Championship Talk: Battling Bulldogs enjoy Easter

CHAMPIONSHIP TALK

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Battling Bulldogs enjoy Easter

WHEN Wayne Reittie was sent off half an hour into Batley’s Good Friday clash with local rivals Dewsbury, it wasn’t shaping up to be a particularly productive Easter weekend for the Bulldogs.

Moments later Michael Ward was sin binned to leave Matt Diskin’s side down to 11 men.

When Daniel Igbinedon touched down for the Rams to give them an 8-0 lead, Batley’s frustrating start to the Betfred Championship campaign looked certain to continue.

But after Alistair Leak dragged the Bulldogs back into the game just before the break despite still being two men down, Matt Diskin’s side scored 14 unanswered second half points to secure a memorable 20-8 win.

Four days later they backed that up with a gritty 32-18 victory over a Swinton side that had enjoyed their own Good Friday derby win against Rochdale, Sam Wood and Louis Jouffret scoring doubles.

After their stirring home victory over in-form Widnes, it made it three league wins in a row for the Bulldogs.

In between those was a disappointing Challenge Cup exit at Doncaster that hinted their early inconsistency was still an issue.

But Diskin will now be focusing on the positives of those three straight Championship wins, which pulls them clear of the relegation scrap developing below them.

In fact, Batley are now as close to the top five as they are to the bottom two, and Diskin will be hopeful that they can continue to look up rather than down for the remainder of the campaign.

The Bulldogs boss was, by his own admission, disappointed by his side’s start to the season, which saw them win just one of their opening eight matches despite some impressive recruitment.

       

But those two Easter wins in the space of four days could help to shape their 2019 fortunes.

There’s no lack of talent in the Batley side.

Halfbacks Dominic Brambani and Jouffret offer a mix of creativity and attacking danger than can threaten any defence in the competition, and Reittie, Johnny Campbell and Dave Scott are a potent back three on their day.

Leak is among the Championship’s most underrated players, and there’s no lack of size in the pack, where James Brown and Dane Manning are among several experienced players.

This weekend their new-found form will be severely tested at home to a Leigh Centurions team that is four points and three places above them in the table.

But if Batley are serious about pushing up rather than looking over their shoulders, then these are the kind of matches they will be targeting for wins.