Widnes Vikings 16 Batley Bulldogs 35: Handforth puts Batley in control at Vikings

BATLEY Bulldogs continued their excellent form with this win at Widnes in the Championship.

Stand-off Paul Handforth was the chief architect of the victory as he marshalled his troops superbly, particularly in the first half as Batley rattled up a 22-0 lead.

The Bulldogs thought they had opened the scoring when Jonny Campbell scythed over but it was ruled out for obstruction.

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The first points came when Gareth Moore knocked over a simple penalty for the Bulldogs.

Things soon looked even rosier on the very next set when Widnes's Shane Grady made a hash of gathering a grubber kick and Batley winger Mark Barlow swooped for a six-pointer.

Handforth was next on the scoresheet when he regathered his own kick before a Barlow try.

Moore made it 22-0 with a penalty and Danny Maun ran the length of the field to score.

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Widnes managed to open their account when Ben Kavanagh crashed in and the home crowd may have sensed a comeback when Anthony Thackeray raced 80 metres to make it 28-10.

Campbell put paid to any such notion when he danced in from close range with Moore adding the extras. Thackeray dummied in for a consolation score for Widnes but fittingly Handforth had the last word as he chipped over a drop-goal.

Widnes: Grady; Gaskell, Kohe-Love, Gardner, Flynn; Gerrard, Thackeray; James, Netherton, Gannon, Kavanagh, Allen, Doran. Substitutes: Heckenberg, Houghton, Varkulis, Hulme.

Batley: Campbell; Barlow, Griffin, Maun, Greenwood; Handforth, Moore; Smith, Lythe, Hesketh, Walton, J Gallagher, Lindsay. Substitutes: Martin, Buttery, T Gallagher, Toothill.

Referee: R Hicks (RFL).

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