Murrayfield Magic is over and the focus now shifts to the fifth round of the Carnegie Challenge Cup with eight intriguing ties. Televised ties are Wakefield v Wigan (Saturday, 2:30pm) and St Helens v Catalans (Sunday, 3:15pm).

The giant-killing of the tie could, however, come at The Jungle where Championship leaders and 100% win record holders Halifax face Castleford. The Tigers are currently going through an indifferent spell and Dave Larder stoked the pre-match fire by sending a warning which should provoke Terry Matterson's men into a performance and make for an entertaining clash on Saturday night.

Gateshead Thunder take their clash against Oldham to Darlington's Northern Echo Arena stadium as they bid to reach the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time in their history. It will also be a first chance to see new coach Steve McCormack take control of the North-East club, after the former Widnes and Whitehaven man was appointed earlier this week.

The other four clashes see Super League opposition take on National League opposition. Warrington travel to Featherstone, Huddersfield host Rochdale, Salford will face Batley at Mount Pleasant and Sheffield Eagles will be hoping for a repeat of 1998 when they travel to Craven Park to face in-form Hull KR.

In other Super League news, Hull FC finally received news of Michael Crocker's visa application, with the result being that the Australian had been refused entry and thus all contracts had been torn up.

City rivals Hull KR and Harlequins received better news however, as they were buoyed by the news that Peter Fox and Chris Melling have signed new deals.

Fox signed a new three-year deal while Melling has signed a new deal that means he stays in the capital for a further two years.

Meanwhile, 65 players swapped the green field for the green table in a poker competition on Tuesday night with the ultimate aim of winning £4,000. Ryan Atkins of the Wakefield Wildcats was the eventual winner scooping the prize, with Kevin Brown and Ryan Hall runners-up, respectively.

Atkins said: "The competition went terrifically well and was such a great night that I am hoping to repeat it at the end of the season."

Wakefield have also given John Kear a welcome transfer kitty of upto £100,000 by announcing they are offering fans a chance to buy shares. Each share costs a £1 and the minimum buy is 100 shares. 

The Championship saw Whitehaven create rugby league history by signing Serbian Soni Radovanovic, the first of his countrymen to ever appear in English competitions. 

Kyle Briggs also left cash-strapped Doncaster for Featherstone. Doncaster coach Tony Miller said:  "It is a blow to be fair; I didn't want him to go. But we've got to balance the books in today's harsh financial climate."

Finally, in the NRL Cronulla's ambitious plans to move to Central Coast for five home games has been rebuffed by the league's bosses. The NRL said the club's plan was not justified and therefore declined to pursue the idea.