Bradford Bulls and Batley Bulldogs clash in play-off eliminator as they battle for Super League promotion

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Bradford Bulls will be hoping to progress to the next round of the play-offs as they face Batley Bulldogs on Saturday.

John Kear’s side come into the fixture off the back of three defeats and have only won twice in their last five games.

The Bulls missed out on the chance to go third in the play-offs after losing out to Whitehaven 36-22 last weekend.

Kear will be hoping for big performances from key first-teamers Ant Walker, Jordan Lilley, Thomas Doyle and Brad England, who all recently swept up awards at the 2021 Player of the Year awards.

He will also be looking for a contribution from Ebon Scurr who has recently received a nomination for the Betfred Championship Young Player of the Year.

The Bulls have been involved in play-offs very recently in their history, they beat Workington Town 27-8 in the League One play-offs in 2018 to gain promotion to the Championship.

Before the League One triumph, the last time Bradford were in the play-offs was in the Super League back in 2008 where the Bulls lost 30-14 to the Wigan Warriors.

The hosts, Batley Bulldogs have been in average form, with two defeats and three wins in the last five, sealing their place in this year’s play-offs.

This is the first time since 2013 that Batley have been in the play-offs. The 2013 push for promotion ended in the final against the Sheffield Eagles.

Prior to the 2013 loss, Batley had back-to-back play-off finishes but lost in the elimination final to the Halifax Panthers in 2011 and the Eagles in 2012.

Head-to-Head

In past fixtures between the sides, Batley haven’t beaten the Bulls in the last three meetings.

The last win against the Bulls for Batley came in 2017 which was the season the Bulls were relegated to League One. A season you could say Bradford were not firing as they seem to have been in 2021 to make the play-offs.

In 2021 though, it was a comfortable win for Bradford who beat the Bulldogs 30-16. Tries from Doyle, Joe Brown, Joe Burton, England and Rhys Evans helped the Bulls to victory on that day. 

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