Batley Bulldogs grab dramatic late winner at London Broncos

LONDON BRONCOS 14 BATLEY BULLDOGS 16
JACK WHITTAKER, Cherry Red Records Stadium, Saturday

ALFIE DEAN scored a try at the death for Batley on his first Championship appearance to snatch victory from London.

A 40-metre Chris Hellec penalty looked to have won it for the Broncos, an outcome that would have been well-deserved for an industrious second-half display.

But Batley regrouped to muster one last attack and worked the ball out to winger Dean on the left-hand side, who was unobstructed as he dashed through to seize the points.

This was only their second league win of an injury-ravaged season to date, with the returns of James Brown and Luke Blake important factors alongside their defensive organisation.

The Bulldogs were fast out of the blocks and scored inside five minutes. They burst through down the right with extra space as Sadiq Adebiyi lay flat on the turf after a strong tackle, and by the time the Broncos backline scrambled back into formation the ball was routinely worked out to Jack Render, providing the overload for the first try of the game, converted by Josh Woods.

London began to grow into the game but only found a response on the stroke of half-time. Adebiyi provided a burst of pace, stepping through several startled Batley players to push Broncos into the ten, before the ball was worked out to the right and handed off to captain Will Lovell who raced in.

Hellec converted from close range to level the half-time score at 6-6.

Buoyed by the end of the first half, Broncos gained the ascendency going into the second. The dancing feet of Luke Polselli and bullish charges from Lewis Bienek helped them move through the field and it was the latter who put London in front.

After a couple of chances went awry when the ball was held up going over the try-line, Bienek got the job done, first bumping a couple of challenges to get Broncos into the ten before receiving the ball in a later phase to do the same again. This time he managed to ground and Hellec converted to put Broncos up 12-6.

Batley had offered next to nothing on an attacking front, and had barely ventured into the Broncos half in the second period, however as was the nature of this game they picked their moment, responding almost immediately after falling behind.

Woods, slick with his hand-offs all afternoon, this time opted for the dummy. The Broncos backline was caught off guard and couldn’t stop him stumbling over the line, and he also converted from the tee to level it up at 12-12.

Chances to edge in front came and went for both sides. London accepted a penalty from 20 yards out after a high tackle on Alex Walker by Woods, but the kick was shanked well wide by Hellec, while Woods went for a field-goal at the other end only for a sloppy pass and immediate pressure to force him to kick with his weaker foot and the effort rebounded off the post.

A high tackle on Polselli gave Hellec a second chance to kick for the lead, and he was successful from 20 yards further back than the kick he’d previously missed.

The celebrations were that of a job well done, but a lapse in concentration led to a successful short kick-off from Batley, who stole the victory with a try similar to their first of the game.

This time it was the other winger, Dean, who arrived on the outside to score before the final whistle.

GAMESTAR: Josh Woods’ slick offloads kept Batley’s forward line ticking, contributing with a try of his own, and playing a key role in the winner from a kick-off.

GAMEBREAKER: Alfie Dean’s try in the dying seconds cut the Broncos’ party short and stole the points for the visitors.

MATCHFACTS
BRONCOS
1 Alex Walker
2 Chris Hellec
21 Chris Ball
20 Aaron Small
5 Liam Tindall
6 Luke Polselli
28 Jenson Binks
18 Ben Hursey-Hord
9 Curtis Davies
10 Lewis Bienek
11 Will Lovell
12 Sadiq Adebiyi
13 Marcus Stock
Subs (all used)
17 Jensen Monk
8 Huw Worthington
22 Matt Ross
23 Sam Winney

Tries: Lovell (38), Bienek (53)
Goals: Hellec 3/4

BULLDOGS
1 Robbie Butterworth
19 Jack Render
28 Jayden Myers
2 Joe Burton
26 Alfie Dean
6 Ben White
7 Josh Woods
8 Adam Gledhill
23 Jonah Parsons
13 James Brown
3 Ollie Greensmith
37 Cain Staveley-Carr
17 Luke Blake
Subs (all used)
9 Alistair Leak
16 Michael Ward
36 Logan Bayliss-Brow
22 Luca Atkinson