Championship Preview Round 10: London looking to bounce back after Easter wobble

Jacob Kilbride

Championship Preview, Round 10

After a hectic Easter period in the Betfred Championship, which twice saw the league leaders position change hands, the action is back in normal flow.

Toronto will face a tough visit to Batley, two of last year’s top three, Halifax and London, meet at the Shay and there’s a pivotal clash at the bottom as 11th placed Sheffield travel to bottom side Swinton.

Take a look at all that and more in our Championship preview of round ten.

Toulouse vs Barrow Raiders

It was a hit and miss Easter period for Toulouse with a win a defeat against two of their top four rivals.

Good Friday saw Toulouse defeat then then-unbeaten league leaders London Broncos 36-16 in the capital before a return to France brought around their first home loss of the season, edged out 24-22 by Toronto Wolfpack.

Again though, the French side are on home soil this weekend and prior to the Toronto defeat they’d won all of their last 11 at the Stade Ernest-Argeles.

Barrow will be heavy underdogs when they cross the channel this weekend, particularly so given their injury concerns, with Luke Cresswell, Lewis Charnock and Any Litherland all on the side-lines.

Facing a Barrow side yet to win away from Cumbria since promotion, Toulouse looks set to bounce back with another relatively comfortable home win.

Batley Bulldogs vs Toronto Wolfpack

The big winners of the Easter period were clearly Toronto Wolfpack.

Twice Toronto travelled to face a couple of top-four rivals in firstly Featherstone and then Toulouse and, on both occasions, they came home with the points, moving them a point clear at the top of the table.

LEIGH, GREATER MANCHESTER - FEBRUARY 04: Liam Kay of Toronto Wolfpack scores the second try during the Betfred Championship match between Leigh Centurions and Toronto Wolfpack on February 4, 2018 in Leigh, Greater Manchester. (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

The Wolfpack’s last three wins have come by a combined margin of just 11 points, proving they can win tight matches when not at their free-flowing attacking best.

Like the Canadian side, Batley enjoyed a successful Easter as they defeated Yorkshire rivals Dewsbury and Sheffield to move them up seventh and within four points of the top four.

Batley have struggled when stepping in opposition though, losing their last nine against full-time clubs and, based upon the Wolfpack’s recent form, expect to see it continue to ten without victory.

Featherstone Rovers vs Dewsbury Rams

Featherstone provided the perfect response to Good Friday’s defeat by Toronto Wolfpack by thrashing Rochdale 42-0 at the Crown Oil Arena.

Headline-grabbing winger Luke Briscoe will be looking to hit another milestone as he aims for his 20th try this season in just his 11th match.

The Rovers continue to efficiently fly under the radar in the Championship, sitting nicely in third and just one point behind the table toppers Toronto.

Opponents Dewsbury are struggling for form at the moment, having lost their last four in all competitions, and were beaten by Batley on Good Friday before seeing Monday’s fixture against Halifax postponed.

Coach Neil Kelly will be without centre James Glover and back rower Michael Knowles who are ruled out through hamstring and sternum injuries respectively.

Featherstone haven’t slipped up against fellow part-time opposition this year and it’s unlikely that that trend will end this weekend.

Halifax vs London Broncos

In the stand-out tie of the weekend, two of last season’s top three go head to head as Halifax host London Broncos at the MBi Shay Stadium.

Halifax played just once over Easter, easily defeating Barrow 30-4 on Good Friday, before their trip to Dewsbury was postponed, potentially giving them the edge in terms of the fitness levels of the two.

Their also positives in team news for Fax as they welcome second rower Simon Grix back into the squad alongside prop James Green on dual registration from Castleford, although Ed Barber, Ben Heaton and James Woodburn-Hall remain on the side-lines.

London lost both of their matches over Easter with defeats to Toulouse and Leigh seeing them fall from top spot to fourth in the table.

The Broncos have enjoyed the better of the recent meetings between the two sides, winning four of their last five against Halifax, though Fax did win 19-6 in the last fixture at the Shay.

Based upon this season’s form, London are likely to be the slight favourites although given their recent struggles Fax will be hopeful of causing another upset.

Leigh Centurions vs Rochdale Hornets

The Leigh revival continued to march on over Easter as the Centurions picked up maximum points in their last matches and earned a vital win over a top four rival.

Leigh easily dispatched Swinton 40-10 at Moor Lane before returning to the LSV to defeat London 31-18, results which stretched their unbeaten run to four matches and put them within four points of the Qualifiers’ spots.

The Centurions also have reason to be cheerful as they welcome back half-back Ben Reynolds to the squad whilst fellow halves Daniel Mortimer and Leeds loanee Jordan Lilley remain injured.

Conversely, visitors Rochdale suffered consecutive losses as a pivotal defeat to fellow relegation battlers Sheffield and a heavy defeat to Featherstone has left them just one point adrift of the bottom of the table.

On paper, this looks like another comfortable win for Leigh as they look to close the gap on themselves of their top four rivals.

Swinton Lions vs Sheffield Eagles

In a clash between the bottom side as the second bottom side as Swinton Lions host Sheffield Eagles in a vital clash in avoiding relegation from the Championship.

Swinton remain without a victory this season although they did pick up their first point of the year on Monday as they earned a respectable 16-16 draw with Barrow Raiders, after Good Friday’s defeat to Leigh.

The Lions will also be boosted by this week’s transfer news as Salford prop Gavin Bennion extended his loan deal whilst fellow Red Devil Levy Nzoungou has also joined the club for a month.

Meanwhile, Sheffield also picked their first points over Easter with a 38-20 win over Rochdale before suffering an eighth defeat of the season to Batley on Monday.

Eagles’ coach Mark Aston will be also be without loaned half-back and son Cory Aston who will miss the next two months of action as he recovers from a knee injury.

Two points for either side would be crucial as they look to move clear of the drop zone and relegation to League 1.

Full list of matches (Sunday, 3pm kick-off unless otherwise stated)

Toulouse vs Barrow Raiders (Sat, 2pm)
Batley Bulldogs vs Toronto Wolfpack
Featherstone Rovers vs Dewsbury Rams
Halifax vs London Broncos
Leigh Centurions vs Rochdale Hornets
Swinton Lions vs Sheffield Eagles

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