Batley Bulldogs in cruise control but boss Matt Diskin happy enough with derby victory

Batley lifted the Roy Powell Trophy after a 16-10 victory over neighbours and Betfred Championship rivals Dewsbury Rams on Boxing Day.

The home side led 10-0 at the interval before Rams staged a spirited fightback in the second half and Diskin insisted Bulldogs are a better team than that performance suggests.

“The Boxing Day game is a good barometer to see where we are at and I thought we cruised through the game without doing much above that,” he reflected.

“We just got through it which is a shame really because we have been training a lot better than we showed.”

Diskin added: “It was a good hit-out and a good experience for some of those who haven’t competed on Boxing Day before and if they felt anything like I did after their Christmas dinner then they have done well to complete the 80.

“The performance was okay, but I don’t think we got out of second gear at any point.”

Diskin expects Batley to improve with ball in hand. He said: “I thought everyone was very good in the first half, we dominated from the go and the scoreline didn’t really reflect where we were.

“Offensively we were a little bit off, but you expect that at this time of year but I thought we cruised along.”