‘It is important to get them playing rugby’ - Mark Moxon looking forward to Batley Bulldogs’ pre-season friendlies as Josh Woods returns to training

Moxon’s men recovered from a 12-0 deficit at rivals Dewsbury Rams in their opening friendly ahead of the new campaign on Boxing Day to draw 12-12, and they are now preparing for their remaining warm up fixtures - testimonials for Dane Manning, against Heavy Woollen on Sunday, January 21, and Dale Morton, versus Wakefield on Sunday, January 28, both at the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium.

Moxon said: “We reviewed the Boxing Day game and we spoke about the parts we were pleased with and the parts where we thought we needed to work on. They have been the focus leading up to the Heavy Woollen game.

“Pre-season training has changed a little bit now. We are into our second phase. We had a six-week block and now we’re in a five-week block with these friendlies. It is more game-focussed now where we are sharpening up on our shape work and speed and agility and getting more technical with how we are wanting to play.

“Hopefully we have got a lot of the hard work in the bank.”

He added: “But there is no better way of finding out about your players than playing rugby. We can train and do all the fitness stuff which tells you about their physical fitness and their attitude and mental toughness.

“But they are rugby players and, ultimately, playing rugby is the biggest indication of what they are going to give us this season. It is important to get them playing rugby and we are looking forward to these next friendly games so we can see where everybody is at and how everybody is fitting together.”

And Moxon also revealed that Josh Woods is back in training after breaking his thumb in November.

He said: “His thumb is okay. He has done a couple of contact sessions now and everything is fine. He is back up and running. He has missed out on a little bit of fitness but he will certainly benefit from the friendlies coming up.”