Bill H Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I like to read the "my Yorkshire" article in the Yorkshire Post Magazine. This weeks interview was with Martyn Sadler of Rugby League Express and Rugby League World. One of the questions is "If you had to name your Yorkshire hidden gem, what would it be?". He asked for two. Given that we are prone to beat ourselves up on this forum I thought it would be good to quote his second choice:- "And Mount Pleasant, the home of Batley RLFC, which everyone should visit at least once. Opened in 1880, and with a famous slope, the improvements made under current Batley Chairman Kevin Nicholas are outstanding for a club with such limited resources. It is now known as Fox's Biscuits Stadium, after its sponsor". It was really nice to see this piece of free publicity and praise for the Mount. I await the witty retorts from our friends "over the hill"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyram Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I like to read the "my Yorkshire" article in the Yorkshire Post Magazine. This weeks interview was with Martyn Sadler of Rugby League Express and Rugby League World. One of the questions is "If you had to name your Yorkshire hidden gem, what would it be?". He asked for two. Given that we are prone to beat ourselves up on this forum I thought it would be good to quote his second choice:- "And Mount Pleasant, the home of Batley RLFC, which everyone should visit at least once. Opened in 1880, and with a famous slope, the improvements made under current Batley Chairman Kevin Nicholas are outstanding for a club with such limited resources. It is now known as Fox's Biscuits Stadium, after its sponsor". It was really nice to see this piece of free publicity and praise for the Mount. I await the witty retorts from our friends "over the hill"! No witty retorts,just to say the ground is something every Bulldogs fan should be proud of,especially of the heritage of the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPH Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 one thing I do miss from the old ground days......is the covered ( standing only ) stand........you could congregate on the half way line all the game......and not have to switch ends ( sometimes into the pouring rain ).....you could have a bit of a sing song....and on a good day it didn't half generate some atmosphere to spur the players on.....and because of that.....it felt warmer and felt cosier....ie homely..... "The trouble with quotes on the internet is that it's difficult to determine whether or not they are genuine" ....Abraham Lincoln 1809-1865.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham fisher Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 No witty retorts,just to say the ground is something every Bulldogs fan should be proud of,especially of the heritage of the past.You beat me to it Andy,it's a cracking ground & would put a lot of super league clubs to shame!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildog Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 Field were a bit rough then!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 one thing I do miss from the old ground days......is the covered ( standing only ) stand........you could congregate on the half way line all the game......and not have to switch ends ( sometimes into the pouring rain ).....you could have a bit of a sing song....and on a good day it didn't half generate some atmosphere to spur the players on.....and because of that.....it felt warmer and felt cosier....ie homely..... You are right, of course, RPH. We have a smashing ground for "summer" rugby IMO but early in the season when a cold prevailing wind is blowing across the Mount it would be nice to be able to hunker up in the old stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 No witty retorts,just to say the ground is something every Bulldogs fan should be proud of,especially of the heritage of the past. It's a shame that Crown Flatts was lost; another ground steeped in history. I always enjoyed the banter on the old open stand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyoldram Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 No witty retorts,just to say the ground is something every Bulldogs fan should be proud of,especially of the heritage of the past. Agreed - the fans should be proud of the club's achievements both on (mostly) and off (definitely) the field over the last ten or fifteen years. One thing that has puzzled me though, is the siting of the new stands at the top of the ground, rather than at the bottom where more of the action takes place. I presume there must be some logistical reason. Censorship ends in logical completeness when nobody is allowed to read any books except the books that nobody reads. George Bernard Shaw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolie Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Agreed - the fans should be proud of the club's achievements both on (mostly) and off (definitely) the field over the last ten or fifteen years. One thing that has puzzled me though, is the siting of the new stands at the top of the ground, rather than at the bottom where more of the action takes place. I presume there must be some logistical reason. Yeah grumpy Reason is s#?# rolls downhill As said a place to visit at least once if your life Only parallels I can draw is Japanese pilots at pearl harbour Or American pilots at nagasaki Or The stand for custers men Seriously now I did.enjoy the long stand with or without its roof,great view and always a good mixture of fans..and will never forget the view or the sea of heads,around the ground when.batley entertained Doncaster in a very important game...did Geoff grayshon sent off in that game or did I imagine it?