Will Featherstone finally be promoted to Super League this year?

W arrington got off to a flier in Super League, winning their first eight games, but Featherstone have gone one better in the Championship. Surely it’s finally their year? Both clubs are in great shape to top their divisions in September, although that alone will not satisfy their annual ambitions: for Warrington to be crowned champions for the first time since 1955, and for Featherstone to earn promotion back to the big league for the first time since 1995.

The question of who would stop Featherstone has had an obvious answer in recent seasons, be it Toronto, Toulouse or Leigh. This time any answer is more speculative. Recently relegated Toulouse are the obvious candidates given they have a similar budget and a mix of full-time and part-time players. They are second in the table, above Sheffield Eagles on points difference, with both clubs winning seven and losing two of their opening nine games.

Featherstone’s results suggest they are far better than everyone else but they were pushed all the way by Batley, given a tough test by Bradford and beaten at home in the cup by Halifax, none of whom are in the top four. Toulouse were well beaten at both Bradford and Sheffield, who lost to Halifax and Bradford (and York in the cup), only beat London by a point and then struggled to see off strugglers Swinton. It is a competitive division, to say the least.

“It’s a really tough competition,” says the Featherstone coach, Sean Long. “Everyone can beat everyone. There have been results that have opened my eyes. We’re learning to handle the challenges of playing against teams who don’t perform the week before but then turn up against us. It’s their cup final.

“So, London lose 50-0 in Toulouse and then we go to London and it’s game