Man of Steel Lewis and record point scorer Jowitt to conduct Betfred Challenge Cup draws

Mikey Lewis and Max Jowitt will conduct the draws for the first two rounds of the 2025 Betfred Challenge Cup at the RaisE Business Centre in Goole next Monday evening.

They will be joined by Scott Taylor, three times a Challenge Cup winner at Wembley with Hull FC and Wigan Warriors who has been appointed as the head coach of Goole Vikings when they join Betfred League One in 2025 - meaning they will be in the Second Round draw for the first time.

Lewis and Jowitt may now be stars of the Betfred Super League, but both have strong connections to community clubs who will enter the First Round draw.

Lewis, the England and Hull KR half-back who was the 2024 Steve Prescott MBE Man of Steel, started playing with the West Hull community club, who have been regulars in the Challenge Cup over the last two decades.

Jowitt, the Wakefield Trinity full-back who set a new record for Rugby League by scoring exactly 500 points in the club’s triumphant 2024 season in the Betfred Championship, fell in love with the sport as a youngster at Stanley Rangers – the Yorkshire Men’s League club who will return to the Challenge Cup in 2025.

West Hull and Stanley Rangers are two of 34 teams from the community game who will enter the First Round draw, with ties to be played on the weekend of January 11-12 – kicking off the 2025 season.

That will be followed by the Second Round draw when the 12 English teams in the Betfred Championship and the 11 clubs from Betfred League One join the 17 First Round winners to produce 20 ties – the winners of which will be joined by the 12 Betfred Super League big guns in the Third Round draw in January.

The 11 Betfred League One clubs include Goole Vikings, newcomers to the professional ranks in 2025, who will be hosting the draw at the RaisE Business Centre. The Vikings will celebrate the presence of the Challenge Cup in the town ahead of their debut season with a trophy tour around local schools and tournament sponsors Betfred – and are inviting fans who want to have their photo taken with the Cup to come to the RaisE Business Centre between 4-530.

The draws will be shown live on BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and app – with coverage starting from 6.30pm.

The ball numbers for the draws have been confirmed as follows:

Betfred Challenge Cup Round One

1 - British Army, 2 - RAF, 3 - Royal Navy; 4 – Maryport (Cumberland Rugby League); 5 - GB Police; 6 – Longhorns (Ireland Rugby League); 7 - Telford Raiders (Harry Jepson Trophy winners); 8 - Crosfields, 9 - Dewsbury Moor, 10 - Hunslet ARLFC, 11 - Ince Rose Bridge, 12 - Leigh Miners Rangers, 13 - Lock Lane, 14 - Oulton Raiders, 15 - Rochdale Mayfield, 16 - Siddal, 17 - Thatto Heath (BARLA National Cup winners), 18 - Waterhead Warriors, 19 - Wath Brow Hornets, 20 - West Bowling, 21 - West Hull, 22 - York Acorn; 23 - Blackbrook, 24 - Haresfinch, 25 - Orrell St James; 26 – Mirfield; 27 – Edinburgh Eagles (Scotland Rugby League); 28 - Eastern Rhinos; 29 - Hammersmith Hills Hoists; 30 - London Chargers; 31 - Wests Warriors; 32 – Aberavon Fighting Irish (Wales Rugby League); 33 – Doncaster Toll Bar 34 - Stanley Rangers.

Betfred Challenge Cup Round Two

1 – Barrow Raiders, 2 – Batley Bulldogs, 3 – Bradford Bulls, 4 - Cornwall, 5 - Dewsbury Rams, 6 - Doncaster, 7 - Featherstone Rovers, 8 - Goole Vikings, 9 - Halifax Panthers, 10 - Hunslet, 11 - Keighley Cougars, 12 – London Broncos, 13 - Midlands Hurricanes, 14 - Newcastle Thunder, 15 - North Wales Crusaders, 16 - Oldham, 17 - Rochdale Hornets, 18 - Sheffield Eagles, 19 - Swinton Lions, 20 - Whitehaven, 21 - Widnes Vikings, 22 - Workington Town, 23 - York Knights, 24-40 First Round Winners.