Newcastle Thunder v Batley review

On Sunday afternoon I attended a cold and very wet Challenge Cup second round tie between Newcastle Thunder and Batley Bulldogs at Crow Trees the new home of Thunder.

I'll start by saying this, it was miserable. The players looked cold including one of the Batley substitutes who nearly forgot to take his wooly hat off when coming back on for an interchange. The fourth official who had his RFL hoodie looked dejected and finally Battler the Bulldog who to his credit stuck it out for eighty minutes pawtrolling the touchlines must've been about 20kg heavier with the amount of water he took on!

To the game, Batley were as I thought a battle hardened Championship team, not only did they possess power, but in the conditions they played some decent stuff and their handling was excellent.

Newcastle Thunder v Batley Bulldogs 26/01/25

As for Thunder, as I'd said in the preview it was going to be tough but to their credit they stuck at it, got stuck in but will be disappointed with a low completion rate. The feeling of the Thunder fans around me was there's an improvement from last season and there are genuine encouraging signs. It was concerning to see Evan Lawther come off with a leg injury, hopefully he will be fit for North Wales on Sunday. There was no Harry Lowery for Thunder yesterday although he was on the touchline. Unfortunately returning signing Tyler Walton who will have a big part to play this season for Thunder was in a cast and on crutches.

One real positive for me was Tara Jones who refereed the game very well in difficult conditions.

Credit to Batley who got their job done and will look forward to a big local derby against Dewsbury Rams in round three. As for Thunder they take on North Wales on Sunday in another test.