I think it will be a very close game , I’m going Batley 26 v Fax 18.

Too much puff from fax without having delivered , batley to teach them a lesson in holding your counsel until you have actually done it . To be honest havent a clue which way this will go but hate people talking about what they are going to do before there is a ball kicked. Total nonsense.

Two teams split by points difference last season, one apiece in the league both games close , Batley keeping their spine so used to playing together and fax recruiting well but not played a lot together , batleys pitch probably not suited to our expansive game so it’ll be down to our forwards winning that battle in the middle I think we have enough ( if selected ) with Murray , Morris, tangata , gwaze , knowles , Kavanagh etc with wood controlling things round the ruck. If the wind is anything like today the fullback ll be in for some spiralling bombs . A bit of guile from Keyes n jouffret I think we’ll nick it . No silly penalties.

I will go for a score of batley14 halifax 22 and the team i would pick from the 21 man squad would be.

martin
saltonstall
arundel
worthington if fit if not mcomb
walmsley
jouffret
keyes
tangata
moore
larroyer
kavanagh
garside
knowles

murray
gwaze
barber
wood

It is tough to leave out mcomb or morris but i think larroyer as carried the ball with a bit more punch during preseason and with worthingtons toe injury mcomb might get a chance anyway.

Welcome to playing under pressure after spending some cash.

Obviously disappointed with the result but absolutely no arguments about who deserved to get it.
Our attack looked good at times in the first half but our defence was found wanting in the second.
Crucial scores for the Dogs either side of half time played a part but the biggest factor was the second half dominance by the hosts of both field position and possession.
Well played Batley.

Not really a huge surprise and typical game against Batley and a real game of two halves. Both teams piggy backed by the ref heading down the slop and Batley were just able to take advantage better. Before the season it were clear that we needed to add some size to our pack and nothing as changed, we were easily dominated in the 2nd half by the big Batley pack. Obviously losing Knowles early in the 1st half played a big part and it wouldn't be a surprise if that is a season ender.

I thought Morre was poor and dropped off tackles at an alarming rate, I still don't get the Joe Martin decision and after today nothing has changed in that respect. I really like McComb but for me he is a winger so having him at centre we lose some of that explosivness that he offers bringing the ball out. We really struggled to make ground up the hill, I really like Ward and Lilleycrop they really took it to us again and nobody really stood out in our pack. Gwaze looks like he will get knocked about quite a bit and I know Grix likes mobile forwards but we need some size. Hopefully we can get 1 or 2 players from Huddersfield in that respect as the season goes on.

Correct , after dominating for 39 minutes we were outplayed by Batley. Cheery Tree shuddersfield. Elland 1872 Porter 6.5% Mmm!

Close game nail biting towards the end
Wish Fax well for the rest of the season and especially for Brad Knowles
He left in an ambulance in a lot of pain we hope he has a speedy recovery

I agree with vast majority of that - rarely seen us play the Mount well and was worried as soon as I saw we were playing downhill first half.
Batley have always had a pack designed to play their pitch and they certainly had more impact than Fax's trundling down the hill. Real shame about Knowles as he's probably been our most dynamic forward.
Surprisingly disappointed with Keyes today who didn't impose himself on the game at all today - also if team was picked on performance rather than reputation our 2 wingers would be Salty and Mccomb- although Walmsley tries hard and needs better service has been decidedly underwhelming so far.

As my previous post saw this one coming . Gutless second half performance . Batley team spirit saw them win . We are not yet a team and clearly the pack have to gel and fight for each other. Batley are a very well run club supporters should be proud .

The last part is the most baffling thing for me, we lost Woody before the season and we know that Walmsley wants to play FB yet we bring in a lad who no disrespect, has not exactly proved himself to be a top half of the table FB. Added to that we singed another local lad who has not had a look in and also said no to Alex Walker. Im not blaming Martin for the result though and ultimatley it will be Grix who fails or suceeds due to his decisions.

Last seasons pack started, gelling shouldn not be an issue for them but I totally agree about the fighting for each other thing. We did not dig in in that second half.

Congratulations to Batley who ran out deserved winners , my sentiments are pretty much covered in grixs’ review https://youtu.be/pw5xNNCZxkw . I’m not gonna pick out individuals but yer we’re not quite there yet and Batley are always a tough nut to crack , it reminded me of Oldham game last year in the 2nd half endless needless penalties for silly indiscretions, some of the plays look disjointed , need to recover quickly and start again next week .

Congratulations to Batley who ran out deserved winners , my sentiments are pretty much covered in grixs’ review https://youtu.be/pw5xNNCZxkw . I’m not gonna pick out individuals but yer we’re not quite there yet and Batley are always a tough nut to crack , it reminded me of Oldham game last year in the 2nd half endless needless penalties for silly indiscretions, some of the plays look disjointed , need to recover quickly and start again next week .

Go away.

Unsurprisingly Batley played the hill better than we did. As soon as they scored that try before half-time I knew the second half was going to be tricky.

Plenty to work on but we'll be fine.

I’ll just get it in early. Charlie knows.

What were the cards given for

I think Keyes was a high tackle and Martin was pulling a supporting player back , not 100% sure as I was right at the other end .

Thank you Norman , I just felt Batley would be to strong for you , they are always difficult to beat at home , Fax do have a stronger team this season , and I think 5thspot is there for you .I think Haven , Worky , and Sheff will be battling relagation .
Our game next week at Fev willlet us know how good we are , I was impressed with us from 1-17 yesterday , but Haven are a weak side .Good Luck for the rest of the season .

Yes Batley on their home patch is always a tough ask. Hopefully we will have learned a lot from the game and can kick on next week against London. Will be interesting to see how York & Fev go tonight.

https://twitter.com/thegamecaller/statu ... 13890?s=21

https://twitter.com/thegamecaller/statu ... 13890?s=21

If you want to see a example of suicide rugby then that was it in the second half. We did well in the first half high completion rate 16-0 up we even blew a few scoring chances arundel not passing twice to salty who was wide open and barber did the same. The batley fans behind me were giving the officials plenty of abuse in the first half i bet they wasn't in the second. And why was joe martin defending in the line all the time. I know fullbacks do this when defending your own line but he was doing this most of the game batley didn't take advantage of this until the second half for Hooleys try surely for a experienced fullback he could see this was asking for trouble and so should of the coaching staff. Hopefully aston golding is coming in on loan or play whitton if he is not ready why sign him he should of played yesterday. Credit were it is due to batley who are a good side and didn't need asking twice to punish us for all our mistakes they should go well again this season. For me we need to hammer london next week and get the season on track the pressure is on both the players and coaching staff to deliver.