The Summer Bash drew to a close with the heavy woollen derby between the Batley Bulldogs and the Dewsbury Rams.

Dewsbury have registered wins in both encounters between the two sides in 2017 (league and cup) and the Bulldogs coach Neil Kelly will have been planning the downfall of Matt Diskins’ side to win the local bragging rights.

Dewsbury have just one win all season and while Batley have fared a little better they needed the win to rejoin Sheffield Eagles on fourteen points, six behind Halifax in fifth spot.

Dewsbury set out their intent when they kicked a second minute penalty goal through the boot of James Glover after Batley were adjudged offside on their own line.

On fourteen Dominic Brambani was yellow carded after a lifting offence, the game was a long way from going to plan for Batley.

With Brambini just back on the field, Batley scored the first try of the game when Danny Cowling was at the end of a passing move to take a perfectly timed pass and push his way through two defenders to ground. Cain Southernwood failed to add the extras so his side were 4-2 ahead.

James Glover kicked his second penalty after thirty minutes to level the scores in what was, so far, a pretty even but uninspiring contest.

After almost constant pressure from the Bulldogs Wayne Reittie took a short pass from Sam Smeaton to go over in the right corner. Southernwood again failed to convert but his side had an 8-4 lead to take into the sheds.

James Harrison doubled the Batley lead on forty-four when he threw the dummy and cut inside for a ten metre try. Southernwood missed his third kick of the afternoon and the Bulldogs were 12-4 ahead.

Dewsbury responded quickly with a great solo try from Aaron Brown who went from the half-way line, bamboozled the Batley players tracking back to tackle and dropped over the line. Glover kicked the touchline conversion and the lead was back to just two points.

A Dewsbury penalty from Glover on fifty-three tied the scores at 12-12 and it was clear that Batley weren’t going to get things all their own way.

On the hour Paul Sykes kicked a drop goal from twenty metres to edge the Rams into a one point lead.

James Glover dropped the ball in the process of scoring for Dewsbury on sixty-six under pressure from Reittie and three minutes later Jack Teanby was held up over the line. With ten minutes left it was the Rams who looked more like taking the points.

When Dewsbury stripped the ball on seventy-four Brambani missed a forty metre penalty attempt which could have won the game. Brambani then missed a drop goal attempt a minute later as the Bulldogs became increasingly desperate.

Another awful drop goal attempt, this time from Southernwood, went wide and the Rams worked back downfield and ran the clock down to a one point win despite being outscored by three tries to one.

Two average teams played out an average game at the end of a superb weekend of Championship rugby. The game was littered with errors, handling mistakes and devoid of attacking ideas. In a desperate season for the Rams they seem to have got the measure of the Bulldogs, having recorded their only wins of the season against them. Matt Diskin will be left fuming that his side have let the two points slip in a game that they should have won.

Rams: Hooley, Morton, Glover (4G), Walshaw, Fairhurst, Speakman, Hemingway, Sheriffe, Ward, Teanby, Hayes, Igbinedion, Brown (T). Subs: Sykes (DG), Adamson, Ollett, Tonks.

Bulldogs: Scott, Reittie (T), Smeaton, Cowling (T), Ainscough, Southernwood, Brambini (SB), Maher, Leak, Lillycrop, Manning, Farrell, Day. Subs: Rowe, Davey, Harrison (T), Gledhill.

Referee: John Roberts.

Half-Time: 4-8.

Full-Time: 13-12.

Attendance:.