Another Super League versus Championship Challenge Cup tie pitted the Bradford Bulls against near neighbours Castleford Tigers in a third-round match-up which saw Danny McGuires visitors as favourites to overcome Brian Noble’s charges.

It was a heavily experienced Bulls side, and one which the BBC had selected to broadcast indicating that they believed that it was the most likely to be a giant-killing, the pitch at Odsal being a leveller for what promised to be a tremendous cup tie.

A place in the fourth round awaited, with both sides and coaches were eager to progress, the Bradford crowd swelled by a decent contingent from Castleford.

Bradford Bulls stood in the way of Wakefield Trinity and their continued march back to Super League on the back of an unbeaten season as Daryl Powell’s side made the short trip to Odsal for a round fifteen showdown between top and fourth.

The visitors were, of course, the favourites to pick up another two points and Bradford were given a twelve-point start on the handicap coupon with the bookies unable to see anything other than another Wakefield victory.

Wakefield won both the early season league encounter and defeated Bradford at the semi-final stage of the 1895 trophy to secure their game at Wembley.

The French were in town for a fifth versus seventh clash as Toulouse Olympique looked for their second win of the season against the Bradford Bulls as both sides looked for some consistency in their 2024 campaigns.

There was just one change for the home side after last weeks stunning win over Featherstone Rovers with Jorge Taufua back in the starting line up after serving a two-match suspension against a Toulouse side looking to bounce back from last weeks loss to the Swinton Lions.

The Bulls were favourites with the bookies for the win and had been handicapped by four points on the coupon, but it was expected to be a close game between two evenly matched sides.

A round three Championship local derby pitted the Featherstone Rovers against the Bradford Bulls at Post Office Road as both sides sought their second win of the season and hoped to make a move up the league in its early stages.

Featherstone were slight favourites with the bookies due to home advantage but it wasn’t a foregone conclusion according to the bookies as Rovers are struggling to find the form which saw them top the table with ease last season.

It’s early in the season but this game was important for both sides and the result would go some way to showing their intent.

A couple of decades ago this would have been a worthy Challenge Cup Final, but in 2024 it was a round four clash to determine who would move forwards into the four-game round five and a chance to take on a Super League side as Bradford hosted Widnes in an all-Championship affair.

The two sides have never actually met in a Challenge Cup Final although they did meet twice in the Championship in 2023 with honours being shared at a win apiece, but Widnes exited the competition at this stage last year at the hands of Dewsbury, Bradford progressing to round five where they lost to Halifax.

The Bulls were favourites for the win with the Vikings having been given a fourteen-point start on the handicap coupon.

With several of the places in the quarter finals of the 1895 Cup already decided on the results of the opening two rounds, one game which demanded interest was the derby encounter between the Keighley Cougars and the Bradford Bulls with the winners progressing in the competition while the losers would be eliminated.

Both sides had already defeated the Dewsbury Rams earlier in the competition, but it was the Championship side the Bradford Bulls who were the clear favourites to take the win against last season’s relegated Keighley side.

Barrow Raiders and Swinton Lions both had a rest weekend but were safe in the knowledge that they were already in the quarterfinals and one of the teams with a BD postcode would be joining them at the end of today’s game.

With the London Broncos thrashing the Shefield Eagles by 42-0 earlier in the day to make progress in the playoffs, all eyes turned to Odsal Stadium for the third against sixth encounter between the Bradford Bulls and York RLFC Knights as both sides looked to ensure their progress.

A win for Bradford would set up a trip to Toulouse next weekend while should York emerge as victors then they would have the daunting task of a visit to Featherstone while London Broncos would make the trip to France.

York had won both previous encounters in 2023, the latest just three weeks ago, but the bookies made the home side the favourites for the win and handicapped them by six points on the coupon for what could potentially be a classic play off eliminator.

The final game of the regular Championship season was a Sunday tea time kick off between the Sheffield Eagles and the Bradford Bulls with plenty still to play for in determining who would have the all important home advantage in next weeks’ opening play-off round.

Both sides were guaranteed a spot, but the winner of this encounter would determine who would finish the season in third spot and have a home game next week against York RLFC Knights, a win for Bradford would see them finish third, while a loss for Sheffield would see them drop to fourth and have to face London Broncos in Sheffield in a weeks’ time.

The Bulls were slight favourites with the bookies but they were only handicapped by two points on the coupon, all indications were that it would be a close one.

A round seventeen Championship Yorkshire derby saw the sixth placed Bradford Bulls looking to cement their place in the top six with a win over tenth a Keighley Cougars in tenth spot who knew that a win could lift them to eighth should other results go their way.

It was honours shared in the first two meetings between the two sides so far in the season with Keighley winning their home game in March by 34-6 while Bradford won the Summer Bash game in York at the end of May by 42-18.

Bradford were firm favourites for the win as the Cougars are struggling for form with the bookies giving the visitors a twenty-point start on the coupon.

Keighley did pick up a win last time out against Whitehaven, but it was their first since the 7th May.