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill H Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 Agreed - the fans should be proud of the club's achievements both on (mostly) and off (definitely) the field over the last ten or fifteen years. One thing that has puzzled me though, is the siting of the new stands at the top of the ground, rather than at the bottom where more of the action takes place. I presume there must be some logistical reason. I seem to remember that when the Kirkwood stand was built it was hoped that they would be able to extend it at a later date so that it would run all the way to the bottom of the ground. The optimism proved ill founded and in hindsight it might have been better placed either side of the half way line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPH Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Coolie Said " I did.enjoy the long stand with or without its roof,great view and always a good mixture of fans..and will never forget the view or the sea of heads,around the ground when.batley entertained Doncaster in a very important game...did Geoff grayshon sent off in that game or did I imagine it??" Correct....... April 24th 1994, Doncaster travelled to Batley’s Mount Pleasant on the last day of the season knowing that a victory would clinch their promotion to the old First Division, and potentially even clinch the Second Division Championship. Doncaster had been in the driving seat after winning eight consecutive games but in the penultimate game of the season they fell to a shock 20-2 defeat at Spotland to mid-table Rochdale Hornets as Workington Town capitalised and trounced Keighley Cougars 54-2 to take top spot. Although mathematically Doncaster could still clinch the Championship at Batley, Town’s final game appeared to be a straight-forward win, away at second-bottom Bramley so realistically Doncaster knew that promotion was the real prize. To add extra spice to the occasion, both Doncaster and Batley were tied on 43 points going into the game, so effectively it was a promotion eliminator. Even more amazingly, if the game at Mount Pleasant ended in a draw, both sides would miss out on promotion if London defeated Carlisle! Plenty to play for then, and plenty for the mathematicians in the crowd to be concerned with! So the scene was set. A capacity 4,500 fans packed into the famous Mount Pleasant stadium, with fans of both sides not wanting to miss a potential promotion party. Amazingly, the scoreboard role remained redundant for the first forty minutes as the two sides returned to the dressing rooms still with all to play for. The defensive effort on both sides was formidable, with nobody wanting to be responsible for their line being breached. The fiftieth minute of the game saw the 45 year old former Great Britain International Jeff Grayshon introduced to the fray by Batley coach David Ward. Expected to add extra steel and experience for the last half hour, Grayshon was instead sent off in controversial fashion only three minutes after replacing Wayne Heron. Instead of deflating the Gallant Youths, Grayshon’s dismissal seemed to galvanise Batley, as they pulled together and upped the tempo and expanse of their game. The clock kept ticking, and still the score remained 0-0. With neither defence looking like wilting, Batley full-back Simon Wilson slotted over a drop goal with ten minutes remaining, to give the Mount Pleasant side an unlikely 1-0 lead. This seemed to give Batley another big lift as two minutes later a try was finally scored as Glen Tomlinson and Darren Moxon combined for Tomlinson to run in a four pointer. Wilson failed to convert, but with less than ten minutes now remaining, Batley led 5-0 and promotion was looking more and more likely. Doncaster had other ideas, and whether it was the fatigue of only having twelve men, or the pressure getting to them, Batley started to make errors. After holding out Matautia and Pennant, the Batley defence could do nothing as Brendan Carlyle stepped and touched down close to the posts. Rocky Turner converted and the tide had turned. Now Donny were 6-5 up and looking promoted. Batley launched one final attack, but a dropped pass saw Turner pick up and race away to clinch the game for Doncaster, along with promotion. The final score of 10-5 reflected the closeness of the game "The trouble with quotes on the internet is that it's difficult to determine whether or not they are genuine" ....Abraham Lincoln 1809-1865.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyram Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Coolie Said " I did.enjoy the long stand with or without its roof,great view and always a good mixture of fans..and will never forget the view or the sea of heads,around the ground when.batley entertained Doncaster in a very important game...did Geoff grayshon sent off in that game or did I imagine it??" Correct....... April 24th 1994, Doncaster travelled to Batley’s Mount Pleasant on the last day of the season knowing that a victory would clinch their promotion to the old First Division, and potentially even clinch the Second Division Championship. Doncaster had been in the driving seat after winning eight consecutive games but in the penultimate game of the season they fell to a shock 20-2 defeat at Spotland to mid-table Rochdale Hornets as Workington Town capitalised and trounced Keighley Cougars 54-2 to take top spot. Although mathematically Doncaster could still clinch the Championship at Batley, Town’s final game appeared to be a straight-forward win, away at second-bottom Bramley so realistically Doncaster knew that promotion was the real prize. To add extra spice to the occasion, both Doncaster and Batley were tied on 43 points going into the game, so effectively it was a promotion eliminator. Even more amazingly, if the game at Mount Pleasant ended in a draw, both sides would miss out on promotion if London defeated Carlisle! Plenty to play for then, and plenty for the mathematicians in the crowd to be concerned with! So the scene was set. A capacity 4,500 fans packed into the famous Mount Pleasant stadium, with fans of both sides not wanting to miss a potential promotion party. Amazingly, the scoreboard role remained redundant for