02 February 2020

Featherstone Rovers kick-started the 2020 Betfred Championship campaign with a convincing 38-18 victory on the road against Batley Bulldogs at the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium. A 22-point haul from Dane Chisholm partnered with tries from Greg Worthington, Luke Briscoe, Josh Hardcastle and James Harrison was enough for Rovers, who came out on top in what was a well fought win against a resolute Batley team. James Webster’s men began the tie strong, in the 14th minute Batley tried to hold-up Craig Hall, however the fullback smartly offloaded to Greg Worthington who was able to get the ball down and give his side the lead. However, the hosts weren’t prepared to rollover and hit-back with two tries of their own. First Lewis Galbraith latched onto a loose ball and scored after a kick in the corner from Danny Yates in the 22nd minute. Then five minutes later Alistair Leak came off the bench and was able to break through a gap in the Rovers’ line to put the hosts ahead. Just before half-time two Leeds Rhino’s dual-registration players combined in Callum McLelland and Luke Briscoe. McLelland’s pass out wide found Briscoe, who almost spilled the ball, but the winger recovered brilliantly and finished in the corner.

After a tight first period, Batley were punished immediately in the second-half when Chisholm gathered a loose pass with his back to his try-line and calmly ran the length of the pitch to score and restore Rovers’ lead. Moments later, the stand-off continued his fine afternoon with a second try. This time 29-year-old sold a dummy to the Batley defence before riding a challenge and crashing over the line. Once again Batley weren’t ready to give up despite falling behind. Lucas Walshaw found his way through a gap in the Featherstone defence and brought the deficit back to just six points. However, Chisholm scored a goal from a penalty to give Rovers an eight-point lead, before McLelland turned provider once again when he found Josh Hardcastle who put Rovers two tries ahead. The game was then put beyond any real doubt when Jack Harrison was able to score against his former club as he grounded a deft kick from Chisholm, securing a victory on James Websters’ first competitive match as Rovers’ Head Coach.