TEAM NEWS: NRL Witzer Pre-Season Challenge - 2026 Week 2
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RESULTS: 2026 Betfred Championship Round 1
A full wrap-up of the results from Round 1 of the UK's second division competition, the Championship. Includes current table and stats leaders thanks to Rugby League Project.
All listed times are UK local time.
RELATED: See the full list of 2026 Betfred Championship Draw and Results.
Salford RLFC 0 Oldham RLFC 44
Venue: CorpAcq Stadium, Barton-upon-Irwell
Date: Fri, 16th January. Kickoff: 8:00 PM. Halftime: Oldham 16-0. Penalties: Oldham 6-3. Referee: Aaron Moore.
Salford RLFC (0)
Oldham (44)
Tries: Ryan Lannon, Jake Bibby, Ted Chapelhow, Owen Farnworth, Riley Dean, Tom Nisbet, Ben O'Keefe, Cole Geyer
Goals: Kieran Dixon 6/8
Salford: Brough, Van Osselaer-Hewitt, Appleby, Hartley, Hill; Hughes, Ross; Polec, Yates, Tilleke, Cooper, Garmston, Glover. Int: Dwyer (C), Wilde, Brown, Stanton.
Oldham: Dixon, Nisbet, O'Keefe, Davies, Bibby; Drinkwater, Dean; Chapelhow, Wildie (C), Farnworth, Ashurst, Lannon, Milner. Int: Ormondroyd, Geyer, Purcell, Makin.
Midlands Hurricanes 10 Newcastle Thunder 28
Venue: Avery Fields, Birmingham
Date: Sun, 18th January. Kickoff: 2:00 PM. Halftime: Newcastle 12-4. Penalties: 6-all. Referee: Adam Williams. Crowd: 413.
Midlands Hurricanes (10)
Tries: Matthew Chrimes, Ryan Johnson
Goals: Sully Medforth 1/1
Newcastle Thunder (28)
Tries: Cody Hunter 2, Will Dagger, Will Roberts, Noah Whittingham
Goals: Jack Smith 4/5
Midlands: Horner, Chrimes, Johnson, Oakes, Roberts; Craven, Else; Kirby (C), Roden, Dickinson, Wilkinson, Jebson, Moore. Int: Wood, Silk, Medforth, Warren.
Newcastle: Dagger, Djeukessi, Law, Smith, Ward; Hunter, Roberts; Antrobus, Pemberton, Jackson, Reynolds, Whittingham, Sagaga. Int: Rostang, Tennison, Ta'ai, McGowan.
Barrow Raiders 40 Workington Town 0
Venue: Northern Competitions Stadium, Barrow
Date: Sun, 18th January. Kickoff: 3:00 PM. Halftime: Barrow 14-0. Penalties: Barrow 8-4. Referee: Matthew Lynn.
Barrow Raiders (40)
Tries: Luke Cresswell 2, Ellis Archer 2, Joe Bullock, Ellis Robson, Curtis Teare
Goals: Brad Walker 6/8
Workington Town (0)
Barrow: Cresswell, Bulman, Teare, Broadbent, Ritson; Walker, Johnston (C); Walker, Wood, Bullock, Robson, Costello, King. Int: Archer, Richards, Emslie, Stack.
Workington: Donaghy, Galea, Fulton, Corkill, Doran; Carter, Leigh; Farrer, Phillips, Ainley, Lawther, Rawhiti, Scholey (C). Int: Bradley, Castle, Lupton, Reid.
Doncaster RLFC 19 Halifax Panthers 12
Venue: Eco-Power Stadium, Doncaster
Date: Sun, 18th January. Kickoff: 3:00 PM. Halftime: 12-all. Penalties: Halifax 6-1. Referee: Scott Mikalauskas.
