DONCASTER 22 BATLEY BULLDOGS 10
SPENCER ARNOLD, Club Doncaster Sports Village, Friday
DESPITE some moments of brilliance from Batley, it was Doncaster who came out on top and secured this win through pure grit and determination.
The Dons couldn’t have had a worse start, with a rapid break almost instantly from kick-off, followed by efficient passing down to Ollie Greensmith on the wing, gifting him the space to cross over for the visitors’ first try only a minute into proceedings.
Errors for the Dons followed, allowing Batley multiple chances near to their tryline, but thanks to their consistency in defence, all of these moves were broken down before they could concede again.
Then a precise kick by Connor Robinson near the Bulldogs’ tryline bounced its way through a few opposing players’ palms and into the hands of Tom Holmes, who grounded the ball and shifted momentum back to his side as well as, via Robinson’s conversion, the lead.
Now on the front foot, the hosts followed up their last with another strong try, achieved this time by a diving leap over the line from Bureta Faraimo.
Following a dashing break and subsequent offload in front of the tryline, Holmes got his chance to score for a second time and achieved just that.
Robinson’s second conversion gave the Dons a 16-4 advantage going into half-time.
Errors and fumbles soured the opening stages of the second half, with both sides finding themselves in strong and dangerous positions, but turning over possession before they were able to find the tryline.
Then the half began to echo the first, with Batley again opening the scoring, this time through a galloping sprint from Robbie Butterworth, as he danced around the seemingly tired Dons’ defence, and a Ben Reynolds conversion.
That was followed by a sudden shift in the defensive displays from the two opponents. Both sides managed to force their way within inches of each other’s trylines, but instead of errors preventing them from securing a try, it was aggressive and tough defending.
Both sides were consistent in their set completion coming into the latter stages of the half, with turnovers taking place within either team’s own ten-metre line.
And despite an exceedingly close effort from the Bulldogs’ Mitch Beedle that was held up just in front of the tryline, it was Doncaster who took the next slot on the scoresheet, after Edene Gebbie crashed his way through a gap in Batley’s defensive set-up and Robinson added another goal.
More strong, shifting defence was showcased by the hosts as Batley’s Joe Burton was successfully forced into touch before he could cross over.
As the fixture began to wind down, both sides had slower but still almost effective attempts at each other’s lines, but with the momentum shifted fully into Doncaster’s favour, Batley were unable to come up with a moment of brilliance.
GAMESTAR: Connor Robinson dictated every single successful piece of offensive play showcased by Doncaster, whether that was through his precise kicks or his bullet passing, and his ability to conjure up assists helped his side secure the win.
GAMEBREAKER: Doncaster’s first try, scored by Tom Holmes, completely ruined Batley’s momentum and shifted the game in the hosts’ favour.
MATCHFACTS
DONCASTER
18 Edene Gebbie
2 Bureta Faraimo
24 Watson Boas
23 James Glover
26 Mitieli Vulikijapani
7 Connor Robinson
1 Tom Holmes
8 Brad Knowles
9 Greg Burns
10 Suaia Matagi
12 Alex Sutcliffe
22 Luis Johnson
17 Muizz Mustapha
Subs (all used)
11 Sam Smeaton
14 Jacob Jones
16 Pauli Pauli
29 Tom Whitehead
Tries: Holmes (14, 27), Faraimo (18), Gebbie (70)
Goals: Robinson 3/4
BULLDOGS
1 Robbie Butterworth
2 Joe Burton
23 Felix Ellis
20 Jack Hudson
3 Ollie Greensmith
6 Ben Reynolds
7 Josh Woods
– Zach Fishwick
9 Alistair Leak
13 Robson Stevens
11 Dane Manning
15 Nyle Flynn
14 Ben White
Subs (all used)
18 Evan Hodgson
19 Jonah Parsons
21 Luca Atkinson
28 Mitch Beedle
Tries: Greensmith (1), Butterworth (50)
Goals: Reynolds 1/2
SCORING SEQUENCE: 0-4, 6-4, 10-4, 16-4; 16-10, 22-10
Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Doncaster: Connor Robinson; Bulldogs: Robbie Butterworth
Penalty count: 4-4
Half-time: 16-4
Referee: Milo McKelvey
Attendance: 1,212