Eighth placed Bradford Bulls had a Championship game against a Swinton Lions in twelfth spot as both sides knew that a win was crucial for them to keep alive their play-off hopes as the season edges towards its mid-season.

Bradford were the favourites with the bookies, with few pundits giving Swinton much hope despite the Bulls recent coaching issues and six changes made to last week´s Bulls starting line-up.

Lee Greenwood was interim Bulls coach, but many supporters were happy that past coaching messiah Brian Noble was also involved in the set up as an advisor.

The final game of a packed weekend of Easter entertainment was the Monday night ViaplaySports offering between the Halifax Panthers and Bradford Bulls as the two great West Yorkshire Rivals met as fifth took on sixth for the honour of joining fourth place Widnes Vikings on ten league points after recording five wins in their opening eight fixtures.

The Panthers were favourites for the win but both sides picked up victories last time out and both sides have won three out of their last four outings.

After some sensational games this weekend, there was an expectation that the Championship would serve up the perfect Easter Monday treat to round off the weekend in great style.

A West Yorkshire derby between Keighley Cougars and the Bradford Bulls drew a big crowd of well over four thousand as the visitors looked to continue their great run which see´s them keeping pace with the top sides in the Championship.

The Bulls travelled to Cougar Park sitting pretty in fourth place in the Championship table but after a disappointing start to their campaign the Cougars were in tenth spot but aware that a win would lift them into the top half of the table.

The Cougars were slight underdogs with the bookies, having been given a six-point start on the handicap coupon, but inside a packed stadium the hope was for a close, competitive and as always, noisy game.

The prize on offer for Featherstone Rovers was to go back to two points clear of the opposition as they welcomed the Bradford Bulls, who did the Flat Cappers a massive favour last time out by beating fellow favourites for promotion, Toulouse Olympique XIII.

A win for the Bulls would lift them into a group of four sides on eight points, but after making the short trip to Post Office Road they knew that they would need to pull out a top-drawer performance to beat Sean Long´s side and take the points.

The West Yorkshire derby, on a cold March Monday evening, had the potential to be a classic so long as both sides brought their A-game.

York and Bradford met each other to conclude the second round of the rugby league Betfred Championship at the Yorkshire county town’s LNER Community Stadium last night.

Newly promoted York were looking to make their mark on the competition, having lost last week to Widnes, while fielding three teenagers.

The Bulls were seeking a two-from-two start to the new season.

Monday night's midtable clash in the Betfred Championship saw sixth-placed York City Knights entertain Bradford Bulls, sitting in ninth place, with neither team having a stellar record in their recent games.

The Bulls had won only the latest of their last six games, a 48-18 home win over Workington Town.

In the same period, York had defeated Dewsbury and Newcastle in successive away trips.

It was a famous old name from the glory days of Super League's start taking on an also-ran from those days who dropped out in disarray back in 2003.

But at the the Championship's Summer Bash in 2022, it was Bradford Bulls who are the club in disarray while Halifax Panthers entered the game as a top-four club in everyone's sights

The Magic Weekend starts here with a Championship curtain raiser in the form of Newcastle Thunder against the Bradford Bulls, the latter having played a memorable part in many previous Magic Weekends.

Thunder were taking full advantage of this weekend being staged in their city at St James Park and hoping for a bumper crowd for what had been dubbed as Magic Friday at Kingston Park as they looked to reduce the six point deficit that they currently have to their West Yorkshire opponents.

A victory for the Bulls wouldn´t improve their league position but it would edge them closer on points to the current top six.

The Bulls were clear favourites for the win but this was Newcastle´s special night.

Ninth-placed Bradford Bull welcomed Featherstone Rovers to their narrow Odsall pitch, off the back of  two narrow defeats, including a loss to Halifax Panthers, who played 79 minutes of the match with 12 men.

The visitors arrived unbeaten, amidst a flurry of speculation around the possible signing of former Wigan full back/centre Zak Hardaker, who the Cherry and Whites had released "to persue career options" in his home territory of West Yorkshire.

Of immediate interest, though, was the return of winter signing Jesse Sene-Lefao following an injury in the opening game of the season.

At stake were two vital league points - as well as the Peter Fox memorial trophy.

Round 3 of the Betfred Championship concluded with Leigh Centurions, who lost to Featherstone on TV last week, hosting a Bradford Bulls outfit looking to bounce back after losing to Sheffield.

The Betfred Championships game of the day was without doubt the clash at Odsal between third placed Bradford Bulls and second placed Featherstone Rovers who were looking to maintain their one hundred percent record and keep up the pressure on a Toulouse Olympique side who are top of the table courtesy of a superior points difference.

The home side had Sam Hallas back in their line-up but were without Aaron Murphy and Thomas Doyle who both had minor injuries keeping them out of the game while Rovers welcomed back Kris Welham but were without the services of Craig Kopczak who was rested.

Despite home advantage the Bulls were the underdogs with the bookies, Featherstone clear favourites to record their thirteenth win of the season with Bradford getting a twelve-point start on the coupon.