Newcastle Thunder v Batley and a Bank Holiday of Championship action

Saturday afternoon sees student takeover day at Blaydon as we have another double header. Newcastle Lightning host York Barbarians in the Yorkshire Men’s League Cup at 13:00 and Newcastle Thunder host Batley Bulldogs in the Betfred Championship at 16:00. It was a good weekend for north east rugby league last weekend as both sides won.

It’s the second time in a fortnight that Batley have made the trip to Blaydon with Thunder claiming their first ever victory over Batley in the 1895 Cup coming out 34-20 winners. Batley will be smarting after that and will be looking for revenge. 

Last Sunday they put in a strong performance beating Goole Vikings 46-10 running in eight tries in the process. We saw in the cup game that they have the likes of Dane Manning who will cause Thunder problems. They did create chances but couldn’t finish them through Josh Woods and Ben Reynolds but their accuracy let them down. 

Batley are currently sat in eleventh place in the Championship having won four and lost five of their fixtures, they’re a proud club and will look to build on the confidence of Sunday’s victory over Goole. They’ll turn up at Blaydon looking to be direct and cause Thunder problems.

For Thunder it was a real team performance in last week’s victory over high flying Barrow. Barrow threw a lot at Thunder and it was one of those games that will be a real boost that they came through such a battle. 

Graham Steadman’s squad sees a Thunder return for the popular Mitch Clark on loan from York following his injury. Jack Smith is included for the first time in a few weeks, John Sagaga returns after picking up an injury against Hunslet, there’s also recalls for Ukuma Ta’ai and Jack Brown in Graham Steadman’s twenty man squad. Joe Law isn’t named this week and Matty Foster gets an opportunity with York as he’s named in their squad to take on St Helens tomorrow night. Good luck to Matty, Sam Cook, Myles Harrison and Cody Hunter who are all named in the York squad this weekend.

It was a really niggly game last week and Thunder did well to keep composed and get the job done, it was noticeable the likes of Will Roberts were keeping things calm when Barrow were trying to get under the skin of the likes of Ryan Jackson, it was a really mature performance from Thunder. There’s some real power in this Thunder side and they’ll look to use it against a Batley side that will be direct. They’ll look to build on that performance and get a Saturday win which puts pressure on those teams chasing play-off places. 

Squads and officials:

Newcastle Thunder: 2. Andy Djeukessi, 4. Jude Ferreira, 5. Brad Ward, 7. Will Roberts (loan), 8. Bailey Antrobus, 9. Taylor Pemberton, 10. Ryan Jackson, 11. Harvey Reynolds, 12. Noah Whittingham, 15. Brenden Santi, 16. Leo Tennison, 17. King Vuniyayawa, 18. Ukuma Ta’ai, 19. Jack Brown, 20. Mitch Clark (loan), 22. John Sagaga (loan), 25. Jack Smith (loan), 27. Jordan Lipp (loan), 30. Tom Inman, 31. Nikau Williams (loan).

Batley Bulldogs: 1. Robbie Butterworth, 2. Joe Burton, 3. Oliver Greensmith, 6. Ben Reynolds, 7. Josh Woods, 9. Alistair Leak, 11. Dane Manning, 12. Lucas Walshaw, 13. Robson Stevens, 14. Ben White, 15. Nyle Flynn, 16. Michael Ward, 17. Liam Kirk, 18. Evan Hodgson, 19. Jonah Parsons, 20. Jack Hudson, 21. Luca Atkinson, 24. Akim Matvejev, 25. Derrell Olpherts.

Referee: A. Williams

Reserve Referee: J. Broomhead

Touch Judge 1: K. Silcock

Touch Judge 2: R. Schofield

Venue: Crow Trees

Kick off: 16:00

Tickets

This game isn’t included in the season ticket package. Tickets are available to buy online. Please buy in advance to speed up entry to the ground or use the QR codes before the turnstiles, the pricing is:

Adult (17-64): £15

Concession (over 65): £12

Student: £7.50 (bring valid I.D.) £5.00 with discount code!

Under 16: FREE!

Championship fixtures

Apart from the cancellation of Doncaster v North Wales on Friday night there’s another good round of Championship fixtures to look forward to! With it being a Bank Holiday weekend, there’s plenty of chance to get out and watch Championship rugby league!

Goole face a tough task against London, that will be a comfortable victory for London. Batley will be all guns blazing at Thunder but I’m backing Thunder to come through and get the win. Sunday’s fixtures sees Barrow host Oldham, this is my game of the weekend. Barrow were disappointed with their performance last weekend and Oldham are in a bit of turmoil off the pitch with rumours of players not being paid following Bill Quinn’s departure. Oldham put in a very strong performance against Workington last weekend if they aren’t put off by off field issues I think they’ll win at Barrow. 

Dewsbury host Whitehaven and I expect a win for Dewsbury on home soil. Workington travel to Hunslet and Hunslet should prevail in that one. Keighley hosting Halifax is an interesting one, both sides will be disappointed with their results last weekend. I thought Halifax would’ve given a better account of themselves but I fancy them to bounce back on Sunday afternoon. An improving Swinton side host a Midlands side who remain high up the table, this will be a tough one for Midlands but given their form I think they’ll get the win. Widnes have been impressive in recent weeks and Sheffield have announced in the week they’re moving grounds which has created a bit of talk. Widnes should continue their impressive run of form. 

Goole Vikings v London Broncos

Newcastle Thunder v Batley

Barrow Raiders v Oldham

Dewsbury Rams v Whitehaven

Hunslet v Workington

Keighley Cougars v Halifax

Swinton Lions v Midlands Hurricanes

Widnes Vikings v Sheffield Eagles