Batley Bulldogs
| Bulldog | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Batley Bulldogs Rugby League Football Club |
| Colours | White, burgundy and gold |
| Founded | 1880 |
| Website | www.batleybulldogs.co.uk |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) |
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| Competition | National League One |
Batley Bulldogs are a British rugby league club, from Batley in West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One of the Rugby League National Leagues.
History
One of the oldest clubs still in existence, they were formed way back in 1880 as a result of various local sports clubs joining forces. The club play at the aptly named Mount Pleasant which overlooks the whole town. The ground has undergone major redevelopment over the last ten years, work is currently continuing on the bottom part of the ground at the famous "nine ole" end.
During the clubs time in existence the club has had its fair share of success and failures, indeed Batley won the Challenge Cup three times in the first five years the tournament was played, but silverware has been hard to come by in the latter years, only a brief spell in the 1990s saw any form of success over the last 70 years. with Batley winning the Trans-Pennine Cup in 1998. In the 1960s the league was restructured into two divisions and Batley are one of only a few teams never to make it into the top flight
In 1994-95 the club did gain promotion to the old Stones Bitter first division, but a restructuring of the game in general, and the start of the Super League saw the chance to play in the top flight denied. The reorganisation to summer rugby in the mid-nineties has sadly left a bitter impression on many fans of clubs such as Keighley and Dewsbury. Batley suffered another blow to their ambitions in 1993-94 in the last match of the season against Doncaster, which came down to being a play off for a spot in the first division, Batley lost this memorable game 10-5 and their chance had disappeared.
In the following years Batley went through a bad patch being relegated into the newly formed third division and getting into financial difficulty. However the club is now on a sound financial footing and with the return of David Ward to the staff the club is going through a phase of regenerating itself including a massive shake up in the playing staff with some 17 new faces arriving at the club close season, including the return of Aussie scrum half Glenn Tomlinson who was the lynch pin in the success the club had in the 1990s
The club has recently undergone a major shake up in the coaching staff with the resignation of head coach David Ward (Landlord of Oakwell Motel, Birstall)due to pressure from some supporters in the form of derisory comments in the local press. The new coaching first team set up involves two local lads They are Gary Thornton (Head Coach),
After a tough season in 2005 the Bulldogs were into National League One relegation play offs, facing bitter rivals and neighbours Dewsbury Rams. Victory in the final saw the Bulldogs stay up against increasingly well funded sides, with Super League ambitions. The addition of a new and strong batch of youth players will mean that Batley will be able to fight hard in the coming seasons, led by stalwarts such as captain Iain Marsh, David Rourke young star John Gallagher and long-serving Full-back Craig Lingard, who is nearing Tomlinson's all time try scoring record. They will hope to stave off relegation and hope to fight for a Super League place before the end of automatic promotion to Super League at the end of 2007.
Honours
- Championship 1923-24
- Challenge Cup : 1896-97, 1897-98, 1900-1901 (3 times)
- Yorkshire Cup: 1884-851 1912-1913
- Yorkshire League: 1898-99 1923-24 (2 times)
- Trans-Pennine Cup: 1998