Batley Bulldogs' clash with Bradford Bulls will be won down the middle, believes head coach Craig Lingard

CRAIG LINGARD believes that Batley Bulldogs’ West Yorkshire derby clash with Bradford Bulls on Sunday will be won down the middle.
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Given the dimensions of the Odsal pitch, the Bulldogs head coach feels the forward battle will prove key to who comes out on top.

Batley are keen to bounce back after suffering a 22-12 loss to Halifax Panthers last weekend while Bradford have lost their last two fixtures.

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“It is going to be a tough, physical battle down the middle. It is very narrow, you have to start going through teams before you can try to go around them,” said Lingard.

HEAD COACH: Craig Lingard. Picture: Ed Sykes\SWpix.com.HEAD COACH: Craig Lingard. Picture: Ed Sykes\SWpix.com.
HEAD COACH: Craig Lingard. Picture: Ed Sykes\SWpix.com.

“The battle this week will be down the middle, so our pack of forwards need to be better than Bradford’s to get us on the front foot.

“It might not be an exciting game but if our forwards can get on top of theirs, that will stand us in good stead.”

Batley have been low on numbers in recent weeks and are likely to be without Michael Ward on Sunday after he picked up an injury against Halifax.

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James Brown and Adam Gledhill could return but Lingard admits that all teams are in a similar situation with injuries: “We are not going to go out and try to bring anybody in because there is nobody out there.

“We are going through a bit of a tough time with injuries at the minute but so are a lot of other teams. At this moment in time we are performing ok.”