Here's why Batley and Featherstone won't be rearranging their pre-season showdown

Batley Bulldogs considered seeking new pre-season opponents after the Betfred Challenge Cup draw and Championship fixtures potentially set up three trips to Featherstone Rovers in four weeks.

Bulldogs will visit Rovers for a warm-up game on March 13, could return in the Cup two weeks later - if both teams get through the first round - and also begin their league campaign away to Featherstone on Good Friday, April 2.

Featherstone Rovers' Millennium Stadium could become a home from home for Batley at the start of the season. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.

placeholder image — Featherstone Rovers' Millennium Stadium could become a home from home for Batley at the start of the season. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.

Batley coach Craig Lingard worked with Rovers’ general manager Steve Gill at Keighley Cougars. He said: “We had pencilled the friendly in before the league fixtures and the Cup draw came out.

“We said we’d revisit after that and decide - if we were playing each other early in the season - whether we wanted to continue [with the pre-season game].

“It was a consideration, whether we abandoned it and looked somewhere else, but we both agreed to get it on.

Featherstone Rovers to face Oldham and Batley Bulldogs in pre-season action

“It serves their purpose and ours because we are getting a game against a top-quality side. We needed a game and, because of Covid restrictions, there wouldn’t be many other opportunities out there.”

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