Batley Bulldogs coach John Kear said of last week’s narrow defeat to Halifax: “It was a good game. We were a little disappointed that once again we’ve played well against one of the big teams and come away empty.
“But we can take a lot of positives from the performance; we scored the same number of tries as Halifax and defended really well. They’re a team who throw a lot at you in attack and we created chances, so we feel we’re in a good place but we need results as well as performances.
“It’s a big game against Hunslet this week. They’ll feel aggrieved with themselves having lost at Doncaster – there may well have been a three-games-in-three-days reason for that. They dominated the game for 55 minutes then tired drastically in the last 25.
“We’re expecting them to pose a real challenge. We’re at home, which is obviously a big plus point for us and we’re feeling good about ourselves.”
Loan signing Chris Ulugla from Bradford is doubtful with a damaged shoulder while loose forward Joe Chandler has a broken nose
Barry Eaton, the Hunslet Hawks coach, said that playing three games in seven days prior to the defeat at Doncaster may have had an affect but refused to use that as an excuse. “There were some factors out of our control on Sunday that led to more than a few momentum swings,” he said. “For 55 minutes we were outstanding.
“Batley are playing well, they are a big, physical side, a no-nonsense team and you’ve got to be able to match their physicality to have any chance.”
Second row Aaron Lyons is a doubt with a thumb injury.
