Championship club tie down long-serving hooker to new deal

One of the Championship’s longest-serving players has signed a new deal, and it will take him into a fourteenth straight season at the same club.

Batley Bulldogs had a poor 2025 season, as they finished 12th out of 13 teams, with only promoted side Hunslet ending the year below them.

Bringing in the experienced John Kear in July wasn’t enough to change their fortunes, and under the 70-year-old, they managed just one win in the second half of the season.

Next year, they will be led by former Featherstone Rovers and York Knights boss, James Ford, someone who knows what it’s like to compete at the top of the second tier, and he will hope he can use his experience to bring Batley back to a playoff-chasing side. The Bulldogs reached the Championship Grand Final in 2022, but it has been a downhill slope since that defeat to the Leigh Leopards.

One man who will be sticking around at the club, though, is Alistair Leak. The 33-year-old hooker has agreed a new deal at the club that will keep him there until the end of 2026.

Leak will be entering his 14th straight season as a Bulldogs, having made his debut in 2013. The 33-year-old has made 266 appearances for the club, including that 2022 Grand Final as well as the 1895 Cup Final in 2023, where they were narrowly beaten by Halifax Panthers.

The hooker is also expected to be named as club captain. The retiring James Brown had been Batley’s long-serving leader, but on the occasions he didn’t take to the field this season, Leak has been given the role, and that is something he is expected to take on more permanently next year.

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We are pleased to announce that long-serving hooker Alistair Leak has signed a contract extension, ensuring he remains with the club until the end of the 2026 season.#BULLDOGS pic.twitter.com/EjrNgY8vRQ

— Batley Bulldogs RLFC (@BatleyRLFC) October 20, 2025