Drama unfolded in the final round of the Betfred Championship as Widnes moved inside the top six with a Round 26 victory, and Sheffield slipped out the Play-Off spots.
The stakes were high as four teams – York, Featherstone, Sheffield and Widnes - were all fighting for the three remaining places.
The Vikings found themselves embroiled with a neck and neck battle at Barrow, and there were nerves galore when Luke Broadbent scored for the Raiders – making it a two-point ball game with ten minutes to go.
Allan Coleman’s men hung on, however, knowing a win would secure their top six spot.
Meanwhile, York and Featherstone faced off at the LNER Community Stadium. Fev drew first blood through Josh Hardcastle, but the home side replied instantly through Liam Harris and Joe Brown.
The second stanza continued as a bruising contest - the match-winner coming early on from Harris, who swerved his way past three Rovers defenders to touch down.
Despite defeat, Featherstone will join York in the Play-Offs, after Dewsbury stunned the Sheffield outfit to claim just their second win of the season.
A relegated Rams, who had nothing to play for but pride, produced without a doubt their performance of the season, racking up 28 points against the Eagles.
Back-to-back Dewsbury tries came in the opening half, with Keenen Tomlinson and Reiss Butterworth combining on both occasions.
Ben Jones-Bishop did respond for the visitors with one of his trademark tries, but Dewsbury would have the final say in the first forty, as Ollie Greensmith powered over.
There had been plenty of times throughout the year where Dewsbury had been leading at half-time, only to go on and give this up, but Paul March’s men were determined to end on a positive note – and Sheffield were unable to weather their storm.
Greensmith grabbed his second, and although Matty Marsh crossed for a consolation try, the Rams hit back again with Lewis Carr.
Elsewhere in Round 26, there were huge wins for Toulouse, Bradford and Wakefield. Toulouse entertained Batley, while Wakefield hosted Doncaster – in what was RFL referee Ben Thaler’s final game as an on-field match official. He was given a guard of honour by both sets of players, as he entered the field pre-match.
The Bulldogs trailed 24-6 at the break but did manage to reduce the deficit to eight points after three quickfire tries. This was with half an hour left on the clock.
But in tough conditions, the French side would prove too strong – replying with seven tries and Olly Ashall-Bott, Paul Ulberg and Reuben Rennie all completing doubles.
Similarly, Max Jowitt stole the show for Trinity, contributing four tries as Wakefield surpassed 1000 attacking points scored in their 2024 Championship season.
As the top two, Wakefield and Toulouse will have a bye week before their home ties in the Play-Off Semi-Finals.
Swinton were nilled at Bradford, and as a result have finished 12th in the final league standings. This means they will have to compete in this year's Championship Promotion Play-Off Final against either Betfred League One’s Keighley Cougars or Hunslet.
The winner will take a place in the second tier for 2025, and the loser will head down to League One, joining Whitehaven and Dewsbury.
Finally, there was a close contest over in Cumbria, as Whitehaven managed to end their season on a high – a Lachlan Henneghan drop goal sealing a wonderful victory for Haven against Halifax on home soil, as Kyle Amor’s men bowed out of the Championship competition.
Betfred Championship Round 26 results:
Toulouse Olympique 64 Batley Bulldogs 16
Barrow Raiders 24 Widnes Vikings 26
Wakefield Trinity 72 Doncaster 6
York Knights 16 Featherstone Rovers 6
Dewsbury Rams 28 Sheffield Eagles 8
Bradford Bulls 50 Swinton Lions 0
Whitehaven RLFC 23 Halifax Panthers 20
The Betfred Championship Play-Off Eliminators will start next week with Bradford Bulls v Featherstone Rovers (3rd v 6th) and York Knights v Widnes Vikings (4th v 5th).
Wakefield Trinity will then host the lowest ranked winner, and Toulouse will host the highest ranked winner in the Semi-Finals the following week.
The Betfred Championship Grand Final will take place on 19/20 October.
Photo Credit: RLPix
