HUNSLET Rugby League club will entertain either Doncaster or Oldham on Sunday 10 September in the first Betfred League 1 Promotion Play-off Qualifying semi-final.
The match will kick off at 6.00pm because of existing bookings at the Parksiders’ South Leeds Stadium base, which is owned by Leeds City Council. The winners will go straight through to the Grand Final on Sunday 24 September.
Hunslet are in the semi-final, with home advantage, having finished second in the table despite Sunday’s 18-6 reverse at Workington Town in their last regular league game of the campaign. Doncaster – the only side that could have overhauled them – beat champions Dewsbury Rams 36-26 but needed to prevail by nearly 50 points to have snatched second spot; the Dons will now host Oldham next Sunday, with the winners travelling to Hunslet on 10 September.
The sides that closed from second to sixth (Workington and North Wales Crusaders are the other two) in the table are competing for a place in the Grand Final to establish who will join Dewsbury in the Betfred Championship in 2024.
Hunslet, if they lose on 10 September, will have a second bite of the cherry as the second-placed side; in that event the Parksiders will entertain the winners of the second qualifying semi-final, on Sunday 17 September.
CEO Neil Hampshire, who has explored every possible avenue regarding the scheduling of the Qualifying semi-final, said: “Because of circumstances beyond our control, we will need to change kick off times for some of our potential play-off dates. The club has worked hard with Leeds City Council to reach this solution and we thank our supporters and everyone else involved in advance for their understanding in this matter.”
