YORK Valkyrie will begin their Betfred Women’s Challenge Cup campaign with a trip to competition debutants Sheffield Eagles on March 17 (2pm).

Owing to Castleford Tigers’ withdrawal from the competition, Lindsay Anfield’s side have been handed a bye for the second round of group-stage fixtures, before they will welcome newly-promoted Featherstone Rovers to the LNER Community Stadium on April 7 (12pm) in their final group-stage match.

The top two teams from the group will progress to the Quarter Finals, in which they will face off against each other in a bid to reach the Semi Finals on the weekend of April 13-14.

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York will be hoping to go one better than last term, in which they sailed through to the Semi Finals before Faye Gaskin’s last-gasp drop-goal saw them defeated 17-16 by eventual winners St Helens.

The Final will again be held at Wembley Stadium in a triple-header with the Men's Challenge Cup Final and AB Sundecks 1895 Cup Final on June 8.

Meanwhile, the Valkyrie will begin their Betfred Women’s Super League title defence at home to Saints on April 21 (12pm) in what will be the first double header of the season, with York Knights hosting Bradford Bulls later that afternoon.