Batley v Salford.

I can’t quite believe how fast the season has flown by in 2026! That freezing cold Saturday night at Barrow at the end of January seems a world away now as we approach September. For us supporters we’ve had to be patient and manage our expectations. We’ve seen highs and lows along the journey but I think our club is in a much better position than it was twelve months ago. In the cold light of day it’s going to be our lowest League finish since the early 1960s but there is definitely a solid platform to build from. 

I think the club has made plenty of friends in 2026 and we’ve slowly earned our respect back amongst the other clubs. We’ve seen many players at different stages of their careers take to the field this year and every single one of them has played their part. Inevitably players will move on next week when the season ends but I sincerely hope the ones that do find their way in the sport and go on to achieve their goals. 

Looking back to last Sunday Salford went toe to toe with one of the best sides in the division. Under Alan Kilshaw the Roughyeds have been one of the most consistent sides in the Championship and I think they could have a big role in the end of season playoffs. It was a huge improvement on our previous game against Swinton. We showed we can play at an intense level when we do the basics right. Oldham just about did enough to win the match but I felt we deserved something after scoring five tries. 

 Post war League away record.

Batley 8

Draws 1

Salford 10

2008 Batley 22 Salford 48

2003 Batley 16 Salford 54

1996 Batley 18 Salford 56

1995 Batley 12 Salford 12

1990 Batley 10 Salford 21

1982 Batley 9 Salford 23

1981 Batley 15 Salford 11

1972 Batley 7 Salford 31

1970 Batley 0 Salford 23

1967 Batley 7 Salford 9

1964 Batley 15 Salford 13

1963 Batley 2 Salford 3

1963 Batley 43 Salford 0

1960 Batley 19 Salford 8

1959 Batley 23 Salford 13

1958 Batley 12 Salford 10

1956 Batley 23 Salford 29

1951 Batley 17 Salford 11

1946 Batley 27 Salford 11

They played for both.

Ian Bragger, Jodie Broughton, John Gilfillan, Greg Johnson, Francis Maloney, Iain Marsh, Derrell Olperts, Jason Walton, Daley Williams, Gus Risman.

A match to remember Wednesday 29th November 1995

Batley 12 Salford 12.

Well what a match this turned into. Andy Gregory’s Salford Reds were riding the crest of a wave in the Centenary Season. After relegation from the Stones Bitter Championship at the end of the 1994/95 season the club were rebuilding with a real blend of youth and experience. A large number of ex Wigan players were at Salford. Some of these lads had been a huge part of the success at Central Park. 

Going into this match at Batley, Salford were second in the league table behind Keighley. The Cougars were a point in front after beating Salford at the Willows in September 14-22. Salford were in blistering form though having won 10 out of 11 games.

It was a bitterly cold night in West Yorkshire. The glare of the floodlights and the smell of winter green wafted through the stand. It was a night for scarves, bobble hats and gloves. Batley were eighth with four victories so far and they’d all come at Mount Pleasant. It’s fair to say they were a much tougher opposition on their own ground. 

Steve Hampson had been a terrific fullback for Wigan and he started at the back for Salford with Sam Panapa at loose forward. Sam was still a fantastic ball player, super fit and like Hampson he’d been there, seen it and done it at the top level. 

Steve Blakeley was now in his fourth season with Salford and he had become a very reliable goal kicker. Steve had a wonderful side step, he could turn on a sixpence. He’d glide past players in the blink of an eye and was majestic to watch. 

The pitch was heavy and cut up early doors. It made handling very tricky. Glen Tomlinson pulled the strings in the halves for Batley and hard working hooker Mark Cass got through a ton of work in defence. Young stand off Gary Barnett bagged two tries for Batley which Andy Parkinson converted. Salford’s eighteen year old sensation Nathan McAvoy scored and Panapa got the other. Blakeley converted both but neither team did enough to win the match and it ended 12-12.

Perhaps this was the tough lesson Salford needed because they went on to win seven of the next eight games including a 6-34 demolition job away to Keighley. This saw Salford finish top and win the Second Division centenary Championship finishing seven points clear of Keighley who faded badly after Christmas.

The teams that night;

Batley, Moxon, Walker, Gilfillan, Harrison, Thornton, Barnett, Tomlinson, Parkinson, Cass, Green, Walton, Child, Heron.

Subs, McWilliams, Mirfin.

Salford, Hampson, McAvoy, Naylor, Martin, Sini, Blakeley, Lee, Young, Edwards, Eccles, Forber, Webster, Panapa.

Subs, Myers, Savelio.

Attendance, 884.

Referee, Alan Burke (Oldham).

Sunday’s match.

It’s ten years since our last visit to Mount Pleasant. In 2016 we had to win in order to qualify for the Million Pound game! Batley have already qualified for the end of season playoffs but I think they will want to win this with their last win over Salford being such a long time ago. The two sides played out a draw on a freezing cold Wednesday night in November 1995, 12-12. Batley last beat Salford in September 1981 in a Second Division match. 

The two sides met in the National League in 2003 and 2008 but on the whole meetings with Batley have been quite rare. Salford won at Mount Pleasant in the. Challenge Cup in 2009.

The Bulldogs go into this match on the back of a Heavy Woollen Derby victory over Dewsbury last weekend and they won three from the last five. The two defeats out of that five were against Doncaster away 22-10 and Midlands at home 34-30 respectively, but as you can see they are competing well with the top sides in the Championship. Head coach James Ford knows the game inside out. He spent eight successful seasons at York where his team had a very impressive winning ratio. Prior to the Batley job, Ford coached at Featherstone from 2023 until last year. He had a good playing career spending most of it in Yorkshire. An accomplished three quarter in his playing days, Ford has built a very solid reputation throughout his professional career. 

Danny Lynch will miss the match as he serves the second game of his two-match suspension. Shaun Costello was this week’s guest with Matt on Bring On The Salford podcast. Shaun is needing shoulder surgery after getting injured in the bruising match against London a few weeks ago. 

After impressing last week for the few minutes he played Corey-Jay Sharpe is set to feature again. The youngster scored a try on his debut last week. 

I keep looking at the squad and thinking who’s staying with us next season. I know quite a few lads have signed deals for next year but I can think of plenty who’ve not been confirmed yet so it’s a nervous time for them. Hopefully the club will put a retained list out as soon as possible to stop the speculation as well as allowing players to move on. 

If you’ve never been to Mount Pleasant before or the Fox’s Biscuits stadium as they call it now you’ll be surprised by the famous slope on the pitch. It’s definitely worth a few points and it can make the coin toss quite significant. 

I am certainly going to miss the matches over the close season. The way the sport is structured these days we have to wait a good while over the winter months for the pre-season games to kick off. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the previews this year and I’ll do my best to keep them going in 2027. Enjoy the match on Sunday, keep well through the winter and I’ll see you at the next match.

The action gets under way at 3pm.

Safe travels and enjoy the game.

Paul Whiteside. 

Big thanks to Steve McCormick, Adam Hanglin and Gareth Lyons for the photos and the Salford match day programme.