BATLEY BULLDOGS coach John Kear hailed departing trio James Brown, Luke Blake and Elliot Kear after their final home appearances for the club.
Having gone down 30-16 to London Broncos at the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium, the Bulldogs faced Toulouse in France on Saturday, losing 46-22, and close their campaign at York on Sunday.
That will mark the end of John Kear’s second stint as Batley coach, which started after the mid-season departure of Mark Moxon, ahead of the arrival of James Ford, who is already putting a new-look squad together.
Ford will be operating without stalwart forwards Brown, 37, and Blake, 36, both of whom were signed by John Kear, as well as back Elliot Kear (no relation), who is equally well known to the seasoned team chief after a host of Wales appearances under him (they also worked together at Bradford).
Captain Brown, who plays prop of loose-forward, arrived at Batley from Swinton in 2015, having originally been in the Leeds development system then shone for that city’s amateur side Queens.
Play-anywhere pack man Blake is in his second spell at Batley (it started in 2021), having also turned out for Wakefield and Dewsbury, while versatile Kear joined from Bradford in 2023 (he has also been at the old Crusaders club, London Broncos and Salford).
“They’ve been great servants to the game as well as the club, and given the commitment needed to be a part-time player, especially these days, I’m full of admiration for them,” said John Kear.
“It’s not just training and playing, but watching video clips and building in recovery after being knocked around in a game, and usually that’s combined with a job and family life.
“It takes some doing, and they have been playing for a good while now, so deserve a rest.
“Luke has said he’s retiring, and James and Elliot have indicated that too, but who knows, they might just get that urge to turn out again.”