Round Twenty of the Betfred Championship saw a few shocks as the sides continued to jockey for play-off spots and to avoid relegation to League One.

The weekend started on Saturday evening as Newcastle Thunder faced Dewsbury Rams.

The remainder of the games were on Sunday afternoon, a delayed kick off at Sheffield after the Workington team were delayed on the journey down to South Yorkshire.

The remainder were three o´clock kick offs as Barrow hosted Bradford, Widnes travelled to Batley, London faced High flying Halifax, Leigh were at strugglers Whitehaven, and Featherstone at home to the York City Knights.

With Toulouse Olympique XIII going down in a close game with the Salford Red Devils on Saturday, Willie Poching´s Wakefield Trinity side had the ideal opportunity to lift themselves off the bottom of the table.

The only snag was that they had to get a win against the most dominant side in Super League, defending Champions and Champions elect St Helens.

It was top against bottom.

Optimism was in short supply amongst the Wakefield supporters, and the bookies agreed as they gave the home side a fourteen-point start on the coupon, all expectations were that Trinity´s position at the bottom would continue and they would see a worsening of their points difference.

The sides took the field in miserable conditions as the rain fell.

Two sides looking anxiously over their shoulders at the chasing pack met to see who would further their claim for a play-off spot, and who would be vulnerable to being caught, as Hull FC took on their former coach as Castleford Tigers made the trip east.

A victory by more than thirty-six points would lift the home side above the visitors and into fifth in the league table, but a loss for the Airlie Birds would see them potentially dropping out of the six, depending on results elsewhere.

The bookies could barely split the two sides, making the Tigers the slight favourites, but only with a two-point difference on the handicap coupon.

It promised to be an entertaining battle.

Round twenty of Super League means that there are just eight more games to the play-offs, eight more games for new Rhinos coach Rohan Smith to pull his side out of the bottom half of the table in what is looking like an increasingly unlikely scenario.

It also means eight games for Wigan Warriors to try and chase down a St Helens side who are in danger of edging out of sight at the top of the pile.

There were two changes for Matt Peets Warriors as Joe Shorrocks and Mike Cooper replaced Mago and O´Neill, the Rhinos had Zak Hardaker, Liam Sutcliffe, Harry Newman, Muizz Mustapha and debutant Yusef Aydin in their seventeen after losing last time out in Toulouse.

The bookies couldn´t see past a Warriors win, and neither could the pundits, or for that matter most Rhinos fans.

It was York City Knights and Batley Bulldogs who braved the heat that had brought public transport and much else in the country to a halt, to conclude the round 19 of the Betfred Championship.

The teams started the game lying fourth and fifth in the table, both on 26 points but with the hosts having played one more game – so everything was to play for.

Neither the Bulldogs nor the City Knights looked likely to take third place off Halifax Panthers, with their impressive score difference, but both could take or secure fourth.

And a win for Batley would do nothing to to dampen the talk of them being outside contenders for a top two place.

Round 19 of the 2022 Betfred Championship took place over three days on a warm July weekend with the Bradford Bulls and London Broncos starting off proceedings on Saturday evening.

Sunday afternoon saw an early kick-off between Sheffield and Barrow with the remainder of the games kicking off at three o´clock.

Dewsbury hosted Leigh, Halifax took on Workington, Whitehaven were up against Featherstone and Widnes welcomed Newcastle.

The final game, live on Premier Sports, was scheduled for Monday evening as York faced Batley.

After Toulouse Olympique XIII beat the Leeds Rhinos last night in the south of France, Wakefield Trinity found themselves bottom of the table and staring into the abyss as they travelled to Hull to face a Hull KR side who themselves were looking to avoid getting drawn into what could be a nerve-racking dogfight to avoid the drop.

Hull KR were big favourites pre-match, the bookies giving the visitors an eighth point start on the handicap coupon but both sides came into the game on the back of soul-destroying losses at the Magic Weekend, the Robins to cross city rivals FC and Wakefield to their main rivals for relegation, Toulouse.

It was a game which neither side could afford to lose.

After their Magical win over Wakefield Trinity last weekend the smell of Super League survival was strong in the nostrils of Toulouse Olympique XIII as they welcomed a Leeds Rhinos side missing a few of their stars and dreamed what extra pressure another two points would put on the sides above them.

Toulouse were unchanged from their victorious side of a week ago whereas the Rhinos were without the services of Zak Hardaker, Aidan Sezer, Matt Prior and late withdrawal through illness who all added to an increasing list of unavailable Leeds personnel.

The bookies had made the Rhinos slight favourites to take the points but only gave the home side a four-point start on the handicap coupon.

This was the fourth meeting between the two sides, but the first on French soil, the Rhinos having win the previous three.

Top against third, St Helens versus Huddersfield Giants, was clearly the game of round nineteen as the Giants looked to close the gap on the league leaders and continue their rebirth under coach Ian Watson as they continue to aim high and show a positive attitude.

Both sides have lost just once in their last eight outings and came into the weekend on the back of good win last weekend at the Magic Weekend.

The side with home advantage were the bookies favourites as they gave away ten points on the handicap coupon to their visitors.

Alex Walmsley was back for the Saints with Agnatius Paasi on the bench after starting last time out against Wigan while the Giants had Will Pryce at full back in place of Tui Lolohea alongside a couple of other changes.

With the series neatly tied at one game apiece the scene was set for the mother of all State of Origin deciders Queensland´s Maroons took on the Blues of New South Wales for the 2022 bragging rights.

The Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane was a sell-out in advance of kick-off as a nation held it´s collective breath.

After demolishing the Maroons by 44-12 the last time out, New South Wales were the clear favourites for the series win, despite the game being played in front of a partisan Queensland crowd.

Both Brad Fittler and Billy Slater made a few changes to their sides, most notably the Maroons losing the services of Cameron Munster and Felise Kaufusi.

The final game of the Magic Weekend was the Hull derby as two sides struggling for form did battle with the Robins taking on the Airlie Birds for local bragging rights.

A KR win by more than twenty-seven points would lift them above FC and into sixth place, a win of any description would see then seventh.

If FC could get the points, then they would be up to fifth, providing that the win was by four or more points.

Both sides were in dour form, struggling for points, and many supporters were arriving wondering whether it was possible for both sides to lose.

The last time that either side won was over a month ago, it didn´t bode well for the game that was bringing down the curtain on an excellent weekend.

The bookies were struggling to distinguish between the two sides, giving FC a two-point start on the coupon and showing KR as slight favourites despite them sacking their coach after last weekend´s loss to Toulouse and lots of changes to both sides.

It was a tough Magic Weekend tie for a Warrington Wolves side in freefall as they were drawn to take the field against a Catalans Dragons who had just been pushed into fourth spot by the Huddersfield Giants and who were looking to regain their third spot, or if they could pile on the misery, then possibly make it up to second on points difference.

The Dragons were favourites with the bookies, Warrington getting an eight-point start on the handicap coupon, and most pundits believed that this would be another loss to add to the catalogue of Wolves losses so far in 2022.

The sides have met twice so far this season, the Dragons victors on both occasions, but this time the French side were missing a few key players due to injury and suspension.

It was the Magic Weekend which continued to fascinate with the opening fixture on Sunday pitting the fourth placed Huddersfield Giants with their eye on third place against a Salford side who started the game in eighth spot but for whom a win could propel them into the top six.

Some pundits were billing it as Giants coach Ian Watson against his previous side, but the Huddersfield supremo was more concerned about the two points to move his side up the table ahead of the Catalans game against Warrington later in the afternoon.

The bookies had gone with league position and installed the Giants as favourites but only given the Red Devils a six-point start on the coupon, they thought it would be close.

It was 9th v 5th in the final match of Magic Weekend Saturday in Newcastle, as Leeds sought to continue their climb into the play-offs and Castleford looked to secure their place in the post-season clashes which decide the title.

After a shakey start to the season, when both teams looked like they would be struggling with the opponents in the day's opening match and looking fearfully at the bottom of the table and possible relegation.

But the Tigers and the Rhinos had both started putting a winning run together in recent weeks and the question at St James's Park was who would continue that run and who would stutter to another loss.

Magic Weekend´s game two on Saturday saw a top of the table clash between St Helens and Wigan Warriors in a game which could go a long way to deciding who lifts the Minor Premiership at the end of the season.

A win for Saints would lift them four points clear of the chasers and into poll position to end the season on top of the pile.

Saints were slight favourites with the bookies, Wigan being given a two-point start on the handicap coupon, mainly due to the omission from the Saints side including Walmsley and Makinson while Wigan looked strong on paper.

It promised to be another close one to entertain the ever-increasing crowd.

Most opening games of the Magic Weekend are dour mid-table affairs, put on for a handful of spectators while those of clubs not involved make the most of the many hostelries which Newcastle has to offer.

But this season is an exception with the bottom two clubs in the competition being thrown together in a massive tussle for two points which could prove decisive at the end of the season and was guaranteed to get the neutrals into the stadium early.

A win for Trinity would put them six points clear of Toulouse in the relegation spot, the French side with a near impossible mountain to climb, but should Toulouse overcome the slight odds against them and get their fourth win of the season, then the gap between the two sides would be down to just two points and all to play for.

The bookies nor pundits could really split them, neither could their two encounters so far this season, the St James Park pitch was all set for a match of epic significance.

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.

All of the round seventeen matches in the 2022 Betfred Championship took place over Saturday and Sunday with the game between Featherstone Rovers and Newcastle Thunder taking place on Saturday evening, the rest of the games being traditional Sunday afternoon kick-offs.

Those Sunday games included, Widnes at Workington, Barrow at York, Whitehaven at Batley, table topping Leigh at Bradford, Halifax against Dewsbury and Sheffield making the trip to London to face the Broncos.

With two sides at opposite ends of the table, there was much to play for between Wakefield Trinity and Wigan Warriors with very different aspirations.

Wigan wanted the two points to get within two points of St Helens at the top of the table after they lost to the Dragons last night while Trinity were getting dragged closer to the relegation spot after Toulouse surprised Hull KR yesterday.

The bookies couldn´t see past a big Wigan win with Trinity getting a fourteen-point start on the handicap coupon, mainly because they were walloped by the Salford Red Devils last time out in a humiliating 74-10 defeat.

Wigan were looking for a fifth consecutive win and most pundits believed that they wouldn´t have an issue.

Catalans Dragons coach Steve McNamara made a myriad of changes to the side which lost to Castleford by golden point last week.

Saints were without Konrad Hurrell as they also made changes while looking to draw further clear at the top of the table.

The sun was ´cracking the flags´ as last season´s Grand Finalists took to the field with the home side having their work cut out to try and half a seven-game winning run for the Saints, having only won one in the last three themselves.

Saints won both previous meetings between the two sides in 2022 and were favourites to take the two points again tonight in the south of France.