In weeks to come we may look back on Round Nineteen of the Kingstone Press Championship as a decisive one in determining the top four spots, and the coveted places in the middle eights.

Sheffield and Featherstone met on Friday night while the remainder of games were held on Sunday afternoon. The games of the day looked like they would be third placed Bradford against fourth placed Halifax, league leaders Leigh away to London, and Dewsbury at Batley.

Elsewhere, Oldham took on Whitehaven, and Workington hosted Swinton.

Sheffield Eagles put a big dent in Featherstone's top four hopes with a comprehensive victory on Friday night. First half tries from Aston, Carlile, Blackmore and Lo established a 20-0 before Cording pinched one back just before the break. Duckworth narrowed the Sheffield lead to 20-10 after fifty-two but second half tries from Yere, Blackmore and Minchella, the last converted, and a Knowles drop goal gave a final score of 35-10 to the Eagles.

The result of ten day on Sunday was a stunning win for Halifax over fellow hopefuls Bradford which lifted 'Fax to fourth and pushed the Bulls out of the middle eights positions. Moss had given the Bulls the lead early on but tries from Tangata and Murrell put the visitors into a 12-6 half time lead. Saltonstall made it 16-6 before Heggarty reduced the arrears to just four points. Fairbanks and Barber pushed Halifax to an unassailable 32-12 lead with four minutes to go before Welham and Ryan gave Bradford some late respectability in a final scoreline of 32-24.

Bradford loss opened the door for Batley who came from behind against Dewsbury to jump into fourth spot in the Championship with a close 18-16 win. Crookes and Kain had the Rams 10-0 ahead after just nine minutes but Brown and Ulugia both scored within a three minute spell around the twenty minute mark, Bertherton adding a third on the half-hour for 16-10 at the interval. A Guzdek try on forty-two and a fifty-fourth minute Sykes penalty levelled the scores but a minute later Walker kicked a penalty to edge the Bulldogs into a two point lead which they held until the final hooter.

Leigh Centurions guaranteed their place in the top four with a comprehensive 38-12 victory over their nearest competition, the London Broncos. It was 28-0 at the break thanks to tries from Drinkwater, Paterson (2), Worthington and Kay and four conversions by Smith. Higson added another after the break before Ioane and Pewhairangi saved some face reducing the arrears to 12-32. Worthington got his second on seventy for Leigh and Smith added a penalty in the dying seconds for a big win to put the Centurions five points clear at the top.

Workington and Swinton fought out a 10-10 draw after a 6-6 first half saw tries from Doran and Marshall. Sammut added two second half penalties for Workington for 10-6 but a late Marshall try sealed the draw.

Fellow Cumbrians Whitehaven lost to Oldham despite a great start through tries from Fox and Duffy in the opening seven minutes giving them a 12-0 lead. Chisolm, Langtree (2), and Gill all scored before half time for 20-12 at the interval. Joy extended the lead to 26-12 and all that a Parker try on seventy-six did was give some respectability in a 26-18 scoreline.