Championship Talk: Cup of hope or disinterest?

CHAMPIONSHIP TALK

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Cup of hope or disinterest?

TWO Championship coaches expressed radically different views of this season’s 1895 Cup in Monday’s League Express.

The competition - created to give clubs outside Super League a realistic chance of playing at Wembley - was widely welcomed when first announced.

       

But a number of issues, with the most prominent being the scheduling of matches in midweek, and the fact the final will be played after the Challenge Cup final rather than before, have since been raised by key figures.

       

One of this is Halifax coach Simon Grix, who fielded a reserve team in his side’s heavy last 16 defeat to Sheffield Eagles.

       

Grix said: “You’ve got to question it being in midweek.

       

“If anyone thinks clubs are taking it seriously then they should look at ours and Bradford’s results.

       

“It needs a rethink.

       

“I think the original idea where the final would be played before the Challenge Cup, everyone got on board with.

       

“But then the goalposts were moved and it will be played afterwards, plus there’s no money in it for clubs and players are risking their bodies for no reward.

       

“The game against Sheffield cost us as a club - not a lot, but enough because who wants to turn out for what was a borderline Mickey Mouse game?

       

“The old Northern Rail Cup was brilliant, and this could be as well if it’s done properly.

       

“But you can’t have it as part of three games in a week for part-time players.”

       

For others though, the competition remains an attractive proposition this season - with Widnes coach Kieron Purtill being one.

       

Purtill said: “The 1895 Cup is very important to us, particularly this season after what the club has been through.

       

“Having the 12 points taken off us means that realistically this is the only trophy we can win, and it would be a fantastic way to finish the season off and thank the fans that helped save us by giving them a day out at Wembley.

       

“It would be great for the players themselves as well - not many of them have played in big matches on a big stage like that.”

       

Thirty-four Championship (or League One) players will get that opportunity come August, and that is reason along to be positive.

       

But Grix’s concerns are shared by others at this level and it’s clear that the 1895 Cup will need a detailed debrief after its first season in existence.