Four Batley records on line at 'Haven
BATLEY Bulldogs play their final game of the season at Whitehaven on Sunday (3pm), with the chance of achieving four individual and club records.
The Bulldogs will know tonight whether they still have a chance of reaching the Co-operative Championship play-offs. They require Sheffield Eagles to lose at home to Leigh in the televised fixture and not collect a bonus point.
If that happens a Batley win in Cumbria would take them into the top six above the Eagles on points difference and that would achieve coach Karl Harrison's final target set at the start of the campaign.
Widnes would come into the equation if they lost heavily at Barrow last night and again at Keighley on Sunday, which seems unlikely.
Batley go into the game against the relegated Cumbrians at the Recreation Ground with Jonny Campbell needing one try to become the first Batley player to score 30 in a season. He currently shares the record of 29 with Jack Tindall, who achieved the feat in 1912-13.
Campbell's two tries at Halifax took him past the post-war record of 28 set by Craig Lingard in 2001-2002.
Scrum-half Gareth Moore, who has 290 points to his credit, needs 19 to top the club record of 308 in a season, set by Richard Price in 1997. It would be a great effort for the No 7 to achieve that target in his first full season and he has missed four of the team's 30 matches through injury.
Club historian Lawrence Grailey points out the Bulldogs are in sight of two notable team records. They have scored 927 points in all matches this time and 17 more would take them past the record of 943 in a season.
The team have also scored a total of 164 tries in all matches, seeking just eight more to top their current season's best of 171, which would give coach Harrison considerable cause for satisfaction as he has proved his point that he likes the team to play attacking rugby.
It's a measure of how well Batley have played on so many occasions this season because the competition in the Co-operative Championship has been keener than ever with several clubs spending a great deal of money on players as they seek to launch claims for Super League admission.
The Bulldogs are likely to be without back row man Tommy Gallagher, who suffered knee ligament damage in the game at Halifax last weekend, but there is a chance that half-back Mick Govin will return.
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Weather for Batley
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -4 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light sleet showers
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South
