THE Bulls are set to begin their Championship campaign at the end of February.

Clubs from the second and third tiers held a virtual meeting to confirm the preferred structure of the 2021 season.

The intention is to kick off on the weekend of February 27 and 28 – the first time that John Kear’s side will have played since their Challenge Cup clash at Wakefield in March.

There will be a 26-game programme leading to a six-team play-off and the million-pound game in October.

The table will be determined on a points percentage system – as with the Super League this year – because of the likely impact from COVID. Fixtures are due to come out in the middle of next month.

Games played behind closed doors will be streamed live on the RFL’s Our League platforms on a pay-per-view basis.

Home season-ticket holders will be given free access to the stream packages for league games.

The opening Championship fixtures will be followed by the opening two rounds of the Challenge Cup on the first two weekends of March.

The Bulls will be one of the Championship clubs to join in at the second stage. Toulouse will not be involved.

The eight winners will contest four third-round ties two weeks later to join the 12 Super League clubs in the last 16 in April.

The four teams who get that far will also qualify for the semi-finals of the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup, which are scheduled to take place on the same weekend as the same stage of the Challenge Cup in June.

The 1895 Cup final will also share Wembley on Challenge Cup day on Saturday, July 17.