Will They Bite Back?! Batley Bulldogs 2019 Season Review

As the Championship grows more competitive on each other, the more bleak Batley’s Play-off hopes are somewhat as they slid even further down the table in 2019.

A part-time club, Matt Diskin has had limited resources at his disposal and though his side slipped to 10^th this season, still kept them afloat for at least another year in the Championship so credit where it is due.

Always a big ask for him to keep them as successful as John Kear’s final year with them in 2016 but Diskin, possessing plenty of top level experience himself, has worked well with his players, still giving the supporters some entertainment.

Will things improve for this heartland club?! Until 2020, check out how Batley fared.

 

Best Result: Rochdale Hornets 26-50 Batley Bulldogs

A rather obvious choice yet some may argue that their best result was their thrashing of Rochdale Hornets back in August.

They started as favourites against the competition’s bottom club, but scoring 50 points on the road for a part-time club is certainly something to savour.

Rochdale started quite well with first half tries from Kyle Shelford, Daley Williams and Lewis Sheridan.

But Batley matched that with Louis Jouffret, Wayne Reittie and Paul Brearley all notching scores in the first period.

Though Izaac Farrell and Dan Abram scored in the second half for the hosts, it was the Bulldogs who ran riot.

Jouffret added a second, Reittie completing his hat-trick, Jack Broadbent adding a brace and James Brown being the last of their scorers on a memorable afternoon for Diskin’s side.

 

Worst Result: Batley Bulldogs 0-64 Featherstone Rovers

An afternoon that was not so memorable has to be their 64-0 home drubbing sustained by Grand Finalists Featherstone Rovers.

‘Fev’ are only 80 minutes from the Betfred Super League of course, enjoying an unbelievable run in the play-offs, but despite such form, does this excuse such a heavy home defeat for Batley?!

Not only were they thrashed but also blanked by a rampant and ruthless Featherstone side.

Dane Chisholm was their man of the moment, scoring a hat-trick of tries and slotting over ten goals.

 

Main man: Louis Jouffret

If one had to be chosen, it had to be Louis Jouffret.

The 24-year-old arrived from the Catalan Dragons for the 2019 season and, personally, enjoyed a rather strong one, scoring up to 12 tries and slotting over nearly 30 goals in all competitions.

His achievements have seen him attract the attentions of Featherstone, which his is destination for next season.

Despite only serving a year with Batley, he has demonstrated that he has the capability of top flight rugby and could return there one day, perhaps sooner rather than later.

 

Predicted 9^th – finished 10^th

Not much of a surprise that they would miss out on the Play-offs rather comfortably.

No disrespect either, other clubs around them have had the opportunity to spend heavily and as a result, has helped them climb above the Bulldogs.

Though Batley have been a bit cash-strapped and lacked the depth to sign higher quality players, they still performed well enough to ensure survival in the second division so well done to them for that!

But the long run may see them struggle as it has done for numerous clubs in previous seasons.

As per their recruitment, though they have more players coming and going for next season, though this could see a difficult transitional period, it could also benefit them in more ways than one.

Perhaps Batley need ‘new blood’ in their ranks and should Diskin get the best out of them, they could return as genuine Play-off contenders and make arguably the sport’s most competitive division even more exciting!