Doncaster RLFC (19)
Tries: Reece Lyne, James Glover, Connor Jones
Goals: Cory Aston 3/4
Field Goals: Cory Aston
Sin Bin: Luke Briscoe
Halifax Panthers (12)
Tries: David Nofoaluma, Ben Forster
Goals: Jack Hansen 2/2
Doncaster: Holmes, Briscoe, Lyne, Glover, Gebbie; Boas, Aston (C); Knowles, Burns, Springer, Jones, Smeaton, Mustapha. Int: Matagi, Pauli, Jones, Johnson.
Halifax: Nofoaluma, Tibbs, Johnson, Zenon, Graham; Soric, Hansen; Calcott, Inman, Cowen, Crooks (C), McComb, Fairbank. Int: O'Brien, Okoro, Liu, Forster.
Hunslet RLFC 12 Dewsbury Rams 20
Venue: South Leeds Stadium, Hunslet
Date: Sun, 18th January. Kickoff: 3:00 PM. Halftime: 12-all. Penalties: Hunslet 11-9. Referee: Luke Bland. Crowd: 780.
Hunslet RLFC (12)
Tries: Mo Agoro 2
Goals: Billy Jowitt 2/2
Dewsbury Rams (20)
Tries: Bailey O'Connor, Jack McShane
Goals: Jacob Hookem 5/5, Bailey O'Connor 1/1
Sin Bin: Bradley Graham
Hunslet: Jowitt (C), Agoro, Dawson-Jones, Dalton-Harrop, Nichol; Gaskell, Ward; Hallas, Aldridge, Foster, Gilmore, Simpson, Battye. Int: Whittel, Larroyer, Morgan, O'Hanlon.
Dewsbury: McShane, Delaney, O'Connor, Senior (C), Copland; Coates, Hookem; Nelmes, McShane, Bateman, Summers, Graham, Collinson. Int: Parkinson, Bentley, Briggs, Tomlinson.
Keighley Cougars 32 Goole Vikings 18
Venue: Cougar Park, Keighley
Date: Sun, 18th January. Kickoff: 3:00 PM. Halftime: Keighley 18-6. Penalties: Keighley 12-7. Referee: Denton Arnold. Crowd: 1,148.
Keighley Cougars (32)
Tries: George Flanagan, Matty Beharrell, Aaron Brown, Brad Holroyd, Alfie Dean
Goals: Matty Beharrell 5/5, George Flanagan 1/1
Goole Vikings (18)
Tries: Brett Ferres, Jack Miller, Jack Arnold
Goals: Jack Miller 3/3
Keighley: Sayner, Foggin-Johnston, Clarke, Proud, Holroyd; Farrell, Beharrell (C); Teanby, Flanagan (C), Aliyu, Dean, Lanskey, Green. Int: Schofield, Burton, Parker, Brown.
Goole: Shaw, Halliday, Howlett, Tomlinson, Barley; Harman, Miller; Arnold, Rutland, Watts, Ferres (C), Staveley, Aldous. Int: Craig, Morgan, Aldous, Medlicott.
London Broncos 44 Widnes Vikings 12
Venue: The Cherry Red Records Stadium, Wimbledon
Date: Sun, 18th January. Kickoff: 3:00 PM. Halftime: London 16-12. Penalties: London 6-5. Referee: Tara Jones. Crowd: 4,380.
London Broncos (44)
Tries: Alex Max 2, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Lewis Bienek, Elliot Wallis, Jimmy Meadows, Dean Hawkins, Robert Mathias
Goals: Jack Croft 6/8
Widnes Vikings (12)
Tries: Sam Wilde, Jordan Johnstone
Goals: Jordan Abdull 2/3
London: Morea, Wallis, Mathias, Max, Tchamambe; O'Beirne, Hawkins; Campbell-Gillard (C), Havili, Kapinias, Smith, Croft, Adebiyi. Int: Bitungane, Voro, Meadows, Bienek.
Widnes: Fleming, Butt, Owens (C), Edge, Ince; Lyons, Abdull; Murray, Johnstone, Chapelhow, Wilde, Roberts, Gregson. Int: Bent, Fozard, McWhirter, Bibby.
