Batley: Team places still '˜up for grabs' insists Bulldogs' boss Diskin

WITH LESS than three weeks until the start of the season, boss Matt Diskin says places in Batley Bulldogs' side are still up for grabs.
Batley Bulldogs coach, Matt Diskin. PICe Jonathan GawthorpeBatley Bulldogs coach, Matt Diskin. PICe Jonathan Gawthorpe
Batley Bulldogs coach, Matt Diskin. PICe Jonathan Gawthorpe

Bulldogs have won both their pre-season games so far, seeing off a young Wakefield Trinity team 24-12 two days ago after beating Dewsbury Rams on Boxing Day.

Batley visit Keighley Cougars on Sunday and complete their pre-season campaign at Doncaster a week later before visiting Rochdale Hornets in the Betfred Championship on February 4. Diskin said: “I haven’t decided on my strongest team yet. We’ve got some really good depth in the squad and some real quality.

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“I’ll make some changes this week and include some people who’ve not played yet. I want to give everyone a fair crack to put their hand up for the first game.”

Batley's James Harrison will miss Sunday's game with Keighley because of a concussion picked up against Wakefield. PIC: Paul ButterfieldBatley's James Harrison will miss Sunday's game with Keighley because of a concussion picked up against Wakefield. PIC: Paul Butterfield
Batley's James Harrison will miss Sunday's game with Keighley because of a concussion picked up against Wakefield. PIC: Paul Butterfield

Of the win over Trinity, Diskin said: “Wakefield’s young kids were really spirited, they had a really good crack without really troubling us with the ball.

“Defensively we were really good.

“We had an ethos during the week of controlling field position and we did that really well.

“If we can can tune and polish our attack over the next couple of games we will be a bit more clinical and we’ll put more points on the board.”

Bulldogs came through with no major injuries, but James Harrison is set to miss Sunday’s game at Keighley Cougars due to concussion.