Championship: Four tries on debut for Blake Ferguson & Featherstone win big

Steven Hughes
Blake Ferguson Challenge Cup

Featherstone Rovers remain top of the Championship after another big win, this time over Whitehaven at the Millennium Stadium.

Connor Jones and Jesse Sene-Lefao both scored hat-tricks, while James Lockwood, Ben Hellewell, Craig Hall, Joey Leilua, Ryley Jacks, Morgan Smith,Luke Briscoe and Junior Moors were also on the scoresheet.

Meanwhile, Leigh maintained the pressure on the Rovers, with a 58-6 win over bottom of the table Workington at Leigh Sports Village. Blake Ferguson scored four tries, Ed Chamberlain, Krisnan Inu, Kai O’Donnell and Nene Macdonald added two tries each and Joe Mellor completed the scoring.

Meanwhile, in the battle between third and fourth, Halifax Panthers came from behind to beat York City Knights 40-24. A hat-trick from Lachlan Walmsley, while Brandon Moore, James Woodburn-Hall and Dan Murray completed the scoring. The Panthers are now just two points behind third-placed York.

Batley also had to come from behind to beat London Broncos at Mount Pleasant. Tries from Lewis Bienek and Oli Leyland had the Broncos 12-0 up at half-time.

But tries from Ben White, Tom Gilmore, James Brown, Luke Hooley and Martyn Reilly completed the comeback for the Bulldogs.

Barrow were also winners at Dewsbury to claim their second win in a row. Jarrod Stack scored two tries, with Jarrod Sammut and Luke Cresswell also scoring in a 20-16 victory.

Finally, Bradford claimed their second win in three games with a 36-20 win over Newcastle. Kieran Gill and Thomas Doyle scored two tries apiece, with AJ Wallace and Dec Patton completing the scoring. A Josh Johnson hat-trick was not enough for the Thunder.

There is still one more match to look forward to. Sheffield welcome Widnes for their first game in the Steel City since 2019.

Championship results

Featherstone 78-0 Whitehaven (Saturday)

Bradford 36-20 Newcastle (Saturday)

Batley 28-12 London

Dewsbury 18-20 Barrow

Leigh 58-6 Workington

York 24-40 Halifax

Sheffield v Widnes (Monday)

READ MORESheffield announce capacity restrictions