Challenge Cup preview: Batley Bulldogs ready to give Hull KR ‘a good contest’ - Craig Lingard
Batley Bulldogs’ head coach Craig Lingard has insisted his side are ‘ready’ to give Hull KR - this season’s surprise package in Super League - ‘a good contest’ in their last-16 Challenge Cup tie at Craven Park tomorrow (Friday, May 19, kick off 8pm).
By Adam Cheshire
Published 18th May 2023, 14:00 BST
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Rovers have made an exceptional start to their 2023 campaign, winning eight of their 12 games, including sensational victories over Wigan Warriors, Leeds Rhinos, St Helens and city rivals Hull FC.
And Lingard is under no illusion at the task in hand. He said:
“We will approach the game in exactly the same way as we always do and we will give ourselves the opportunity to stay in the game for as long as possible. Even though it is a free hit it doesn’t mean we are going to go there and do something that we wouldn’t normally do.
Batley Bulldogs’ head coach Craig Lingard has insisted his side are ‘ready’ to give Hull KR - this season’s surprise package in Super League - ‘a good contest’ in their last-16 Challenge Cup tie at Craven Park tomorrow (Friday, May 19, kick off 8pm). (Photo credit: Paul Butterfield)
“If we stay in the game long enough, and it is close, then they might feel nervous and that’s the best outcome for us - to keep it as tight, and as close, as possible for as long as possible and see how deep we can go into that game.
“But they are that sort of team who can blow you away in the first 10 or 15 minutes and if that happens then that happens. We will certainly be going there fully prepped and ready to give them a good contest.”
It promises to be a busy weekend for Lingard, who will be on the Mend-A-Hose Jungle touchline on Sunday to see his new side, Castleford Tigers, where he is now assistant coach, take on Hull FC.
“It’s going to be busy over the next four to five months,” Lingard said. “My family is well aware of that. But they are fully supportive which is great. The response from Batley has been very positive as well.
“I just think it is the right time. The positive for me is that they have given me the opportunity to stay at Batley until the end of the season,
“At the end of the season, once that chapter closes with Batley, a new one fully opens with Castleford. Hopefully I can then repay the family with a little bit more quality time spent with them.”
Speaking openly about his move into full-time rugby league with Cas, Lingard told the Reporter Series:
“I had a few chats with them about the head coach position and one of the questions they asked at the time was if I didn’t get the position would I be interested in coming in as an assistant. There were a lot of variables around that, it wasn’t a simple yes or no. It would depend on who got the head coach job and whether there were any sort of connection there. And the relationship had to be on both sides.
“Andy Last got the job, they contacted me and I talked to Andy, the conversation went really well. It just came at the right time and everything aligned. It was very quick but everything fit into place.”
On Cas’ head coach, Lingard said:
“I had never met him before or spoken to him. I’m unknown to him, he’s unknown to me. That’s something that appealed to him as well. Generally, as a head coach, you will have an assistant who you have worked with in the past or someone you are familiar with just because it helps you a little bit.
“Andy identified he wanted somebody coming in that didn’t have a connection to either him or Castleford and just to have a fresh pair of eyes. It’s a neutral pair of eyes as well.
“They’d looked around at different people and seen what we’d done at Batley in the Championship and what we achieved on the budget that we’ve got. I think there are some similarities between both clubs - Batley have underspent compared to a lot of other teams and Castleford are similar in a Super League environment.”
And the new role sees Lingard take an opportunity to be part of a Super League environment for the first time in his career. He revealed:
“I just think it is the right time. You can potentially hang on and hang on and hang on waiting for what you might think is the ideal opportunity for you or the eutopia opportunity. I came to the realisation that it would be very difficult for any Super League club to give me the head coach's role from a part-time environment, so the natural transition, and progression, for me was from part-time head coach to full time assistant coach in Super League.
“It’s the right time, the right opportunity and the right club. Just because an opportunity came up, didn’t mean I had to accept it. There has got to be some sort of belief that I can have an impact on the club where I am going and they can have an impact on me.
“I also think there are a lot of similarities in how both clubs are involved in the community and how important they are for their community as well.
“We’ve had two really positive seasons at Batley and we’re halfway through another positive season and I just think for myself, and for the club, at the end of the year, there’s an actual transition period for me to move on and to hand the reins over to somebody else to put their own stamp on what they want to do at Batley.”
