Dewsbury Rams secured their third win of the season over local rivals Batley Bulldogs at last weekend’s Kingstone Press Championship Summer Bash.
Speaking on the win, coach Neil Kelly said, “I think it was a really significant performance for us, it wasn’t memorable for the skill on show but the spirit we showed was great. We’re looking to build on that spirit and add a bit of quality starting this weekend.
“All the wins that we have had this season have been against the same side but a win is a win and that same side have been teams in the weeks in between that we’re going to be playing over the next few weeks.”
Oh when the Rams go marching in ðŸ‘
— Championships-RL (@RLChampionships) May 28, 2017
Fans were loving @DewsburyRams' win in the final game of #SummerBash pic.twitter.com/83Tl1RvGYk
Kelly believes that the Bulls will be looking to bounce back following their Summer Bash defeat, he continued, “Bradford put in a superb performance against Hull KR and they’ll be looking to replicate that this weekend.
“We’re expecting a really tough battle, I don’t like to use the word war but it’s probably as near as we can get. Everything we get out of the game we’ll have to fight tooth and nail for and Bradford will be no different.
“We’ve nothing to fear apart from ourselves and what last week’s performance showed me is that if we do some things right we can be competitive and if we add a bit of quality to that it can lead to wins.”
Hallett "After speaking to Neil I knew it was the right choice" Read more from Macauley and Mark Sawyer: https://t.co/xZnUImUDOZ pic.twitter.com/Y80htNzyAI
— Dewsbury Rams (@DewsburyRams) June 1, 2017
Last time Bradford and Dewsbury met the Bulls came out on top with a 56-18 win and Kelly wants an improved performance this weekend, “The last time we played Bradford we were competitive for the first half and Bradford didn’t really cut loose until probably the last third of the game. I’m looking to lay a similar platform but obviously go on to win.
“That’s what was pleasing about last week’s game against Batley, we produced a second half performance and that gives me confidence that if we lay the platform in the first half on Sunday, we’ve got enough in the tank to put in a good second half performance and go on and hopefully win the game.”
Bradford Bulls coach Leigh Beattie is hoping his side will be inspired by their performance against Hull KR despite the defeat. He said, “It’s tough to take confidence from a loss but after where we’ve been we can take a lot of positives out of the game.
“Hull KR are the top side in our division and I think a lot of people expected us not to compete so it was very pleasing that we did.
“We’ve had some big scores against us in the last couple of weeks so I thought it was outstanding that we put in the performance we did and responded.”
Bradford fans were another level at #SummerBash 🙌
— Championships-RL (@RLChampionships) May 27, 2017
From the 1st to the 80th minute & @OfficialBullsRL players showed then how much it meant pic.twitter.com/7g0Ar6pflJ
Looking ahead to this weekend’s game against Dewsbury Beattie continued, “There will be a lot of emotion in this weekend’s game for both sides so we’re expecting a very tough game.
“They’ll be going in to the game with a lot of confidence after their win against Batley.
“It’d be nice if we could get a similar score line to the last time we played them but I think it’ll be a lot closer.
“We’ve still got to get rid of minus two points and I don’t know if that’s becoming a bit of a burden on us but we’ll certainly be giving 100% on Sunday.”
Featherstone Rovers will be hoping they can bounce back from their Summer Bash defeat when they face league leader’s Hull KR and Swinton Lions come head to head with Oldham RLFC.
London Broncos will be looking to continue their unbeaten run against Halifax RLFC.
After defeating Oldham last weekend and ending their run of ten games without a win, Rochdale Hornets travel to face Sheffield Eagles and Batley Bulldogs take on Toulouse Olympique XIII.
All fixtures kick off on Sunday at 3.00pm.
