Dewsbury 12 Batley 16: Bulldogs get the better of Rams in feisty encounter

Both sides had early chances before the game erupted in the 20th minute when Dewsbury’s Stephen Nash was sin-binned following a fracas immediately after being introduced as substitute. Referee Dave Merrick was forced to speak to both captains.

Dewsbury broke the deadlock with as Dalton Grant stormed down the left touchline and was clattered by a head high tackle from Batley full-back Johnny Campbell before touching down.

Campbell was sin-binned, while Kieran Hyde pulled his difficult conversion attempt wide.

Batley immediately hit back when Anthony Nicholson’s excellent cut-out pass sent Alex Brown in at the left corner and Scott Leatherbarrow landed a superb touchline goal and then tagged on a penalty soon after.

Dewsbury produced a much improved display after the break and Luke Adamson’s excellent long pass sent Grant over for his second try. Leatherbarrow edged Batley back in front with a penalty but Dewsbury struck 18 minutes from time.

Nathan Conroy produced a lovely grubber kick and as Campbell tried to shepherd the ball dead, Dale Morton pounced to score. Hyde missed a third difficult touchline conversion.

Batley responded well and a fine passing move ended with loanee Chris Ulugia beating his marker for a great try. Leatherbarrow was unable to convert but kicked a penalty.

In a dramatic finale, Rams moved play left and Grant was tackled just short of the line before Karl Pryce’s kick was hacked dead.

Dewsbury gathered the drop out and launched an up and under from the last play of the game but Batley won possession and the win was theirs.

Dewsbury Rams: Fieldhouse; Morton, Pryce, Crookes, Grant; Hyde, Aaron Brown; Jackson, Wildie, Aizue, Hale, Farrell, L Adamson. Substitutes: B Smith, Conroy, Muranka, Nash.

Batley Bulldogs: Campbell; Ainscough, Squires, Ulugia, Alex Brown; Nicholson, Leatherbarrow; Gledhill, Blake, Rowe, Bretherton, Day, Chandler. Substitutes: Leak, Hesketh, Lillycrop, J Brown.

Referee: Dave Merrick.