Batley reunion on the cards for Craig Lingard | Betfred Challenge Cup Sixth Round

A Batley reunion is waiting for Craig Lingard on Saturday, as the Castleford boss returns to Mount Pleasant (Fox’s Biscuits Stadium) for the first time since his departure last season.

The magic of the 2024 Betfred Challenge Cup continues well into the Sixth Round this weekend, as Super League’s Castleford Tigers have been drawn against second tier side Batley Bulldogs - in what is set to be a gripping West Yorkshire derby.

Come Saturday, Castleford fans will make the short trip across West Yorkshire and gather on the Craig Lingard terrace – a stand at the bottom of Batley’s iconic slope named after Lingard himself.

A club legend, Lingard spent his entire playing career in Batley colours spanning two decades and is their all-time top try-scorer. He later went on to coach the Bulldogs between 2020-2023 for four seasons, where he guided Batley to a Million Pound Game – one match within Super League - as well as a historic Wembley appearance in the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup Final.

Mid-way through last season, Lingard combined his duties at Batley with an assistant coaching role at the Tigers. And when the opportunity to become head coach of the Super League outfit arose, Lingard made the decision to leave the Bulldogs and join up permanently with Castleford at the Jungle.

And although the 46-year-old will be warmly welcomed in this upcoming cup fixture and reunite with old friends and fans, he spoke in his pre-match press conference and said that the focus won't be on himself and his Batley return:

“It will be [special]," Lingard admitted. "But I've said before, I’m not being disrespectful to Batley but I’m not thinking about them this week, I’m thinking about Castleford.

“I’m at Castleford now. I spent a lot of time at Batley and I made a lot of good friends there through playing and through coaching and just being involved with the club.

“There will be a time and a place for me to catch up with them and enjoy their company, but up until the final whistle I'm not really thinking about Batley.

“My involvement and focus are now purely with Castleford. Once the final whistle has gone and hopefully we’ve done the job that we need to do, then maybe I can look back and think about the occasion.

“I’m not showing any disrespectful to Batley because they’ve played a huge part in my rugby career and my life and shaped the person I am. I have full respect for them, but my full focus is on the 17 that are playing tomorrow and hopefully getting the victory."

The two sides last met in 2014, where the Tigers won comfortably in Round 4 of the Challenge Cup. There’s been eleven cup meetings between the sides in total and the Tigers have won their last 13 away meetings with Batley – the hosts’ last home win being in a 1961 Championship match, 63 years ago.

But Lingard will not be underestimating his former side - having masterminded many of the upsets the Bulldogs have caused in the past:

“I’ve kept a track of their [Batley's] progress. I’ve watched quite a few of their games to see if there’s any changes.

“I have a lot of respect for Mark Moxon, I think he’s an absolutely fantastic coach, a great bloke as well, and he fully deserves this opportunity he’s got.

“He’s doing really well at Batley. They got pipped last week against Featherstone in pretty much the last play of the game. But other than that they’ve been winning games and winning games well, so he’s got them ticking this year and he’s grasping that chance with both hands.

“Everyone is going to be quite rightly seeing this as a potential upset, but we’ve got to make sure we embrace the challenge," he then told The Yorkshire Post in a recent interview. 

"A lot of our players won’t have been to Batley before, let alone played on that field.

“We’ve got to prep as we would do if we were playing Wigan or Saints away. If we turn up thinking it’s only a Championship club and we’re going to win easily, we’ll get beat.

"I know very well how tough and resilient these guys at Batley are. Once you think you've seen them off, they just keep coming back and keep coming back. It'll need to be a real professional performance from us.

“You’ve got to play 40 minutes uphill and 40 minutes downhill. Batley have always wanted to play uphill first half and most visiting teams like to do the same.

“It’s these little mind games you’ve got to deal with at Batley. People make the hill out to be more than it actually is.”

Admittedly, Castleford haven’t had the greatest start to their 2024 Super League campaign, having suffered five consecutive defeats – four of those being heavy losses. They recently returned from Perpignan empty-handed after a 40-14 hiding from Catalans Dragons in the latest Super League round.

But Lingard insists that this isn’t down to a lack of effort from his playing group, although he recognises there is still a lot of work to be done on the field:

“We’ve focused a lot recently on the effort-based stuff and our attitude. We believe we’re getting there now with the non-negotiable," explained Lingard in his pre-match press conference.

“We need to increase our quality and execution. We can’t keep missing the opportunities.

“We’re now looking at adding that little bit of quality to our play and being a bit more ruthless in our attacking stuff, but also defensively as well. We need to be better defensively.

“It’s about being smart and not making the same mistakes.”

As Batley gear up to welcome a Super League club to their home ground – encapsulating the Challenge Cup magic – they will look to bounce back from an unlucky late loss to Featherstone last weekend and will be relishing the challenge in front of them.

The Bulldogs’ head coach Mark Moxon gave his pre-match thoughts to the Dewsbury Reporter:

“There is no pressure on us whatsoever. There is no doubt. It is a free shot for us. It is a free hit as nobody expects us to win.

“But it is a big occasion for all of our lads and one which I am sure they will embrace,” Lingard’s predecessor said.

“They [Castleford] are desperate for a win and this is a great opportunity for them to get their season started and get a bit of confidence with a win under their belts.

“It’s a chance for them to get their season off and going but that adds a bit of pressure to them as well as they know they should win this week. They are not used to winning at the moment so that makes it a difficult challenge for them.”

On Craig Lingard’s return, Moxon also commented: “He has done great for Batley as a player and as a coach so I am sure he will be warmly welcomed. I am 100 per cent sure he will.

“For us, there’s only one way to go and that’s to dust ourselves down and go again. We have looked after the lads this week and we are prepared for another big effort.”

As the two teams go head-to-head on Saturday afternoon, the occasion promises to be a spectacular one, with a bumper crowd expected.

With both sides hoping for a Challenge Cup victory, can Castleford finally kick-start their season? Or will the Bulldog underdogs cause one of the biggest cup upsets?

Tickets are still available for this Challenge Cup Sixth Round tie. Fans can purchase tickets on both Batley and Castleford’s official club websites.

A full Betfred Challenge Cup Sixth Round Preview can be found here:

The Men's 2024 Betfred Challenge Cup Final (KO 3pm) is part of a Finals Day triple-header at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 8 June, alongside the finals of the Betfred Women's Challenge Cup (KO 11.45am) and the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup (KO 5.45pm). Plus, there will be the traditional Year 7 Boys’ Champion Schools Final at 10am. Tickets are available online now from only £20 Adults and £10 Under 16s, with family packages also available.