Craig Lingard praises ‘professional’ Batley Bulldogs in routine Challenge Cup win

The third round tie was a David versus Goliath affair but 11 unanswered tries from Lingard’s men ensured a routine win over their amateur opponents from the National Conference Premier Division.

Batley’s head coach said: “I was very pleased. It was one of those games where you can’t win really. If you get beaten then you’ve had a nightmare and if you don’t win convincingly then it is a disappointing performance.

“I thought we handled it pretty well and it was a professional performance in terms of how we treated the game. Once we got through the first 15 minutes - where we knew they were going to be really energetic and put us under a bit of pressure - and as soon as we got that first score, it relieved a bit of pressure off us.

“We got another score fairly quickly which put a bit more pressure back onto them and after that it was fairly comfortable.

“It was pleasing because they are a good team. They are not your typical amateur team, where you think some players will be in their mid-to-late thirties and they come to be disruptive and aggressive and dirty.

“The game was played in really good spirits and they tried to play the game in the right way.

“I am just really pleased that we’re through to the next round.”

A stand-out performer in the game was Josh Hodson who helped himself to four tries in his first game back from injury since the Bulldogs’ opening round victory at London Broncos.

“He had a great pre-season and we were expecting a big season from him so it was disappointing he got that injury in the first game of the season,” said Lingard.

“But he’s come back and, although it might not have been a game against top league opposition, to score four tries and play like he did is a good sign for us.

“It also gives us really good competition for places.”

Asked who he would like to face in the fourth round of the Challenge Cup, Lingard responded:

“Any team from a lower division would be great. We have highlighted as a group that we want to have a really good dig at the 1895 cup and get to a showpiece final.

“If we can get another amateur team or a League 1 team I guess we would be really pleased and to avoid some of the top end Championship teams - that’s the main goal.

“We could then get a bit of luck if some top end Championship teams draw each other but we need to do our job first and concentrate on us and get through that next round.”

The fourth draw of the Challenge Cup takes place on Wednesday, March 15, at 6pm.