity who remain unbeaten through twelve league outings.

The home side were given a massive twenty-two-point start on the handicap coupon; the points already being waved goodbye as they set off for West Yorkshire.

The mid-season international game saw a youthful England side travel to Toulouse without the coach Shaun Wane, who underwent emergency surgery earlier in the week, to take on a France side which comprised many of the Catalans Dragons first team.

France were expected to put on a strong showing but England were strong favourites with the bookies and were handicapped by twenty-two points on the coupon by the bookies despite being internationally rated eighth in the world against an England in third.

This was the fifty-third game between the nations with England having won forty-three of those, the last being a 64-0 victory, the same as the women’s winning score, when the two sides met last year in Warrington, but this was likely to be much closer.

England were massive favourites with the bookies who gave the home side a forty-point start on the coupon in the twenty-first encounter between the two sides with France having never recorded a victory against the England side.

The last time that the two sides met was back in April 2023 when England romped to a very comfortable 64-0 win at the Halliwell-Jones Stadium in Warrington with France hoping that they would be able to put on a more competitive performance this time around.

Toulouse was the venue for the first game of a double header which would later see the men’s side face off.

Despite being thrashed in Origin 1 three weeks ago the bookies had installed New South Wales as slight favourites for victory in the second game of the three-match series over Queensland as a nation ground to a halt and switched on their TV sets.

There were just two minor changes for Billy Slater and the Maroons, Gagai and Capewell being brought in on the bench, but wholesale changes for the Blues who introduced Murray, Watson, Edwards, Mitchell, Moses and Marnett as Michael Maguire shuffled his pack to get the crucial win to send the series level.

A home win for New South Wales at the Melbourne Cricket Ground would push the series to a competitive third game, a loss would give a series win to Queensland.

The Betfred Challenge Cup will have a new structure in 2025, with the 12 Super League clubs joining the Road to Wembley at the Third Round stage.

The Third Round draw will be held in January, well before the start of the Super League season, with the aim of building more momentum towards the showpiece Finals Day in June.

It means that clubs from the Betfred Championship, League One and even the community game will have more chance to secure a glamour tie at home to Super League opposition, as the Third Round draw will be seeded to guarantee each of the Super League clubs travel away to one of the 20 Second Round winners.

England Head Coach Shaun Wane has named a 20-strong squad ahead of Saturday’s mid-season international against France in Toulouse.

And several new faces are included, among them Castleford Tigers centre Sam Wood, Wigan Warriors hooker Brad O’Neill, Hull KR loose forward Elliot Minchella, St Helens prop George Delaney, Huddersfield Giants forward Oliver Wilson and Leeds Rhinos forward James McDonnell.

Brad O’Neill has been almost ever-present for the Wigan over the last two years, playing an integral role in the Warriors’ successful pursuit of all four available trophies – the Betfred Super League, League Leaders’ Shield, Betfred Challenge Cup and World Club Challenge.

A Sunday afternoon cracker to complete round fifteen as St Helens made the short trip to Salford looking for the win to return to joint top of the table as they took on a Red Devils side who needed the win to reduce the points gap between themselves and the top sides.

Paul Rowley’s side were initially unchanged with Ryan Brierley still out with a rib injury but a warm injury for Tim Lafai saw Loghan Lewis brought into the starting line-up, while Paul Wellens made just one change as he brought in Bennison for Makinson who is out with a medium-term foot injury.

Saints were the favourites for the win with the bookies handicapping them by eight points on the coupon but this was a game billed as the best fixture of the weekend as Salford looked to complete a 2024 double over their visitors.

A middle of the table clash in the south of France saw a Huddersfield Giants side on the verge of losing touch with the play off places take on a Catalans Dragons side down on confidence and in danger of dropping out of the top six themselves after a recent poor run of form.

The bookies and pundits fancied a home win as they gave the Giants an eight-point start on the coupon but both sides came into the game on the back of painful defeats, the Giants to Hull KR and the Dragons at home to the Leigh Leopards.

One sides season would march forward on a victory, the other would continue a slump and a disappointing 2024 season.

Hull FC were looking for back to back Super League wins for the first time in 2024 but they were likely to find Warrington Wolves a far tougher prospect than last weeks Leeds Rhinos side who they had faced just hours before the fall of the Rohan empire.

Warrington are in danger of slipping down the table and into the lower play-off places and need a couple of confidence boosting wins after three consecutive losses while you must search back as far as July 2023 to find the last time that the FC players took home winner pay two rounds running.

The bookies thought it was a foregone conclusion as they gave the home side a twelve-point start on the coupon but with a little bit of confidence tucked under their belt from last week, the Airlie Birds were confident of springing a surprise.

    

It was always going to be an emotional night at Headingley as the Leeds Rhinos hosted their first game since the death of idol, superstar, and MND campaigner Rob Burrow welcoming the Leig Leopards to a sold-out stadium.

But the departure, by mutual consent, of coach Rohan Smith during the week added an extra edge with Scott Grix and Chev Walker taking temporary charge while the global search for a new coach takes place at the highest level.

Leigh had been made favourites with the bookies with the home side given a four point start on the handicap coupon and a win for Leigh would lift them above Huddersfield and just a point behind the Rhinos.

It was third bottom against third top as the Robins of Hull KR travelled to West Yorkshire to take on a Castleford Tigers side looking for their fourth victory in a disappointing season while a win for the visitors would lift them level on points with the two sides above them at the top of the table.

The bookies had given the Tigers a twelve-point start on the coupon with all expectations pre-game being for a decent win for the side from East Hull but most thought it unlikely that they would get enough points to boost their points difference to take them to the top of the table.

