Bulldogs told not to fall in love with themselves

John Kear has presided over an unbeaten record in the Northern Rail Cup and hopes to now take that into the league programme.

Their fourth successive victory on Sunday also saw the West Yorkshire club end Featherstone Rovers’ 15-match winning run.

“It’s done us the world of good because there’s a growing sense of belief and confidence within the camp,” said Kear, who took over from Karl Harrison at the end of last season.

“What we’ve got to do now is make sure that we don’t fall in love with ourselves and instead realise that the results we’ve had so far have been based on plenty of hard work and commitment.”

Batley will discover their Northern Rail Cup quarter-final opponents when the draw is made at half-time this evening.

Having made the switch from scrum-half to hooker with devastating effect for Leeds, Rob Burrow could be given the chance to do the same for his country.

England coach Steve McNamara sees him in that role, stating: “The trouble that he’s causing everybody, it’s brought to life his already good career.”