Toulouse Olympique v Batley Bulldogs: Debutants thrown in deep end at Toulouse

TWO DEBUTANTS will be thrown in at the deep end when Batley Bulldogs take on Toulouse Olympique in France tomorrow (7pm).
George Senior.George Senior.
George Senior.

Toulouse are second in the Betfred Championship, but Bulldogs travelled yesterday with an under-strength squad.

Boss Matt Diskin said: “James Brown broke a finger the other day so he has gone for the season.

“He had an operation [on Wednesday].

Archie Bruce.Archie Bruce.
Archie Bruce.
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“We have got a couple of other people carrying bumps and bruises who can’t play this weekend.

“We’ve got lads who’ve got wives who are due to give birth in the next week or two who can’t travel and a couple more who couldn’t get leave from work.

“We are a bit short on numbers, but it gives an opportunity to a couple of fringe players and also a couple of amateur lads we’ve signed – George Senior from Dewsbury Celtic and Archie Bruce from Dewsbury Moor – who will make their debut.”

Diskin predicted: “It will be a bit of a baptism of fire, coming up against one of the best teams in the league, but it will give them a good measure of where they need to be in pre-season to kick on and develop with us again next year.”

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Batley are safe from relegation following last weekend’s home win over Dewsbury Rams, but Diskin said they can’t afford to coast through their final three games.

“The higher we finish, we get a bit more money to spend for next season,” he pointed out.

“It is important for clubs of our size with small budgets. It makes a big difference, it could make the difference between having a quality player or not so it does matter where we finish.”

But Olympique are battling Leigh Centurions for runners-up spot behind Toronto Wolfpack and Diskin added: “The pressure is on Toulouse.

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“They need to cement their place in the play-offs. They are a fantastic team and it’s a tough place to go to when you are at full strength, never mind giving some opportunities to people, but we are going with nothing to lose. We know if we can keep with them in the first 20 minutes we will be in with a chance. They tend to blow teams away at the start at home so we have to make sure we compete in that first quarter.”