The Road to Wembley: How Featherstone Rovers reached the 1895 Cup final - again

And this weekend’s showpiece occasion at Wembley on Challenge Cup Finals Day is a repeat of the 2021 edition where Fev beat York Knights 41-34.

A year later, across the capital at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Rovers were defeated by the all-conquering Leigh outfit who would go on to make positive waves in Super League, as well as lift the Challenge Cup in 2023.

This season’s exploits in the competition make up for their 2024 efforts where, in a new-look group stage format, they didn’t even progress out of a mini-league involving Hunslet and Batley Bulldogs, with near neighbours Wakefield Trinity breaking records on their way to lifting the cup - and ending a 45-year wait for a Wembley final.

Featherstone, however, have brushed aside all those in their way in 2025 with the competition reverting back to one-off, knock-out rugby league contests.

Their first round tie at home to Keighley Cougars signalled a new direction for the club, with Paul Cooke taking the reins for the first time since the departure of James Ford.

Ford was dismissed after a 14-12 Championship defeat at Post Office Road in only the club’s second league game of the campaign.

And the Cooke era commenced with a comfortable, if not unsurprising, victory over their League One opponents.

Rovers ran in nine tries as they thrashed the Cougars 52-12 to go into the last eight, thanks to a hat-trick from Caleb Aekins and a double from Jayden Hatton.

Jordan Williams, Connor Jones, Derrell Olpherts and Will Jubb all crossed for tries as well, with Calum Turner kicking eight goals.

While Fev, at this point, were now just two wins away from a superb return to Wembley, their league form was proving deficient with three consecutive defeats against Sheffield Eagles, Halifax Panthers and Bradford Bulls all following in March.

But they were then able to exact revenge over the Broncos - not just the league defeat earlier in the season, but also for the play-off semi-final defeat in 2023 which ended any chance of a Super League spot for Fev - in the quarter finals of the 1895 Cup at the Millennium Stadium.

And it seemed like a totally different Featherstone side with several first-teamers returning from injury, including playmaker Ben Reynolds, while recent signing Ryan Hampshire made his debut to partner Reynolds in the halves.

This allowed Aekins to move back to his preferred position of full-back, where he shone in racing over for yet another hat-trick of tries in the competition to lead the scoring.

And while a place in the last four was hanging in the balance at the interval with Rovers only holding a slender 10-6 lead, they eventually ran out 34-6 winners thanks to a strong second half display.

Connor Wynne, Hatton, twice, and Jones also crossed to send Fev into a semi-final showdown with Oldham at Boundary Park.

In between the quarters and semis, the Roughyeds had narrowly beaten Cooke’s men 30-28, as Rovers continued to struggle in the Championship.

That was one of four league games they played during that period. They won two, lost two.

One of those two wins, however, came against York, 24-22.

And although Fev entered the 1895 Cup tie at Oldham on the back of a 38-16 triumph at Widnes Vikings, not many people would have predicted the one-sided contest that followed, allowing Rovers to sweep into another major final.

Aekins continued his fine form in the competition with two more tries, taking his own personal tally to eight in three games, while Wynne grabbed a double as well.

Clay Webb, Hampshire and Jones - who has also been on the trysheet in all three rounds - all crossed too, as Rovers easily secured a 40-14 victory for a third 1895 Cup final appearance in five years.

They will face a York Knights side who have made it to Wembley thanks to three consecutive knock-out home wins: 32-20 over Halifax Panthers, 39-6 over Widnes Vikings and 28-20 over Bradford Bulls.