Looking to follow up their 96-0 2nd round win over West Wales Raiders, the Swinton Lions face the North Wales Crusaders in a bid to extend their Betfred cup run as a potential fourth round TV fixture looms.
The Lions were drawn to face the Colwyn bay side after the remarkable win over the Welsh side, in the clubs highest ever winning margin, and equals the highest ever score by a Swinton team.
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Infographic designed by Matt Kerr.
CEO of Swinton Lions RLFC, Steve Wild, spoke to me about the clubs challenge cup hopes, and the prospect of playing on TV again:
Wild said: “We’ll go into it with a lot of confidence, because we feel we’re a good side and hopefully progress to the next round.
“There’s clearly opportunity there to progress through the next two rounds”
However Wild doesn’t feel the cup is a massive priority, and believes they can use it as a good way to get match fit for the start of the new season, in which they are striving for promotion back to the Super League Championship.
When asked about the prospect of being on the TV, Wild said: “We were on the BBC when we played Oldham in the challenge cup last year.
“It’s always nice to get the name of the club out there, it’s good for the clubs profile and a bit of publicity wont do us any harm.”
With the fourth round also being drawn, the clubs know that a win will mean a clash with either Hunslet RLFC or Siddal, whos clash will be shown live on BBC Sport.
Infographic created by Matt Kerr.
This then gives potential for the Lions to be shown live on TV, whether it be on the BBC, OurLeague or The Sportsman YouTube channel, increasing external exposure for the club.
As well as exposure, a TV fixture would also see an added financial incentive for the club with the prospect of added TV games later in the competition should they progress, as well as the semi-finals of the cup being played at Elland Road, and the final of the cup being played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Although a stretch, games in either of these stadiums would be a dream for the club, with high attendances and TV rights drawing huge income for the clubs.
However, the sixth round of the cup introduces Super League sides such as Salford Red Devils, Wigan Warriors and current champions St Helens.
The Lions will be looking to go further than they did last season in this cup, losing in the third round to Warrington Wolves, just missing out on a quarter-finals place, however there are two more rounds in this seasons competition for them to overcome.
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