Mon 8th May: Ch: Batley Bulldogs v Widnes Vikings KO 19:45 (Viaplay)

[Pigeon Lofter]

Ah-ha!

Widnes back in the hunt. 

[The Blues Ox]

Makes for a nervous last 5 minutes now.

[Phil]

There’s been some cracking championship games on viaplay this season 

[Northern Eel]

The one pointer looks to have won it for Batley.

[DI Keith Fowler]

Can't believe Owens missed that kick. Absolute killer of momentum.

That and hands in at the ruck every time we got within 40 that the ref consistently missed. 

[distantdog]

12 minutes ago, DI Keith Fowler said:

Can't believe Owens missed that kick. Absolute killer of momentum.

That and hands in at the ruck every time we got within 40 that the ref consistently missed. 

This! It certainly lifted the Batley supporters for the last 5 or so. 

[Tippytoe]

29 minutes ago, DI Keith Fowler said:

Can't believe Owens missed that kick. Absolute killer of momentum.

That and hands in at the ruck every time we got within 40 that the ref consistently missed. 

I thought Batleys defence was pretty solid and proved the difference tbf.

[Jill Halfpenny fan]

1 hour ago, Tippytoe said:

I thought Batleys defence was pretty solid and proved the difference tbf.

 There was nothing between either team tbh, one try a piece would indicate that. A couple of decisions went Batley's way and that was what won them the game.  Playing most of the game without any half backs didn't help us either.

[Bearman]

30 minutes ago, Jill Halfpenny fan said:

 There was nothing between either team tbh, one try a piece would indicate that. A couple of decisions went Batley's way and that was what won them the game.  Playing most of the game without any half backs didn't help us either.

A few?

I have just watched it on catch up and as a *neutral I think Widnes were very hard done by ( excluding the first half half forward pass no try which seemed to be correct) other than that I thought the home side were very advantaged on the 50/50's

* As a neutral I should confess that I have a soft spot for Batley for the excellent viands on offer at the Fox's Stadium Stadium

 

[dkw]

8 hours ago, Bearman said:

A few?

I have just watched it on catch up and as a *neutral I think Widnes were very hard done by ( excluding the first half half forward pass no try which seemed to be correct) other than that I thought the home side were very advantaged on the 50/50's

* As a neutral I should confess that I have a soft spot for Batley for the excellent viands on offer at the Fox's Stadium Stadium

 

I thought the ref got all 3 "try" decisions right, though he missed a bit of messing around that saw the ball come loose by Batley, he also missed some by Widnes so was at least consistent.

[The Phantom Horseman]

For me as another neutral whilst I thought Batley got a couple of favourable decisions most of the "bigger" calls looked right. I didn't think Batley's try was a forward pass, and whilst the TV angle on the Widnes first half disallowed try wasn't especially helpful my first reaction watching it was that it looked forward and the ref couldn't have been in a better position.

For the disallowed Widnes try in the second half Dixon pretty much gave himself up with his reaction, he knew he'd challenged the Batley man whilst he was in the air, it wasn't a heavy challenge but the ref couldn't really do anything other than award a penalty.

Widnes lost because they had no creativity with ball in hand in the second half, obviously losing Craven was a big issue there, and Batley played a near-model example of how to play up the slope. I still think it's a big advantage to play uphill in the first half whilst everyone is fresh so I think Batley deserve a fair amount of credit as Widnes didn't often look like scoring, their one real threat with ball in hand was the Wigan lad.

[BullyXL]

Defo a forward pass in the first half from Owens, must have been 3mtrs forward atleast! Dixon did make contact in the air too, so valid penalty. Widnes fans did not help their team, as they just got on the backs of the Batley players which will have stiffened their resolve and abusing the officials which does not help your team either. Fair result, look forward to the return fixture!!!!

[Wolford6]

Bulls have played both. Batley by 15 for me.

[Ovenden Grunt]

2 hours ago, BullyXL said:

Defo a forward pass in the first half from Owens, must have been 3mtrs forward atleast! Dixon did make contact in the air too, so valid penalty. Widnes fans did not help their team, as they just got on the backs of the Batley players which will have stiffened their resolve and abusing the officials which does not help your team either. Fair result, look forward to the return fixture!!!!

I said at the time the 1st disallowed Widnes try was probably forward but if it was 50/50 the chants from the Widnes fans regarding the ref would have made his mind up maybe.

[JonM]

1 hour ago, Ovenden Grunt said:

I said at the time the 1st disallowed Widnes try was probably forward but if it was 50/50 the chants from the Widnes fans regarding the ref would have made his mind up maybe.

At least he will go back to New Zealand with some new vocabulary. (Although maybe he's here to stay as he's now a full time RFL employee).

Edited May 9, 2023 by JonM

[Daft old hooker]

Reports that Lingard has gone to Cas as Assistant Coach.

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

5 minutes ago, Daft old hooker said:

Reports that Lingard has gone to Cas as Assistant Coach.

While he's been appointed as assistant at Cas on a 2.5 year contract he's also staying on as head coach at Batley till the end of the season.   

[The Blues Ox]

Anyone heard whats happening with Scott Murrell, he went there as Aissistant coach and took over while Last was on England duty but not heard anything since.

 

Big blow for Batley that but not unexpected.

Edited May 9, 2023 by The Blues Ox

[northamptoncougar]

54 minutes ago, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

While he's been appointed as assistant at Cas on a 2.5 year contract he's also staying on as head coach at Batley till the end of the season.   

How can you possibly do both?

[Indigogo]

5 minutes ago, The Blues Ox said:

Anyone heard whats happening with Scott Murrell, he went there as Aissistant coach and took over while Last was on England duty but not heard anything since.

 

Big blow for Batley that but not unexpected.

He’s Head coach of the reserves and a first team assistant. Full time, he’s on a two year deal as well I believe.

[RogerT]

22 minutes ago, northamptoncougar said:

How can you possibly do both?

Easy Cas are full time and train during the day, Batley are part time and practice at night so no conflict.

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

27 minutes ago, Indigogo said:

He’s Head coach of the reserves and a first team assistant. Full time, he’s on a two year deal as well I believe.

Where've you seen that as neither Cas nor Batley mention the Reserves, and it's a 2.5 year deal.

[Indigogo]

6 minutes ago, Les Tonks Sidestep said:

Where've you seen that as neither Cas nor Batley mention the Reserves, and it's a 2.5 year deal.

I'm referring to Scott Murrel, not Craig Lingard.

[Zilla Budgie]

2 hours ago, The Blues Ox said:

Anyone heard whats happening with Scott Murrell, he went there as Assistant coach and took over while Last was on England duty but not heard anything since.

 

Big blow for Batley that but not unexpected.

He was on duty at the game at Leigh last Friday. He was running on and off the field giving instructions, in the traditional 'water carrier' role.

[Wolford6]

21 hours ago, Wolford6 said:

Bulls have played both. Batley by 15 for me.

Apologies all round; thought the game was on Thursday,