Challenge Cup 4th Round Draw Prevents Best Final / Gets Monotonous Repeats of Grand Final Out of Way

 

Meh. May as well get the hard stuff out of the way first (Getty Images)

So Super League clubs once again begin their quest for Wembley this year, and for one of the two best sides in the country it’s going to end almost as quickly:

Wakefield Trinity Wildcats v Leigh Centurions
Halifax v Widnes Vikings
Oldham v Lezignan (Fra)
Leeds Rhinos v St Helens
Keighley Cougars v Castleford Tigers
Catalans Dragons v Bradford Bulls
Featherstone v Wath Brow Hornets
Hull FC v Salford City Reds
Doncaster/Queens v Gateshead Thunder
Harlequins RL v Huddersfield 
Barrow Raiders v Wigan
Sheffield Eagles v Dewsbury Rams
Warrington Wolves v York City Knights
Swinton Lions v Rochadale Hornets
Batley Bulldogs v Kells/Hunslet Hawks
Hull KR v Celtic Crusaders

Indeed, there are five all-Super League ties, meaning that the next round could be very interesting indeed. The draw might just open up to allow a Championship club a long run deep into the later stages of the competition. I’m actually quite glad that we’re going to get this Leeds-Saints thing out of the way now because a) it’s going to free up the competition for another team to make a run b) we’ve seen this as the Grand Final for the last two years, so we don’t really need another final with these two and c) it’s probably the best chance of seeing Saints knocked out before Wembley (nothing against Saints, mind, but I’ve seen them in the final for the last three years and I’m in the mood for a change). Wath Brow Hornets might also be fancying their chances against Featherstone after knocking off pro opposition in London Skolars in the last round (although as a Skolars fan even I ddn’t find it that much of a shock). Both Doncaster and Queens are in the draw, because the RFL haven’t made their mind up about how to deal with the abandonment of their game.

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Tags: Challenge Cup, Leeds Rhinos, St Helens, Wath Brow Hornets