Whitehaven RLFC 4 Sheffield Eagles 11
Venue: The Ortus REC, Whitehaven
Date: Sun, 18th January. Kickoff: 3:00 PM. Halftime: Whitehaven 4-0. Penalties: Sheffield 7-4. Referee: Kevin Moore. Crowd: 824.
Whitehaven RLFC (4)
Tries: Mitchell Todd
Sheffield Eagles (11)
Tries: Kieran Gill 2
Goals: Jordan Lilley 1/2
Field Goals: Jordan Lilley
Whitehaven: Walker-Taylor, Eccleston, Burns (C), Bickerdike, Todd; Walker, Newbegin; Thomson, Holgate, Shackley, Holliday, McQuistan, Kellett. Int: Brennan, Turnbull, Bailey, Pearce.
Sheffield: Marsh, Brown, Gill, Hodson, Walkley; Morgan, Lilley; Matongo, Bowes, Reilly, Bower, Farrell (C), Bussey. Int: Fitzsimmons, Johnson, Griffin, Peachey.
Swinton Lions 8 Rochdale Hornets 12
Venue: Morson Stadium, Sale
Date: Sun, 18th January. Kickoff: 3:00 PM. Halftime: Swinton 2-0. Penalties: 8-all. Referee: Ryan Cox. Crowd: 822.
Swinton Lions (8)
Tries: Jamie Reddecliff
Goals: Jack Stevens 2/2
Rochdale Hornets (12)
Tries: Ethan Wood
Goals: Max Flanagan 4/4
Swinton: Roberts, Parkinson, Jones, Lynch, Higham; Stevens, Ratchford; Shingler, Openshaw, Reddecliff, Willis, Rodden, Kelly-Duffy. Int: Brown, Beardsworth, Roby, Meadows.
Rochdale: Flanagan, Boyd, Ashton, Sa'u, Nixon; Punchard, Dallimore; Dayes, Whitmore (C), Kelly-Duffy, Unsworth, Wood, Syme. Int: Waterworth, Hatton, Andrade, Metcalfe.
Table after Round 1
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | B | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oldham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 2 |
| 2 | Barrow | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 2 |
| 3 | London | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 2 |
| 4 | Newcastle | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 |
| 5 | Keighley | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 |
| 6 | Dewsbury | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| 7 | Sheffield | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| 8 | Doncaster | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| 9 | Rochdale | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 10 | Batley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | North Wales | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Swinton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -4 | 0 |
| 13 | Whitehaven | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -7 | 0 |
| 14 | Halifax | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -7 | 0 |
| 15 | Hunslet | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -8 | 0 |
| 16 | Goole | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -14 | 0 |
| 17 | Midlands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -18 | 0 |
| 18 | Widnes | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -32 | 0 |
| 19 | Workington | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -40 | 0 |
| 20 | Salford | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | -44 | 0 |
RELATED: Click here to view the current Betfred Championship table.
