BULLS 16 BATLEY 21

THE unbeaten home run is over as the Bulls suffered their first Odsal setback at the hands of Batley.

They outscored Craig Lingard’s side three tries to two - but paid the price for indiscipline at crucial moments with Luke Hooley punishing them with four penalties in his six successful kicks.

It was a scruffy, stop-start contest when the key difference was a penalty count heavily in the favour of the visitors.

David Foggin-Johnston was back after a knee injury and Wakefield prop Rob Butler was handed his loan debut. Academy product Jayden Myers came in at centre for the injured Joe Arundel to make his first Championship start after two Challenge Cup outings.

But there was no Jack Walker for another week. He was named 18th man as he recovers from the hamstring injury he suffered on opening day.

That meant Tom Holmes continued at full back - with Jordan Lilley staying in the halves on his 100th Bulls outing.

A couple of quickfire penalties gave Myers an early sniff of the line but he was wrapped up short.

The Bulls suffered a blow as Jordan Baldwinson, a powerful figure in the Halifax win, was forced to leave the field for a head check.

He was allowed back on midway through the first half - but did not appear again after half-time after the match doctor had studied video of the incident.

The first 10 minutes were camped in Batley territory but the Bulls could not make the pressure count - and were almost undone by the Bulldogs’ first threat.

Ben Kaye was held up over the line before Aidan McGowan spilled a try-scoring offload from Josh Hodson.

But it was Batley who struck first on 15 minutes as Josh Woods set up Lucas Walshaw to hold off two tacklers and stretch over the line.

Batley almost had another but James Brown knocked on trying to reach for the line.

The Bulldogs continued to take control of proceedings after Foggin-Johnston fluffed a diagonal kick from Woods. The scrumhalf caused more panic with another chip close to the line, with the Bulls caught offside to allow Hooley to slot over the penalty.

The Bulls were relieved to see a rash pass from James Meadows fly into touch as the visitors knocked on the door once again. The quiet crowd summed up the flat feel.

Mark Dunning’s men finally got on the board just before the hooter after Dane Manning was caught offside. Butler was thwarted by Samy Kibula under the posts but Billy Jowitt spotted a gap to dart in from dummy half.

Holmes put the Bulls under immediate pressure from the restart when his kick-off went out on the full.

But resolute defending kept the Bulldogs out - with Ben Blackmore producing a superb one-handed take in heavy traffic when Woods kicked to the corner.

McGowan then picked off a Holmes pass as the Bulls looked to go in on the left wing.

Tempers were rising in the tight contest and boiled over with a scuffle midway inside the Bulls half which saw Dec Patton yellow-carded.

He had run into the melee which started when it appeared Meadows led with his forehead and caught the head of Holmes on the floor.

Nobody from Batley was punished and Hooley tucked over the penalty to boos from the home fans.

But the 12 men were clearly fired up by the sense of injustice - as they powered back to take the lead for the first time.

Holmes unleashed a basketball pass to the left wing where Foggin-Johnston theatrically dived into the corner. Lilley took the kicking duties in Patton’s absence - and punched the air after firing between the sticks from the touchline.

The lead, though, was a short-lived one as Josh Hodson went in on a short pass from Meadows to nudge Batley back in front.

Holmes’ restart forced an error but Kieran Gill was forced into touch by a scrambling Bulldogs defence 10 metres away.

Hooley then tacked another two to Batley’s lead after Bulls were punished for interference.

And Woods crucially made it a two-score game when he side-stepped Bodene Thompson to drop a goal from right in front the posts.

Time was fast running out for the Bulls who needed an immediate response. Lilley dinked a spinning grubber kick under the posts but George Flanagan was adjudged not to have grounded properly as he pounced on it.

A late hit on Tom Lillycrop allowed Hooley to maintain his perfect record with the boot with another penalty. Holmes responded straight away with a try in the corner, Patton missing a difficult kick.

But there was no “Hail Mary” attempt in the final minute after another error on the first tackle allowed Batley to play out the clock.

BULLS: Holmes; Blackmore, Myers, Gill, Foggin-Johnston; Patton, Lilley; Baldwinson, Flanagan, Scurr, Appo, Thompson, Bibby. Interchange: Johnson, Wallace, R Butler, Jowitt.

BATLEY: Hooley; McGowan, Hodson, Buchanan, Kear; White, Woods; Lillycrop, Kaye, Brown, Manning, Walshaw, Reilly. Interchange: Meadows, Gledhill, Flynn, Kibula.

BULLS MAN OF MATCH: Tom Holmes.