Batley Bulldogs v Toulouse: Bulldogs intend to make home advantage pay says coach Matt Diskin

Bulldogs will face full-time opposition for the third successive week when Toulouse Olympique visit Fox’s Biscuits Stadium, Mount Pleasant (3pm).

Eleventh-placed Batley have won only once in seven Betfred Championship games this year, but Bulldogs coach Diskin was buoyed by a battling performance in a 34-12 loss to promotion favourites, Brian McDermott’s Toronto Wolfpack last week and wants to see more of the same today.

He said: “Toulouse is a tough one, we are underdogs again, but playing on your home ground you have always got to fancy your chances and we will do that this week.”

The French side are second in the table, two points behind Toronto who they crushed 
46-16 at home two weeks ago.

They ran in another big score last Saturday, beating visitors Barrow Raiders 50-0, but former Leeds hooker Diskin said: “If we have the same attitude we had last week, we apply what we’ve been doing in training and we have the confidence to play with the ball like we did in glimpses against Toronto I think we will be in the mix. Toulouse are a fantastic side, if you look at the quality of players they’ve got there is an imbalance again, but at home we have got to be confident and we will be approaching it that way.”