Batley Bulldogs v Leigh Centurions: Hard work paying off for buoyant Bulldogs

Batley's James Brown in action against Swinton Lions.

Bulldogs won both their Easter fixtures – at Dewsbury Rams and home to Swinton Lions – and are now on a three-game winning run in the Betfred Championship.

After losing seven of their opening eight matches they are up to ninth in the table and Diskin reckons they have “a bit of momentum” behind them, but he also knows the third game in 10 days is a daunting challenge for part-time players

“There’s some energy about the boys in terms of confidence, but their bodies are battered and bruised,” Diskin said.

“We trained on Wednesday and you couldn’t really call it training, we had a little bit of review, but this week is going to be a bit of a waste really, as it will be for most teams.

“For us, as we’ve shown all year, it’s our mental approach that’s been good for us over Easter and what let us down at the start of the year.

“We know if we are on it between the ears we will be in a good position come the end of the 80 minutes on Sunday.”

Following the plan and playing with smiles on faces has been the decisive factor in Bulldogs’ turnaround in form according to Diskin, who insisted he was always confident his side were better than early-season results suggested.

“We are a talented squad and we are doing some exceptional things away from the playing field,” he said.

“I have always been really confident in what we are doing, it’s just the application of that from the group that has taken them a while to adapt to.

“Playing with some confidence and the right attitude and working hard for each other seems to have come together over the last few games so we need to keep hold of that now, keep playing with a bit of dog about us in D [defence] and enjoy playing with the ball and enjoy every little moment of it.

“I don’t think they enjoyed it at the start of the year, but you look now and they celebrate every little event in the game.

“That’s what you should be doing, you play the game to win, but you play it because you love the sport and you want to enjoy it as well. I think they are finally getting that message.”