the first forty minutes as the two sides returned to the dressing rooms still with all to play for. The defensive effort on both sides was formidable, with nobody wanting to be responsible for their line being breached. The fiftieth minute of the game saw the 45 year old former Great Britain International Jeff Grayshon introduced to the fray by Batley coach David Ward. Expected to add extra steel and experience for the last half hour, Grayshon was instead sent off in controversial fashion only three minutes after replacing Wayne Heron. Instead of deflating the Gallant Youths, Grayshon’s dismissal seemed to galvanise Batley, as they pulled together and upped the tempo and expanse of their game. The clock kept ticking, and still the score remained 0-0. With neither defence looking like wilting, Batley full-back Simon Wilson slotted over a drop goal with ten minutes remaining, to give the Mount Pleasant side an unlikely 1-0 lead. This seemed to give Batley another big lift as two minutes later a try was finally scored as Glen Tomlinson and Darren Moxon combined for Tomlinson to run in a four pointer. Wilson failed to convert, but with less than ten minutes now remaining, Batley led 5-0 and promotion was looking more and more likely. Doncaster had other ideas, and whether it was the fatigue of only having twelve men, or the pressure getting to them, Batley started to make errors. After holding out Matautia and Pennant, the Batley defence could do nothing as Brendan Carlyle stepped and touched down close to the posts. Rocky Turner converted and the tide had turned. Now Donny were 6-5 up and looking promoted. Batley launched one final attack, but a dropped pass saw Turner pick up and race away to clinch the game for Doncaster, along with promotion. The final score of 10-5 reflected the closeness of the game Highlights of the game can be seen on You Tube,got a feeling they was a few more then the said capacity of 4.500 on the day.Hope Mr Grayshon has been forgiven for his early bath? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolie Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Coolie Said " I did.enjoy the long stand with or without its roof,great view and always a good mixture of fans..and will never forget the view or the sea of heads,around the ground when.batley entertained Doncaster in a very important game...did Geoff grayshon sent off in that game or did I imagine it??" Correct....... April 24th 1994, Doncaster travelled to Batley’s Mount Pleasant on the last day of the season knowing that a victory would clinch their promotion to the old First Division, and potentially even clinch the Second Division Championship. Doncaster had been in the driving seat after winning eight consecutive games but in the penultimate game of the season they fell to a shock 20-2 defeat at Spotland to mid-table Rochdale Hornets as Workington Town capitalised and trounced Keighley Cougars 54-2 to take top spot. Although mathematically Doncaster could still clinch the Championship at Batley, Town’s final game appeared to be a straight-forward win, away at second-bottom Bramley so realistically Doncaster knew that promotion was the real prize. To add extra spice to the occasion, both Doncaster and Batley were tied on 43 points going into the game, so effectively it was a promotion eliminator. Even more amazingly, if the game at Mount Pleasant ended in a draw, both sides would miss out on promotion if London defeated Carlisle! Plenty to play for then, and plenty for the mathematicians in the crowd to be concerned with! So the scene was set. A capacity 4,500 fans packed into the famous Mount Pleasant stadium, with fans of both sides not wanting to miss a potential promotion party. Amazingly, the scoreboard role remained redundant for the first forty minutes as the two sides returned to the dressing rooms still with all to play for. The defensive effort on both sides was formidable, with nobody wanting to be responsible for their line being breached. The fiftieth minute of the game saw the 45 year old former Great Britain International Jeff Grayshon introduced to the fray by Batley coach David Ward. Expected to add extra steel and experience for the last half hour, Grayshon was instead sent off in controversial fashion only three minutes after replacing Wayne Heron. Instead of deflating the Gallant Youths, Grayshon’s dismissal seemed to galvanise Batley, as they pulled together and upped the tempo and expanse of their game. The clock kept ticking, and still the score remained 0-0. With neither defence looking like wilting, Batley full-back Simon Wilson slotted over a drop goal with ten minutes remaining, to give the Mount Pleasant side an unlikely 1-0 lead. This seemed to give Batley another big lift as two minutes later a try was finally scored as Glen Tomlinson and Darren Moxon combined for Tomlinson to run in a four pointer. Wilson failed to convert, but with less than ten minutes now remaining, Batley led 5-0 and promotion was looking more and more likely. Doncaster had other ideas, and whether it was the fatigue of only having twelve men, or the pressure getting to them, Batley started to make errors. After holding out Matautia and Pennant, the Batley defence could do nothing as Brendan Carlyle stepped and touched down close to the posts. Rocky Turner converted and the tide had turned. Now Donny were 6-5 up and looking promoted. Batley launched one final attack, but a dropped pass saw Turner pick up and race away to clinch the game for Doncaster, along with promotion. The final score of 10-5 reflected the closeness of the game Great that cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colinb Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 BISSA have it available on DVD,along with many many others. Relive it, great atmospheric watch. Go to BISSA.co.uk to view the list of available DVDs. Or contact me direct. Colinb BISSA. WHERE DO YOU WANT ME TO SWIPE THIS? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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