Betfred Championship: Featherstone Rovers target two points at Batley to ease last-game pressure

Going into the penultimate game of the regular season, Rovers are two points clear of sixth-placed Sheffield Eagles and have an advantage of 198 on for and against.

Rovers trail York City Knights, who are fourth, by three points after losing there a fortnight ago and are unlikely to climb any higher on the ladder, but victory this weekend would take the pressure off the final game of the campaign at home to second-placed Toulouse Olympique.

“We know it is a big game for us,” Rovers coach Ryan Carr said.

“But it has been like that all year, nothing has changed. I’ve not been to Batley personally, but I know it is a tough place to go and play. Their results have all been either wins or very tight so it is going to be a very tough game for us, but we are ready for the challenge.

“We’ve had good preparation and we want to get out there and put a few things that happened in the York game to bed.”

Having no match last weekend gave Rovers a break and Carr has close to a fully-fit squad.

He added: “It’s always good to give some bodies a chance to freshen up.

“We’ve not got a huge squad, but everyone, other than Jack Bussey, is available.”