London Broncos recovered from an early 12-0 deficit tonight at Batley Bulldogs to mount a stirring second-half revival that earned them a 22-28 victory, pushing them level on points with Halifax and Featherstone Rovers in fifth place in the Championship table.
The Bulldogs began confidently with tries from Luke Blake and Alex Brown, both converted by Scott Leatherbarrow.
Erjon Dollapi scored for the Bronco to reduce the deficit to six points with Wes Naiqama’s conversion, but Batley substitute Sean Hesketh, making the 200th appearance of his career, scored Batley’s third try just before the interval with Leatherbarrow’s third goal restoring their 12-point advantage.
But former Sheffield Eagles forward Matt Garside crossed twice for the Broncos early in the second half, and Naiqama’s goals drew the sides level.
And the Broncos pulled ahead when Tom Gilmore and Iliess Macani added tries, with Naiqama converting the first.
But the Bulldogs were not finished, and James Craven went over for their fourth try on 69 minutes. Leatherbarrow couldn’t convert, however, and the tension mounted as the game neared its end, but the Bulldogs were unable to get back on terms. They now face a battle alongside Workington, Whitehaven and Hunslet to avoid joining Doncaster in the bottom two relegation places.
Bulldogs: T – Blake (11), Brown (26), Hesketh (40), Craven (69); G – Leatherbarrow 3/4
