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The first game of the Betfred Championship for Batley Bulldogs and Halifax Panthers finally arrived on a bitterly cold January afternoon in West Yorkshire.
Every dog has their day and today’s was the Batley Bulldogs’ day as they got their season started in spectacular fashion with a 30-18 victory against the Halifax Panthers.
This game was definitely a game of two halves as the first half belonged to the Panthers as they drew first blood with a big hit on a Batley player giving them possession. Quickplay from Lachlan Walmsley got Adam Tangata in a perfect position to burrow his way over from dummy half.
Halifax gained traction with possession following a barrage of penalties that helped piggyback them down the pitch and gained two further tries in the first half.
Their second try came from Brandon Moore on the back of penalty with a textbook scoot out of acting half for the captain.
The 24-minute mark saw the Panthers go over the line again. Louis Jouffret with a pinpoint accurate grubber kick sent Joe Arundel over the whitewash putting Halifax in a strong position at 16-0.
Batley’s only try in the first half came seemingly out of nothing. A looping pass to the left edge from George Senior seemed to be heading into touch but Johnny Campbell managed to pluck the ball from the air and crash over in the corner, despite heavy attention from Jouffret.
The visitors went in at half-time with a 10-point lead, leaving the Bulldogs with some work to do in the second half.
The hosts’ ground is notorious for its sloping pitch and it was the Bulldogs that would take the downhill advantage as the second half began.
It took just two minutes for the home team to get over the try line again, but Johnny Campbell’s second try was chalked off for a double movement. This disappointment was short-lived as just two minutes later Tom Gilmore kicked through the defensive line to Luke Hooley. The full-back still had work to do as he kicked it on further and followed it through for the try.
Both teams were the victims of their own undoing as penalties and errors were in abundance. Batley were the first team to go down to 12 men following a swinging arm on Titus Gwaze saw James Brown being shown a yellow, but the Panthers were unable to take advantage of this as they struggled to get forward.
Joe Martin was the next player to see a yellow card taking a Batley player off the ball. The hosts were quick to capitalise on this, and following a quick succession of passes, Perry Whitley was sent in to score a try on debut with Gilmore adding the extras taking the game to 18-18.
Less than 10 minutes later, Joe Keyes was sin-binned following a high shot on Batley’s Josh Hodson, putting Halifax down to 11 men.
Batley’s onslaught continued as they capitalised on gaps in the Panthers defence with Michael Ward bulldozing his way over the line and Gilmore adding the two points, giving Batley the lead for the first time in the game.
The momentum built for the home side as they seemingly picked apart Halifax’s defence. James Brown opened up a gap with a dummy and a perfect inside ball finding Alistair Leak sending him over the line for Batley’s last try. Gilmore’s successful goal put the final nail in the Panthers coffin as the score ended 30-18 in the hosts’ favour.
A good day at the office for Craig Lingard and the Batley squad setting the tone for the rest of the season.