Match report by Luke Winner.
It was a strong first half for the hosts, who made sure that Batley knew they were in their territory. In the opening minutes Shaun Grady went over following through from a penalty after the Bulldogs were deemed offside. Will Sharp also added more to their tally on the scoresheet after collecting a swooping pass from Woodburn hall to finish in the corner. Tyrer converted one out of the two.
Tom Hemmingway who made his re-apperance for Batley due to missing the last few games from injury, caused a ruckus amongst the Halifax line gaining a well-earned goal line drop out after pinning the kick in the in-goal area and with a chase to follow it up. James Brown soon crashed his way over from close range as the tension eventually burst with Diskin’s men scoring for the first time in the game. Dave Scott slotted over the conversion.
Before half-time was called, Chester Butler had broken down the Batley defence catching Brandon Moore on support on the right wing and James Woodburn-hall also going over on the left-hand side. Tyrer put over both conversions as half-time beckoned.
Halifax 20 – 6 Batley Bulldogs
The second half didn’t get any better for a struggling Bulldogs team, seeing Halifax take full control of the game at certain moments. Brandon Moore started the game off with a bang, sweeping up a Saltonstall chip to score. Tyrer converted.
Batley’s hard efforts from forcing pressure did show in the end though as Adam Gledhill had stormed his way through a deposited opposition line after taking in the ball feed from Reiss Butterworth. Dave Scott once again converted.
James Saltonstall and Ed Butler quietened the Batley attempts racing over, deepening the score line even more. Adam Tangata almost had looked to gained a try for himself after weaving through two defenders, however offloaded on the last to Ben Johnston. Tyrer converted all three.
Elliot Morris finished off what had been a hard game at the MBI Shay Stadium, catching a fiery pass by Ed Barber. Tyrer put over the conversion, ending a miserable day for the Bulldogs.
FULL-TIME: Halifax 50 – 12 Batley Bulldogs
Attendance – 1,561
Halifax Xlll – James Woodburn=hall, James Saltonstall, Steve Tyrer, Ben Heaton, Will Sharp, Scott Murrell, Ben Johnston, Dan Fleming, Ben Kaye, Jacob Fairbank, Chester Butler, Shane Grady and Simon Grix.
Interchange – Elliot Morris, Brandon Moore, Adan Tangata and Ed Barber.
Batley Xlll – Keenen Tomlinson, Sam Smeaton, Alex Bretherton, Lewis Galbraith, Jason Crookes, David Scott, James Davey, Adam Gledhill, Thomas Hemingway, Michael Ward, Dane Manning, Joel Farrell and Bradley Day.
Interchange – James Harrison, Alex Rowe, James Brown and Reiss Butterworth.