Craig Lingard’s Bulldogs aiming to write their own chapter
Over a century ago, Batley, one of the founding members of the Northern Union, made history by lifting the inaugural Challenge Cup when they beat St Helens 10-3 at Headingley.
On two further occasions, the following year and in 1901, the club would again hold the famous trophy aloft.
But since the switch to Wembley, which first took place in 1929, Batley haven’t graced the final again, becoming one of a select few long-standing Rugby League clubs never to have played at the national stadium.
This afternoon, in the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup, all of that changes. Craig Lingard’s Bulldogs side will run out at Wembley for the first time, writing their own chapter in the club’s storied history when they take on Halifax Panthers.
“It’s massive, absolutely huge,” Lingard says.
“It was something that the playing group - not the coaching staff - highlighted before the start of the season. Before a ball was kicked they said they wanted to have a real crack at this competition.
“A few of the squad are closer to the end of their careers than the start now, and they felt that it might be their last chance to play in a showpiece event at Wembley.
“The 1895 Cup allows players outside of Super League to have that opportunity. We’re realistic enough to know that we’re not going to get to a Challenge Cup final as a Championship club, and that’s why the 1895 Cup is a great introduction - it gives us something to aim for.
“For us to be the first group of people to take Batley Rugby League Club to Wembley is an absolute honour for all of us.
“From a personal point of view, I never got anywhere near Wembley as a player, so to do it as a coach and in my last season at Batley where I played is a fairytale ending for me.”
The Bulldogs earned their place in today’s game with a gritty 22-8 semi-final win at York Knights that could have seen Lingard’s pre-match plans thrown out of the window.
“It was a bit of a strange one because we were expecting the weather to be atrocious and put a game plan in place for that,” Lingard explains.
“But 10 or 15 minutes before kick-off, the rain went and the conditions were fine.
“Because we’d planned for it to be a bit scrappy, tight and close we still had that mindset to play that way, and we controlled the ball really well and defended for each other. We were playing wet weather Rugby League in dry conditions.
“The players motivated themselves for that game. You could see in the week before that it was a different atmosphere and the players had a different intensity about how they trained.
“I never felt at any point in the game that we were in any danger of losing it, and that’s a very strange feeling when you’re playing in any kind of semi-final.”
The Bulldogs have again defied pre-season predictions by mounting a push for the Betfred Championship’s top two under Lingard, having last year made the Grand Final against Leigh Leopards.
“I think everyone tipped us to struggle a bit this year after we lost Tom Gilmore and Luke Hooley, who had been pivotal players for us the last few seasons,” Lingard says.
“But the players we brought in, we were comfortable that, although they weren’t like-for-like and were slightly different in terms of how they play and their skillsets, they could help us maintain what we were doing.
“We knew it would take some time to gel the new combinations and we didn’t start off great, which again meant that people thought we would struggle.
“But we felt that the longer the season went on the more those combinations would click and get us where we needed to be, and you don't lose the grit and togetherness in a squad that we’ve developed over the last few years. That’s stayed with us and got us through a lot of games - we’ve won lots by eight points or less.”
Lingard has a host of unsung heroes within his squad - players like Niall Flynn, Kiern Buchanan and Ben White - who have helped with that. And despite beating the Panthers 42-0 in their most recent meeting at the Fox’s Biscuit Stadium only last month, the Bulldogs coach expects today’s showdown to be much more like the usual clashes between the clubs.
“Fax-Batley games are generally quite close and competitively fought,” Lingard adds.
“We played at Halifax early on in the season and dominated the first half, then they won the second half and the game. The Summer Bash was a bit different and we can back to win.
“I’m not reading anything into the 42-0 and I’m sure Fax won’t be either; it was an anomaly.
“This is a cup final and league form goes out of the window anyway - I’m expecting it to be very closely fought, as most games between Batley and Halifax are.”
This article is taken from the official Betfred Challenge Cup Finals programme, which includes the 1895 Cup - the programme can be purchased online here.
Tickets for this weekend's showpiece finals day at Wembley are available until kick-off via Rugby League Tickets.
