Hunslet v Newcastle Thunder preview

It's another road rip in The Betfred Championship for Newcastle Thunder on Sunday as they look to go six in a row unbeaten in all competitions. It's a trip to a tough Hunslet outfit who have had difficult fixtures so far.

Hunslet, well respected

Hunslet are regarded as one of the best run Championship clubs and despite their difficult fixtures have pushed some of the table topping sides close including narrow defeats to Barrow, Sheffield and Widnes.

Hunslet have an experienced squad with the likes of try scoring ex-Thunder man Mo Agoro, Lee Gaskell and hard carrying forward Eddie Battye. In Keith Senior and Kyle Trout they have a Director of Rugby and Head Coach who are respected in the game and they will be looking to build on an Easter weekend win at Keighley. Although they're currently in fifteenth place in the league, this squad is better than that and they're a very dangerous outfit.

Tough run for Thunder

This weekend sees a tough run of games coming up for Thunder starting with Sunday's trip to Hunslet followed by an 1895 Cup tie with Batley, and home league games against Barrow and Batley. These games will definitely give a good indication on where the squad is at.

This weekend sees a seventeen man squad named, a big boost is the return of Ryan Jackson from injury.

The seventeen named has some real power about it with the likes of Vuniyayawa, Santi and Antrobus ready to take it to Hunslet. There's also a return for Will Roberts following his try scoring Super League performance for York on Easter weekend. He'll look to continue his partnership with Cody Hunter in the halves and get Thunder firing.

Thunder will look to be more disciplined this weekend as they often found themselves on the wrong side of the referee at Goole. With the seventeen named there's enough power to cause Hunslet problems and Hunter and Roberts can control the game, getting the entertainers style of rugby we've been treated to so far.

Squads and officials:

Hunslet: 1. Billy Jowitt, 3. Myles Harrop, 5. Mo Agoro, 6. Lee Gaskell, 7. Dan Abram, 8. Harvey Hallas, 11. Harrison Gilmore, 13. Eddie Battye, 14. Cam Berry, 18. Jimmy Watson, 20. Liam Carr, 21. Jack Ward, 26. Ethan O'Hanlon, 27. Charlie Graham, Ned McCormack, Ben Littlewood, Joe Butterfield, Jordan Baldwinson, Tom Nicholson-Watton.

Newcastle Thunder: 2. Andy Djeukessi, 4. Jude Ferreira, 5. Brad Ward, 6. Cody Hunter, 7. Will Roberts, 8. Bailey Antrobus, 9. Taylor Pemberton, 10. Ryan Jackson, 11. Harvey Reynolds, 12. Noah Whittingham, 15. Brenden Santi, 16. Leo Tennison, 17. King Vuniyayawa, 22. John Sagaga (loan), 24. Matty Foster (loan), 27. Jordan Lipp (loan), 30. Tom Inman.

Referee: M. Mckelvey

Reserve Referee: J. Woolass

Touch Judge 1: A. Sweet

Touch Judge 2: F. Lincoln

Venue: South Leeds Stadium

Kick off: 15:00

Championship fixtures this weekend

London Broncos v Sheffield (home win)

Dewsbury Rams v Widnes Vikings (away win)

Goole Vikings v Whitehaven (home win)

Halifax Panthers v Oldham (away win)

Hunslet v Newcastle Thunder (away win)

Keighley Cougars v North Wales Crusaders (home win)

Rochdale Hornets v Barrow Raiders (away win)

Salford v Batley Bulldogs (away win)

Workington Town v Midlands Hurricanes (away win)

The weekend kicks off in London where I expect London to beat a Sheffield side who will be disappointed after their South Yorkshire derby drubbing at the hands of Doncaster. Another disappointed side will be Widnes who lost out at Barrow last weekend, they could just edge a Dewsbury side who agonizingly lost their derby with Batley. I expect Goole to beat a struggling Whitehaven side. Halifax will push Oldham but I expect Oldham to be too strong. Hunslet kick off a run of tough fixtures for Thunder but I'm backing Thunder to get the win.

It's been a tough week for North Wales, from my experience their fans are some of the best in the game and are always a credit to the club when they come to Newcastle. I hope a solution can be found to secure rugby league in North Wales but there are serious doubts if this one will go ahead. If it does, I think Keighley will win as I don't really know what to expect from North Wales and you can't really blame them. Barrow will look to back up last week's win with a win away at a Rochdale side coming off the back of a derby loss to Oldham. Salford and Batley both won their derbies last weekend but I think Batley will take this one. High flying Midlands are on the road again and I think they'll continue their excellent season with a win in Workington.