BWhcSL: Round 11 Preview

Round 11 of the Betfred Wheelchair Super League gets underway this weekend with a battle between London Roosters and Bradford Bulls to open the weekend (KO 12:30pm).

The Bulls earned their first win in the competition last week with an emphatic victory over Sheffield Eagles.

This weekend, they’ll aim to build on that confidence and give the Roosters a tough contest:

“It's the boost we needed, we're all on a high,” said Sarah Walker, a member of the Bulls’ staff.

“Sheffield had a few players missing because they were on international duty at the England camp.

“We wanted to play it in the right manner because we knew that they had quite a few first teamers missing, but I think it did the team’s wellbeing good.

“It was just brilliant to get over that line because obviously it's our first one of the season, it was just a really good day.”

The Bulls’ first season in the top-flight has been a milestone in their growth as a Super League side:

“We've just started developing as a team, other teams have been together for quite a long time,” added Walker.

“When you look at Halifax, London, Leeds, their players have been playing together for over 10 years, whereas most of our squad is from the last three to five years so it's still a relatively new squad and quite a young squad as well. 

“We didn't expect to go into the Super League and win every game. This year is more about building. and getting experience playing other teams.

“They've been really respectful towards us and we've learnt from them as well, the teams that we have played have given us useful feedback.

“On paper it doesn’t look great, but actually, in the camp we’ve had a really good team bond that we knew we were going into the Super League to build and strengthen this year.”

This weekend, Bradford face last year’s finalists, the Roosters, aiming to build on their Round 3 meeting:

“We're excited, we see it as a bit of a team outing. It's a really nice team bonding exercise and we are quite a family team.

“We'll be up against the England players, so our players see it as an opportunity to kind of gain some feedback.

“Joe Coyd will come over and he quite often gives us some feedback for the younger players of the team, it's really nice. It's a supportive community.”

Elsewhere, Leeds Rhinos take on the Eagles (KO 2:30pm), with Leeds looking to maintain momentum while Sheffield aim to respond after last weekend’s defeat.

The sides last met in Round 7, when the Eagles produced a strong display and scored 32 points against the Rhinos.

However, Leeds ultimately proved too strong and will be targeting a repeat result this weekend.

Wigan Warriors then take on Hull FC (KO 3pm) in a fixture that could prove important as both sides look to strengthen their position in the competition standings.

The teams met just two weeks ago, with the Warriors shutting down FC - a result the visitors will be determined to improve on this weekend.

The weekend concludes with Halifax Panthers hosting Edinburgh Giants (KO 3pm), bringing Round 11 to a close with another competitive contest.

After suffering their first defeat of the season against the Warriors last weekend, the Panthers will be eager to return to winning ways.

Betfred Wheelchair Super League – Round 11 Fixtures:

Saturday 8th August

London Roosters v Bradford Bulls – KO 12:30pm

Leeds Rhinos v Sheffield Eagles – KO 2:30pm

Wigan Warriors v Hull FC – KO 3pm

Halifax Panthers v Edinburgh Giants – KO 3pm