Goole Vikings stun London Broncos in their opening fixture.
Community clubs West Hull, Wests Warriors and York Acorn book dream Third Round ties against Betfred Super League heavyweights...
Goole Vikings claimed a stunning win at London Broncos in their first fixture as a professional club to book a Third Round tie in the Betfred Challenge Cup against Wakefield Trinity.
They will be joined in the last 32 by three community clubs who now have two weeks to prepare for ties against Betfred Super League heavyweights – York Acorn against Hull FC, West Hull against St Helens, and Wests Warriors of London against Leeds Rhinos.
The Vikings, who made a successful application to join Betfred League One in 2025 and are coached by the three-times Cup winner and former England forward Scott Taylor, came from 10-0 behind to win 17-10 against a Broncos team who were in the Betfred Super League last season.
The Broncos are a club and a team in transition, switching the match from their regular Wimbledon base to Rosslyn Park FC, and including only a handful of regulars from their Super League squad.
But they looked on course for victory after scoring two first-half tries until the introduction of Andy Ellis, a former Hull KR hooker who is now 40 and has returned to the professional ranks with Goole.
Tom Halliday, who was born in Goole and played in the Championship for Doncaster last season, had the honour of scoring the Vikings’ first try late in the first half, and they dominated the second period.
The former Leeds centre Thomas Minns brought them level with a long-range effort, then the former Hull FC Academy stand-off Mackenzie Harman scored an interception try and scrum half Reece Dean added a canny drop goal.
“I’m proud of the players, proud of the club, proud of everything we’ve done to get to this point,” Taylor told BBC Sport. “It’s the magic of the Cup, isn’t it?”
There was plenty more magic in evidence as community teams battled for a shot at Super League opposition as a result of the new structure of the Betfred Challenge Cup in 2025.
York Acorn, who were the most successful community club in the 2024 Cup and had to win four matches to earn a Fifth Round tie at Halifax, will now face Hull FC after beating Oulton Raiders 22-2.
West Hull edged a tight contest against their National Conference League rivals Hunslet ARLFC 24-18 to book a meeting with the 13-time Challenge Cup winners St Helens.
And probably the most unlikely Third Round fixture of all will see Wests Warriors of the Southern Conference League take on the 14-time Cup winners Leeds Rhinos, after their 36-18 win against the British Army.
In Saturday’s other ties, Whitehaven celebrated a 24-12 win against Swinton Lions which secured a lucrative Third Round fixture at home to Sam Burgess’s Warrington Wolves, and Hunslet beat the Castleford amateurs Lock Lane 50-10 to earn a home tie against Luke Robinson’s Huddersfield Giants.
Featherstone Rovers romped to an 88-10 win against the Oldham community club Waterhead Warriors, and Dewsbury Rams beat one of the town’s leading community teams, Dewsbury Moor, by 50 points to 6 in a match which was switched to Batley’s Fox’s Biscuits Stadium.
They must wait 24 hours until discovering their Third Round opposition with 11 more ties on Sunday including Workington Town taking on the Royal Navy after a marathon journey from the West Cumbrian coast to Portsmouth.
Betfred Challenge Cup Round Two results
- Dewsbury Moor 6 Dewsbury Rams 50 (at Fox’s Biscuits Stadium, Batley)
- Hunslet ARLFC 18 West Hull 24
- Lock Lane 10 Hunslet RLFC 50
- Waterhead Warriors 10 Featherstone Rovers 88 (at Featherstone)
- Wests Warriors 36 British Army 18
- Whitehaven 24 Swinton Lions 12
- York Acorn 22 Oulton Raiders 2
Remaining fixtures
Sunday
- Oldham v Rochdale Mayfield (1230)
- Cornwall v North Wales Crusaders (1pm)
- Royal Navy v Workington Town (1pm)
- Blackbrook v Ince Rose Bridge (2pm)
- Midlands Hurricanes v Siddal (2pm)
- Barrow Raiders v Crosfields (3pm)
- Bradford Bulls v Doncaster (3pm)
- Halifax Panthers v Thatto Heath Crusaders (3pm)
- Newcastle Thunder v Batley Bulldogs (3pm)
- Rochdale Hornets v Widnes Vikings (3pm)
- Sheffield Eagles v West Bowling (3pm)
Sunday February 2
- Keighley Cougars v York Knights (3pm)
Betfred Challenge Cup Round Three – updated draw:
- Goole Vikings v Wakefield Trinity
- York Acorn v Hull FC
- Bradford Bulls or Doncaster RLFC v Castleford Tigers
- Hunslet RLFC v Huddersfield Giants
- Wests Warriors v Leeds Rhinos
- Halifax Panthers or Thatto Heath Crusaders v Catalans Dragons
- West Hull v St Helens
- Royal Navy or Workington Town v Leigh Leopards
- Midlands Hurricanes or Siddal v Salford Red Devils
- Whitehaven v Warrington Wolves
- Keighley Cougars or York Knights v Hull KR
- Sheffield Eagles or West Bowling v Wigan Warriors
- Oldham RLFC or Rochdale Mayfield v Barrow Raiders or Crosfields
- Newcastle Thunder or Batley Bulldogs v Dewsbury Rams
- Cornwall or North Wales Crusaders v Rochdale Hornets or Widnes Vikings
- Featherstone Rovers v Blackbrook or Ince Rose Bridge
The Betfred Challenge Cup Round Three ties are to be played over the weekend of 7-9 February.
Saturday 7 June is Betfred Challenge Cup Finals Day 2025 – also including the Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup Final, AB Sundecks 1895 Cup Final, and RFL Champion Schools Year 7 Boys Final. Tickets are on sale now!
