Rams pay price for bad start in derby

The Rams trailed 10-0 early on but fought back playing down the slope and tries from Lucas Walshaw, Dewsbury Moor product Toby Richardson, James Glover and Dominic Speakman helped them into a 22-10 interval lead.

However, although they kept Batley at bay for a spell after the break, the Bulldogs clicked into gear and ran in 30 unanswered points to take the spoils 42-22.

Kelly was disappointed with his side’s first half display, which allowed Batley to build momentum after the break.

Speaking after the defeat, Kelly said: “We started the game without any intensity and looked as though we were just going through the motions early on and you can’t come to Batley and play in a dispassionate way and I thought that’s how we started.

“It was a mark of how we turned things around but I wasn’t that impressed with us even when we went in at 22-12.

“Some players really aimed up for us. Toby Richardson, Guzdek, Hallett, Glover and Trout played really well for us but we lacked a bit of oomph.

“We talked at half-time about getting to the kick and completing our sets and trying to defend the 10 point lead we had got but I never expected us to defend for 40 minutes.

“When we got the ball we didn’t always look after it and our discipline let us down. We gave away penalties late in the tackle count which really hurts a team.

“I think some of our defence was absolutely superb but any team would crack after 40 minutes of defence.”

Defeat saw the Rams slip to fifth in the Championship Shield.