Stats leaders - courtesy of Rugby League Project
TOP TRYSCORERS
| Rank | Player | Team | P | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Max | London | 1 | 2 |
| = | Cody Hunter | Newcastle | 1 | 2 |
| = | Kieran Gill | Sheffield | 1 | 2 |
| = | Luke Cresswell | Barrow | 1 | 2 |
| = | Ellis Archer | Barrow | 1 | 2 |
| = | Mo Agoro | Hunslet | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | Ethan Wood | Rochdale | 1 | 1 |
| = | Ben O'Keefe | Oldham | 1 | 1 |
| = | Tom Nisbet | Oldham | 1 | 1 |
| = | Robert Mathias | London | 1 | 1 |
| = | Reece Lyne | Doncaster | 1 | 1 |
| = | Jordan Johnstone | Widnes | 1 | 1 |
| = | Ryan Johnson | Midlands | 1 | 1 |
| = | Brad Holroyd | Keighley | 1 | 1 |
| = | George Flanagan | Keighley | 1 | 1 |
| = | Joe Bullock | Barrow | 1 | 1 |
| = | Lewis Bienek | London | 1 | 1 |
| = | Jake Bibby | Oldham | 1 | 1 |
| = | Matty Beharrell | Keighley | 1 | 1 |
TOP GOALKICKERS
| Rank | Player | Team | P | G/A | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brad Walker | Barrow | 1 | 6 / 8 | 75% |
| = | Kieran Dixon | Oldham | 1 | 6 / 8 | 75% |
| = | Jack Croft | London | 1 | 6 / 8 | 75% |
| 4 | Jacob Hookem | Dewsbury | 1 | 5 / 5 | 100% |
| = | Matty Beharrell | Keighley | 1 | 5 / 5 | 100% |
| 6 | Max Flanagan | Rochdale | 1 | 4 / 4 | 100% |
| = | Jack Smith | Newcastle | 1 | 4 / 5 | 80% |
| 8 | Jack Miller | Goole | 1 | 3 / 3 | 100% |
| = | Cory Aston | Doncaster | 1 | 3 / 4 | 75% |
| 10 | Jack Stevens | Swinton | 1 | 2 / 2 | 100% |
| = | Billy Jowitt | Hunslet | 1 | 2 / 2 | 100% |
| = | Jack Hansen | Halifax | 1 | 2 / 2 | 100% |
| = | Jordan Abdull | Widnes | 1 | 2 / 3 | 67% |
| 14 | Bailey O'Connor | Dewsbury | 1 | 1 / 1 | 100% |
| = | Sully Medforth | Midlands | 1 | 1 / 1 | 100% |
| = | George Flanagan | Keighley | 1 | 1 / 1 | 100% |
| = | Jordan Lilley | Sheffield | 1 | 1 / 2 | 50% |
TOP POINTSCORERS
| Rank | Player | Team | P | T | G | FG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Matty Beharrell | Keighley | 1 | 1 | 5 | - | 14 |
| 2 | Brad Walker | Barrow | 1 | - | 6 | - | 12 |
| = | Kieran Dixon | Oldham | 1 | - | 6 | - | 12 |
| = | Jack Croft | London | 1 | - | 6 | - | 12 |
| 5 | Jack Miller | Goole | 1 | 1 | 3 | - | 10 |
| = | Jacob Hookem | Dewsbury | 1 | - | 5 | - | 10 |
| 7 | Jack Smith | Newcastle | 1 | - | 4 | - | 8 |
| = | Alex Max | London | 1 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| = | Cody Hunter | Newcastle | 1 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| = | Kieran Gill | Sheffield | 1 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| = | Max Flanagan | Rochdale | 1 | - | 4 | - | 8 |
| = | Luke Cresswell | Barrow | 1 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| = | Ellis Archer | Barrow | 1 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| = | Mo Agoro | Hunslet | 1 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| 15 | Cory Aston | Doncaster | 1 | - | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 16 | Bailey O'Connor | Dewsbury | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 6 |
| = | George Flanagan | Keighley | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 6 |
| 18 | Jack Stevens | Swinton | 1 | - | 2 | - | 4 |
| = | Jack Hansen | Halifax | 1 | - | 2 | - | 4 |
Scorigami Checker
Using Rugby League Project's Scorigami Checker, we look at each week's scoreline to see how many times each of the scorelines occured, and if the round produced a 'Scorigami' - a unique score in the history of the UK second division.
There were no Scorigami occurences this week:
- 44-0 had occurred 9 times previously to Oldham def Salford
- 28-10 had occurred 38 times previously to Newcastle def Midlands
- 40-0 had occurred 17 times previously to Barrow def Workington
- 19-12 had occurred 26 times previously to Doncaster def Halifax
- 20-12 had occurred 53 times previously to Dewsbury def Hunslet
- 32-18 had occured 23 times previously to Keighley def Goole
- 44-12 had occured 23 times previously to London def Widnes
- 12-8 had occured 29 times previously to Rochdale def Swinton
- 11-4 had occured 11 times previously to Sheffield def Whitehaven