Dewsbury Rams to put ‘a lot of effort into 1895 Cup’ as Wembley dream starts with trip to Keighley Cougars

The new-look format for the competition, which presents a realistic opportunity for Championship and League 1 sides to play at Wembley on Challenge Cup Final day, sees seven groups of three with the group winners and best second-placed side qualifying for the quarter finals.

The Rams and the Cougars have been drawn in group 2 along with Bradford Bulls, and Chapman admitted he wants to see his side do well in the competition, especially after local rivals Batley Bulldogs’ heroics last season.

Chapman said: “I’d be lying if I said we hadn’t spoken to Fergie (Dale Ferguson, head coach) about it (doing well in the competition). Depending on how the fixtures fall and who you draw in the next round after this initial table structure, there is a possibility.

“Ultimately, we don’t want to throw all of our eggs into one basket but we could effectively draw someone who we think we would be in a position to beat in the next round, but you can never tell.

“We will certainly be putting a lot of effort into the 1895 Cup as opposed to the Challenge Cup because, let’s be honest, once you start drawing Super League teams, we are not naive enough to suggest we can get to the Challenge Cup final.

“It will be nice to see how far we could get but the 1895 Cup is second on our priority list after making sure we have a good start in the Championship.”

Dewsbury and Keighley exchanged places in the rugby league pyramid at the end of 2023 with the Rams clinching the League 1 title and the Cougars being relegated from the Championship.

But Chapman insisted they will pose a challenge. He said: “There are probably about five or six teams that are knocking about in League 1 that have got the potential to be a Championship side. You look at Keighley and Oldham, and Midlands have recruited really well.

“Keighley are going to be knocking on the door, similar to what we did last year. They are going to be physical and they have got some well-seasoned individuals in the team.

“It is a tough place to go is Keighley and they will probably have a point to prove as they were in the Championship and we were in League 1. They will probably see it as a level pegging system.

“But it is the start of our season. We will prepare the boys and it will be a physical game in the middles.”