It is the third weekend of Super League and the Championship, and the opening round of Betfred Championship One games. But the main event of the weekend is a Friday morning fixture when the honour of the Super League is placed in the hands of the Leeds Rhinos as they take on Melbourne Storm in the World Club Challenge in Australia.
Two Round 12 Super League fixtures are brought forward to this weekend with the four teams who played in last season’s middle eights clearing their calendars for entering the fifth round of the Ladbrokes Challenge Cup.
The weekends two Super League fixtures take place on Thursday and Friday nights, both with 19:35 kick-off times. Struggling Catalans Dragons are still seeking their first win but are the underdogs with the bookies as they travel to Hull to take on a KR side also without a win in their opening two fixtures. Friday night sees the Warrington Wolves as firm favourites to take their first points of 2018 against a Widnes side who have impressed greatly on their first two outings and who could find themselves at the top of the table with a win by anything over twenty-two points.
Friday morning, kicking off at 9:00, has the Melbourne storm as 1/16 favourites to defeat last season’s Super League champions, the Leeds Rhinos, who you can find for odds around 9/1. Despite opening the season with two wins, few give the Rhinos any chance of bringing the World Club Championship Trophy home with them.
On Saturday morning there are two further ‘exhibition’ games in Australia at St George Illawarra Dragons entertain Hull FC and Wigan Warriors are the guests of South Sydney Rabbitohs. The bookies are fancying an Australian whitewash.
The Betfred Championship round three gets underway on Saturday afternoon with Sheffield Eagles on the road in Toulouse, the home side still smarting from last weekend’s loss to Featherstone. The remaining fixtures are on Sunday afternoon with the only two unbeaten sides, London Broncos and Featherstone Rovers, meeting up in London. Toronto Wolfpack will be looking to get back to winning ways at Halifax and Leigh Centurions will be hoping that they can do what Toronto couldn’t last week and overcome the tough challenge of newly promoted Barrow Raiders. Rochdale will be hoping that they can play their first game of the campaign after two postponements as they face Dewsbury and Swinton Lions do battle with the Batley Bulldogs.
Nailed on favourites for promotion from Championship One are the Bradford Bulls who begin their campaign at fourth favourites, the York City Knights. The bookies second and third favourites, Whitehaven and Oldham meet in Cumbria in an opening weekend four pointer.
Elsewhere, Hemel Stags host Hunslet, NorthWales Cursaders take on London Skolars, Doncaster entertain Coventry Bears, Keighley Cougars open their fixtures against Workington Town and the newly retitled North Wales Raiders take on Newcastle Thunder.
Whichever of the weekends eighteen games you’ll be attending or watching, enjoy your rugby.
