Which Division 4 team will reach JFT Semis?
- Veterans League
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
Veterans League
Preview of the Julie Fuller Trophy quarter-finals to be played tomorrow
There will be one Division 4 team in the Semi-Finals of the 2026 Julie Fuller Trophy as the two remaining bottom-division rivals face up to each other in Thursday's Quarter--Finals. New Mill B and Holmfirth B go head-to-head to hit a level last seen in 2021 when Slaithwaite went on to reach the Final and take the trophy as well as winning the bottom division (then Division 3) title. It is only two years since the New Mill A team (then in Division 2) beat Waterloo in the Final of this competition and their B team, only in the second year in the League, would love to emulate their A team's success. Holmfirth B stand in their way at present and this Cup run will renew their hopes of joining the promotion chase and recover from last season's relegation from Division 3.
Having just mentioned Slaithwaite's 2024 winning achievement to add that they also reached the Semi-Finals last year. The New Mill A team stand in their way of moving into contention again this year. Both teams are having good seasons with both only losing one of their five League fixtures to date so setting up a great looking tie. The team that all the teams will have to get past to collect this honour, and the competition favourites are Clayton West. They play off scratch and head the Division 1 table and the next team up to face them are the Division 2 mid-table hopefuls from Almondbury Lib. The meeting of two Division 1 strugglers completes the Thursday line-up with Thongsbridge A and Lindley Lib A and both have +3 handicaps. This offers some respite for both teams from their relegation worries with both sitting in the bottom three places in Division 1 at present.