Championship long weekend review

Sheffield saw Featherstone on Thursday, prevailing 28-12 over their most local rivals. Yere, Lindsay, Cook, Wood and Green got amongst the try-scorers.

There were two crucial fixtures in the race for top spot on Monday, though the relegation battle took centre-stage.

First up were Leigh, who went down 27-18 to Halifax. Rob Worrincy was the hero with a hat-trick, while Shad Royston grabbed a brace.

Later, Gateshead snatched a late win at form side Barrow. Dylan Nash went over in the 76th minute to give Thunder a 16-12 win, with the other 12 points coming from Michael Knowles.

The results mean Leigh approach the final weekend of league fixtures in the relegation zone.

Though four clubs could still face the drop, as Toulouse, Batley and Gateshead are not yet safe. Batley travel to Featherstone and Toulouse are away at Halifax in tricky away ties.

Gateshead will fancy their chances of scoring a win at Doncaster, while Leigh are the only side to have a home match as they tackle Whitehaven.

Astonishingly, there could be as little as 11 points between the regular season league leaders and the side in the second relegation spot come the season’s end.

In the solitary Championship One match of the weekend, London Skolars lost 28-10 at home to Keighley, in front of 1156 fans on Challenge Cup final weekend.