The make-up for the first week of the Championship play-offs is now locked in, with the regular season nigh on concluded this weekend as Newcastle Thunder cemented second-place.

Only one fixture of the regular season remains, and that will see League Leaders’ Shield winners London host strugglers Swinton Lions next weekend.

That fixture will have very little bearing on the league table and none whatsoever on the Broncos’ placing, with the capital club having already clinched top spot.

Jason Demetriou’s side face Widnes Vikings tomorrow (Monday, August 31) in the 1895 Cup final.

Having concluded their regular season with a narrow defeat at Sheffield in midweek, Widnes are among the eight clubs that will be in play-off action next weekend, and so too are the Eagles.

The ten teams to have qualified for the play-offs were already known, but their finishing positions have determined both who they will come up against and whether their season will be on the line immediately.

We’ll get into that, but here’s a round-up of this week’s Championship results: with Newcastle’s big win at Dewsbury enough to see them seal second spot over Oldham on points difference.

The Roughyeds comfortably Rochdale away from home on Sunday afternoon to move back level on 42 competition points with Newcastle, but Thunder’s points difference was far superior so they took second.

Elsewhere, Crusaders’ grim season concluded with another thumping. Beaten 98-0 on the road at Midlands Hurricanes, the Welsh side finish with a points tally of -6 and an abhorrent points difference of -1454.

As things stand, there’s no confirmation as to whether the Rugby Football League (RFL) will grant them a licence for 2027.

Among the most notable results of the round, Batley were edged out on home soil by Salford – allowing Whitehaven to leapfrog them into ninth spot courtesy of a victory away against Cumbrian rivals Workington.

The Bulldogs have finished tenth.

This week’s Championship results…

Sheffield Eagles 12-8 Widnes Vikings
Dewsbury Rams 6-56 Newcastle Thunder
Goole Vikings 14-36 Doncaster
Midlands Hurricanes 98-0 North Wales Crusaders
Batley Bulldogs 16-18 Salford
Halifax Panthers 18-19 Keighley Cougars
Rochdale Hornets 14-32 Oldham
Workington Town 20-29 Whitehaven

Play-offs: First week locked in

The Championship play-offs include the division’s top ten sides and are set to be held over a five-week period.

For now, here’s an explanation of what next weekend will look like, with League Leaders’ Shield winners London (1st) and runners-up Newcastle (2nd) both not in action as they get a bye into the second week.

Oldham, as mentioned, missed out on second place on points difference. Having finished third, they will have to enter the first week of the play-offs.

Here’s how next week’s action looks and works…

Qualifying Semi-Finals

Winners progress into Week 2 Qualifiers: Highest-ranked winner faces London (1st) away; Lowest-ranked winner faces Newcastle (2nd) away

Losers progress into Week 2 Eliminators: Highest-ranked loser faces lowest-ranked winner of Week 1 Eliminators at home; Lowest-ranked loser faces highest-raked winner of Week 1 Eliminators at home

Oldham (3rd) v Widnes Vikings (5th)
Doncaster (4th) v Barrow Raiders (6th)

Eliminators

Winners progress into Week 2 Eliminators: Highest-ranked winner faces lowest-ranked loser of Week 1 Qualifying semi-finals away; Lowest-ranked winner faces highest-ranked loser of Week 1 Qualifying semi-finals away

Losers are eliminated and season is over

Sheffield Eagles (7th) v Batley Bulldogs (10th)
Midlands Hurricanes (8th) v Whitehaven (9th)