Bulldogs Home Challenge Cup Draw
The Bulldogs will face Lock Lane at The Fox’s Biscuits Stadium in the Coral Challenge Cup Fourth Round, after the draw took place this evening at Odsal Stadium, Bradford.
Former Bradford Bulls Captain and Lance Todd Trophy winner Robbie Hunter-Paul was joined by Simon Foster, son of Bradford Northern Rugby League legend Trevor Foster to conduct the draw, and Bradford Bulls were handed a West Yorkshire derby draw against League 1 side Keighley Cougars
NCL Division 1 side Featherstone Lions, the lowest ranked side remaining in the competition, were rewarded for their efforts so far with a home tie against League 1’s Doncaster RLFC.
In a battle of the Crusaders, Thatto Heath – who produced a valiant display against Rochdale Mayfield live on BBC Sport last Saturday – will host North Wales Crusaders.
Sheffield Eagles v Leigh Centurions is one of three all-Championship ties in Round Four which also sees Cumbrian side Barrow Raiders welcome York City Knights and Featherstone Rovers face Swinton Lions.
The winners of the third round tie between Workington Town and Siddal, which was postponed on Sunday and has been rearranged for next Sunday, March 17, will be at home to Newcastle Thunder.
The Coral Challenge Cup fourth round ties will be played over the weekend of March 30-31. One fixture will be selected for live streaming on the BBC Sport website and one fixture will be shown live on the Our League app and website. The selected fixtures will be announced this week.
Following the Challenge Cup draw, the first-round draw of the 1895 Cup took place. The newly introduced competition provides non-Betfred Super League clubs an extra opportunity to play on the hallowed Wembley turf.
Eight League 1 sides entered the competition at this stage, with the 12 English Betfred Championship teams joining the four winners in the second round in June.
Keighley have a tricky trip to Newcastle Thunder, while two clubs who have won the Challenge Cup at Wembley in the distant past, Hunslet and Workington Town, will face each other in Leeds.
Workington’s West Cumbrian rivals Whitehaven also have an away tie, against Oldham, while West Wales Raiders face an even longer trip to face Doncaster at the Keepmoat Stadium.
The ties will be played on the weekend of May 4-5, with one of them to be streamed live on Our League.
Join the #RLCupFinalReunion
The Rugby Football League are inviting anyone who has played in a Challenge Cup Final to join the #RLCupFinalReunion at Wembley this August.
And the invitation to attend Coral Challenge Cup Final day will also be extended to all members of the Rugby League Lions Association, to mark the 2019 return of Great Britain to international Rugby League.
Ralph Rimmer, the chief executive of the RFL, explained: “The Challenge Cup Final has traditionally been about much more than the finalists themselves, and in 2019 we want Wembley to stage a real celebration of the game.
“The introduction of the 1895 Cup means that we will now have four teams involved on the day, with the guarantee that two non-Super League clubs will make it to Wembley – and we’ll have three matches on the hallowed turf, with the traditional schoolboys curtain-raiser in the Steven Mullaney Memorial Match.
“We were also delighted to invite Taylor Prescott to deliver the match ball for the Coral Challenge Cup Final on behalf of the Steve Prescott Foundation which continues to raise funds on behalf of his father.
“And we hope this invitation to anyone who has played in a Challenge Cup Final will also prove popular with the hundreds of players who have created so many great Rugby League occasions and memories.
“Given last week’s confirmation of the return of Great Britain in the four-match tour later this year, we wanted to extend that invitation to our Rugby League Lions – and we hope that as many of them as possible will be able to join us at Wembley in August.”
The RFL therefore invites all Rugby League Lions and Challenge Cup finalists to email reunion@rfl.co.uk with details of their eligibility for two complimentary tickets in Club Wembley, with exclusive access to the Three Lions Bar for the day.
The RSVP deadline is July 31 – four days after the triple-header at the University of Bolton Stadium featuring the Coral Challenge Cup semi finals and the Coral Women’s Challenge Cup Final.
The Road to Wembley continues tonight (Tuesday) at Odsal, with the Fourth Round draw for the Coral Challenge Cup – when the Betfred Championship clubs enter the competition – and the First Round draw for the 1895 Cup, including eight clubs from Betfred League One. Coverage starts on BBC Online at 6pm, with the 1895 Cup draw on the RFL Facebook account.