Batley Bulldogs v York City Knights – Costly errors remain cause of frustration for Matt Diskin

FRUSTRATED: Batley Bulldogs coach Matt Diskin.
Picture Jonathan Gawthorpe — FRUSTRATED: Batley Bulldogs coach Matt Diskin. Picture Jonathan Gawthorpe

BATLEY BULLDOGS and tomorrow’s visitors York City Knights (3pm) are a mirror image of each other, the home side’s coach Matt Diskin says.

York, promoted last year, began round 21 second in the 14-team table, nine places above Batley. Diskin said: “They are playing really good stuff, they are clinical and they don’t make many errors and they deserve to be where they are.

“At the opposite end, with the quality of personnel we’ve got we shouldn’t be where we are, but we deserve to be because we are making too many errors.”

Bulldogs won at York in the 1895 Cup last month and Diskin insisted: “We genuinely don’t fear anybody.

“Take Toronto out and maybe Toulouse and other than that we are more than confident - we know we are a match for anyone if we don’t make stupid, basic errors.

“We’ve made 33 errors in the last two games and that’s nothing to do with over-playing or being too expansive, we are making basic errors in the ruck and you can’t afford to do that in this league.”

Last week’s 20-18 loss at Swinton Lions was costly in more ways than one with Batley losing Joe Taira to potentially season-ending knee damage, Alex Bretherton with a biceps tear and Paul Brearley and Niall Walker with hamstring injuries.

Diskin said: ”We’ve got a quality squad to pick from so we should be all right in that regard.”