Hull KR were pretty in pink as a good crowd made it into the Jungle to cheer on their sides.

Another foregone conclusion as St Helens made the journey south to take on a London Broncos side now cut adrift at the bottom of the table following Hull FC’s victory over the Leeds Rhinos yesterday afternoon but in a round where Leigh beat the Catalans Dragons, Salford overcame Warrington and the Tigers ran the Warriors close, who knew what surprise could happen.

London were given a thirty-four point start on the handicap coupon as the bookies, pundits, and supporters of both sides predicted a walkover for Paul Wellens side as they sought the two points which would again propel them to the top of the table as we pass the half way stage in the 2024 competition.

Surely it was just a matter of how many the Saints would win by.

The bookies were struggling to call the game between the Catalans Dragons and Leigh Leopards as they gave the visitors just a four-point start on the coupon despite the seven-point difference between the two sides on the league table.

A win for the Dragons would see them up to fifth, a big win could see them end the weekend in fourth while victory for the Leopards would see them to within one point of the Huddersfield Giants and towards the middle of the table in their own quest for a top six place.

Both sides had a benefitted from a week’s rest for the Cup Final and were ready to go ‘guns’ blazing’ for the win in the south of France, the Dragons looking to turn around a recent poor run of form.

An emotionally charged Leeds Rhinos travelled across the M62 for a Saturday afternoon encounter with a Hull FC side who had already been written off for this game, and the season, by their supporters and pundits.

The Rhinos needed a win to keep in touch with the top six as they looked to sneak a play-off place while a big points win would bolster their puny looking points difference as it might be crucial later in the season, whereas Hull FC simply needed a win, and they would take it any way that they could.

The Airlie Birds had an eight-point start on the coupon, the bookies expecting a closer encounter than most Black & Whites fans who were fearful of another big loss.

After a disappointing Wembley outing last weekend, the Warrington Wolves attention returned to Super League and a chance to get back to winning ways against a tricky and unpredictable Salford Red Devils as the Halliwell-Jones played host to a top half of the table clash.

A win for the Wolves would keep them in contention at the top end of the table, but a loss would see them slip away from the top contenders and level on points with their visitors.

Warrington were big favourites with the bookies for a bounce back win as Salford were given a ten-point start on the coupon, despite their week off to regroup and recover from any niggles.

England will face Samoa this autumn in a two-match Test series sponsored by ABK Beer – at The Brick Community Stadium, Wigan, on Sunday 27 October and at AMT Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds, on Saturday 2 November.

Tickets are on sale now for the two matches, which will also be televised by BBC Sport domestically and on SuperLeague+ overseas.

The two-match Test series, Samoa's first in England, offers Head Coach Shaun Wane and his team an opportunity to avenge the bitter disappointment of their World Cup Semi Final defeat in November 2022.

 

It was a foregone conclusion that Wakefield Trinity were going to lift the 1895 Trophy as the curtain came down on an exciting afternoon at Wembley as the final game saw them face a brave Sheffield Eagles who are having an excellent league season.

Wakefield were 1/12 to lift the trophy but you could get 6/1 on the Eagles, a one-sided game if there ever was one, and when the sides met five weeks ago in the league the West Yorkshire side were 36-10 winners.

It was going to take grit and determination for the Eagles to get anything out of this game and liftthe Trophy for a second time in six years, but under the coaching of Mark Aston they would give everything that they had in the quest for the win.

Rugby league paid its respect to Rob Burrow and his family and friends by delaying the kick-off of today’s Challenge Cup Final to seven minutes past three in recognition of the ‘pocket rockets’ Leeds shirt number after his passing last Sunday which caused immense sadness throughout the community.

Wigan Warriors went into the game as favourites to beat a Warrington Wolves side who some fancied as strong underdogs thanks to the coaching of Sam Burgess who has teased some great performances out of his side in his first year in charge.

Warrington had a six-point start on the handicap coupon but Wigan coach Rob Peet had spent the week telling his side not to underestimate their opposition although they would have needed little instruction after recording just a single point win in the Cup Final rehearsal last weekend.

In a repeat of the last two Women’s Challenge Cup Finals, holders St Helens took on the Leeds Rhinos at Wembley Stadium with the Blue & Amber hoping to stop four consecutive wins for the Red Vee and win the trophy for the first time since 2019.

Between them, these two sides have won the last five finals, and St Helens were the strong favourites to get another win for the Totally Wicked Stadium trophy cabinet, but Leeds had the hurt of the last two seasons to draw upon for motivation.

Saints won the league encounter in round four by a narrow margin of 12-6, all indications were that this would be equally as close.

Saturday’s Betfred Challenge Cup Final between Warrington Wolves and Wigan Warriors will kick off at 307pm, as Rugby League celebrates the life of Rob Burrow CBE – the former Leeds Rhinos, England and Great Britain scrum half who wore the number 7 jersey with such courage and distinction throughout his playing career.

Following Burrow’s death at the age of 41 last Sunday, supporters will be able to leave tributes at the Rugby League Statue outside Wembley Stadium from 945am on Saturday morning – offering the opportunity to fans of all clubs to show their appreciation and admiration for his courage and humanity, as so many Leeds devotees have done already at AMT Headingley.

There will be further chances to demonstrate that affection with the Wembley crowd invited to join in one minute’s applause after 7 minutes of each of the four Finals on Rugby League’s traditional showpiece occasion – starting with the inspiresport Champion Schools Final in the morning, followed by the second Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup Final to have been played at Wembley, which features Burrow’s beloved Leeds Rhinos taking on the holders, St Helens.