Leeds Rhinos' Luke Hooley eyeing historic Wembley final with Batley Bulldogs in 1895 Cup

Bulldogs, one of rugby league’s oldest clubs will book a first Wembley appearance if they win Sunday’s 1895 Cup semi-final at York Knights.

Hooley was a Betfred Championship Grand Finalist with Bulldogs last term before signing a two-year deal with Rhinos.

He rejoined Batley in April on a dual-registration agreement which allows him to play for them when not needed by Leeds.

Rhinos are without a game this weekend and don’t play three weeks later when the 1895 Cup final will be staged in a triple-header with the men’s and women’s Challenge Cup showpieces.

That gives Hooley an opportunity to potentially feature in both and he stressed: “I don't know what the plan is for the final, but if I can contribute to getting them there I'll be happy for the club.

“Hopefully I can stay fit and play in it if we get there. I've never played at Wembley so if that opportunity comes, I'd love to play in it. It's not the main game, but not everyone can say they've played there.”

Famously, Batley were the first team to win the Challenge Cup, in 1897. They lifted the trophy again the following year and for a third time in 1901, all at Headingley, but have never graced the Wembley turf.

“It's a massive game for everyone involved at the club,” Hooley said of Sunday’s tie against the 2021 runners-up.

“A lot of Batley’s squad] have dreamed of getting to Wembley and for some it's their final chance to get there in their careers.

“It's a big game for the supporters as well, who are all behind us. It would top off the last few seasons if we could get there.”

Bulldogs have punched above their weight consistently since 2010 when they won the now-defunct Northern Rail Cup, under coach Karl Harrison.

They were Championship Grand Finalists three years later, when John Kear was coach and again last term, under current boss Craig Lingard and will go into this weekend’s tie as favourites, sitting third in the table, 10 points ahead of ninth-placed York.

Other teams have more resources and a bigger fan base, but Hooley reckons there’s no secret to Bulldogs’ success.

He said: “When you go to the club, you're going there because you want to enjoy yourself and work hard.

“You're not going there thinking you're going to get a big pay cheque because nobody is going to get a big pay cheque at Batley.

“The team is so close-knit you just want to work hard for each other and enjoy yourself. When you're enjoying yourself in a team, you play better rugby.”

Hooley joined Batley in 2020 from Wakefield Trinity, where he did not make a first team appearance.

He has featured only once for Leeds this year, in a defeat at Hull KR at the end of March and admitted playing for Bulldogs wasn’t on his agenda at the start of the campaign.

“This year has not gone how I planned it to go,” he conceded. “I've spoken to Rohan [Smith, Rhinos’ coach] and said I just want game time and that's what I'm getting at Batley at the moment.

“I'm finding my feet again now and getting back to how I was last year. I feel like I've been pretty patient and when the time comes, I'll be ready to go again.”

Hooley is in regular contact with Smith and added: “I'm still in his plans, that hasn't changed, but he hasn't wanted to make too many changes at once to the spine.

“I'll keep on doing my own thing and ask him what the best thing is for me. If I can get a couple more games this year, that'll put me in good stead for a big pre-season looking forward to 2024.”