Featherstone Rovers 'excited' by big Wakefield Trinity test in cup tie

T​he fifth round Betfred Challenge Cup tie is expected to attract Rovers’ biggest attendance of the season with fans keen to see which of the two local rivals is going to get the first bragging rights of 2024.

Whoever loses will not have long to wait for the chance of revenge with the teams set to meet at the Millennium Stadium again in the Championship on Friday, March 29.

But the cup meeting is a mouth watering occasion with more than just a place in the last 16 of the famous competition at stake.

It will be the first time the sides have met in a competitive match since 1998 and it is also Featherstone’s first home match of the 2024 season after they have been on their travels previously in the Challenge and 1895 Cups.

And it will be Daryl Powell’s first return for a competitive match to the ground where he was so successful as Fev head coach as he brings his Wakefield side that boast a 100 per cent record since he took over for the start of the 2024 season.

Throw in too that Rovers head coach James Ford was employed as Trinity’s assistant coach last year and it is easy to see why this game is generating the most interest in a tie at this stage of the competition for many a year.

Ford is eager to see how his rebuilt team copes with the big game atmosphere and challenge of playing the team that are favourites to win the Championship.

He said: “We’re really excited by the challenge of Wakefield.

"It’s our first competitive home game of the season and we’re keen to give our supporters a performance they can be proud of.”

A place in among the Super League big boys in round six is the prize on offer, but for fans of both sides it will be a big guide on how they are likely to go in the league this season.

Both are reshaped from last year with Trinity recruiting well since relegation while Fev have lost some big names from the team that was runaway league leaders shield winners in 2023 and are still in a rebuilding phase. Sunday will show them how well this is going.