YORK Knights will host Halifax Panthers in the first round of the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup.

Halifax will now travel to the LNER Community Stadium on consecutive weekends, with the sides' 1895 Cup tie scheduled for the weekend of March 1-2, and their Championship clash taking place on March 9.

It is a competition that Mark Applegarth’s side will again have high hopes in, having narrowly missed out on a trip to Wembley after defeat in their semi-final against Sheffield Eagles last year.

The Knights though have a strong home record against the Panthers, and won 40-18 in the sides’ last meeting at the LNER Community Stadium last May.

The draw for the competition, which again has a new format in 2025, was conducted during the Championship and League One season launch at Oldham’s Boundary Park this morning.

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Last year’s competition saw teams drawn into seven regionalised groups of three, with the group winners progressing alongside York, the second-placed team with the best record.

However, this time around, the League One clubs will play two preliminary rounds, with the winners of the four second preliminary round ties joining 12 Championship teams in the first-round proper.

Preliminary round ties will be played across the weekends of February 1-2 and 15-16, with the first round proper on the weekend of March 1-2.

The 1895 Cup final will once again be held in conjunction with both the Men’s and Women’s Challenge Cup final at Wembley on June 7.