Widnes Vikings will look to book their place in the semi-final of the 1895 Cup this Sunday as they go head-to-head with Newcastle Thunder at Robin Park Arena (3pm kick-off).
The Vikings come into this fixture in strong form, with six successive wins under their belt, their most recent being last weekend’s 32-6 victory away at Salford.
This Sunday, Allan Coleman’s side will face the tough prospect of a rejuvenated Newcastle Thunder side, who are currently on a three-game winning run in which they have posted 143 points and conceded just 36.
🎟️ Ticket information
Tickets for Sunday’s game are available here.
Robin Park Arena has a capacity of 1,000, and supporters are advised to secure tickets early to avoid disappointment. This will be a TICKET ONLY EVENT, with all tickets needing to be purchased in advance.
📰 Squad news
There are three changes from last weekend’s victory away at Salford.
Max Roberts and Nick Gregson return to the line-up, alongside Liam Bent.
They replace Mike Butt, Jay Chapelhow and Ryan Brown, who returns to Leigh Leopards following the conclusion of his one-week loan.
Our official 2026 squad news partner is Motorpoint Widnes!
🥊 The opposition
Newcastle Thunder have taken full advantage of the Championship merger. After finishing the 2025 League One season at the bottom of the table with no points, Thunder quickly adapted to the anticipated merger by entering into a partnership with newly-promoted Super League outfit York Knights.
Bolstered by a strong foundation of Championship-proven players, Newcastle have gone from strength to strength in their 2026 campaign thus far, currently sitting in second place with nine wins from 12 matches, only being bettered on the points tally and points difference by London Broncos.
Their last outing saw them run out 54-6 winners away at Rochdale Hornets, and only the week before, they emphatically beat Batley with a 52-8 win over the Bulldogs.
Thunder’s form has made them one of the key frontrunners to reach the 1895 Cup final for the first time in their history, and Allan Coleman’s Vikings side will be more than aware of the challenge ahead.
Newcastle Thunder 21-man squad: Bailey Antrobus, Mitch Clark, Sam Cook, Andy Djeukessi, Jude Ferreira, Myles Harrison, Tom Inman, Ryan Jackson, Joe Law, Jordan Lipp, Taylor Pemberton, Harvey Reynolds, Brenden Santi, Jack Smith, Ukuma Ta’ai, Brad Ward, Noah Whittingham, Nikau Williams.
⏪ Record against Newcastle
Sunday’s match will be just the 12th time the two sides have met in a competitive fixture, with the first coming in March 2001, when the opponents were operating as Gateshead Thunder, as the Vikings ran out victorious in a 30-18 win.
The Vikings first met Thunder six years after adopting Newcastle as their new name in 2015, as both sides played out an entertaining 30-30 draw in front of a crowdless Kingston Park for the 2021 Betfred Championship opener.
Their return to the north-east in April 2022 saw them leave empty-handed, as Thunder claimed a 12-6 win, but since then, the Vikings have had the upper hand on the last three occasions, which included a 50-6 victory on the road at Newcastle in their most recent clash.
Last five meetings:
- Newcastle Thunder 30-30 Widnes (Championship R1, 4/4/21)
- Newcastle Thunder 12-6 Widnes (Championship R7, 4/4/22)
- Widnes 33-26 Newcastle Thunder (Championship R19, 17/7/22)
- Widnes 24-16 Newcastle Thunder (Championship R7, 26/3/23)
- Newcastle Thunder 6-50 Widnes (Championship R21, 5/8/23)
🗣️ Tom Gilmore previews quarter-final clash
Hear from Vikings half-back Tom Gilmore ahead of Sunday’s 1895 Cup quarter-final match against Newcastle Thunder.
🏉 Officials
The referee for this fixture is Matthew Lynn.
📲 Follow the game with the Vikings
Are you not going to be with us? You can keep updated with the Vikings’ official club coverage!
Vikings fans will be able to get full updates through our match coverage on our official X account – your hub to find out all the key news, including matchday line-ups, live game updates and post-game coverage.
