Batley Bulldogs: Craig Lingard delighted to have star man Tom Gilmore on board for 2022 campaign

Gilmore was the star of the show for Batley on Saturday as he scored 15 of the Bulldogs’ points in their play-off victory over Bradford Bulls.

The former Widnes Vikings player scored a try, converted all three of Batley’s tries, kicked two penalty goals and knocked over a drop-goal in the final stages of the game.

Batley have tied down the majority of their squad for next year after ending the regular season in fourth place and the club are keen to repeat that in 2022.

“It is a massive lift for us,” said Lingard of Gilmore opting to remain at Batley.

“You saw the quality that he had on Saturday, he just dictated the tempo of the game, especially in that first half.

“And in the second half, with the drop goal he put over towards the end to make it a three-score game.

“His all-round game management is great. He is calm, he doesn’t get frustrated. He just does what he needs to do and it rubs off on the players around him. To have him in our squad is a huge lift for us.

“We have kept the spine of the team and the majority of our squad together. That will bode well for us next season.”

Lingard’s side head to Toulouse Olympique this weekend aiming to pull off a shock upset in the play-off semi-final. The Bulldogs boss insists that all the pressure will be on the hosts, adding: “They might feel under a little bit of pressure to perform which might change the way they play.

“We will control what we can control, we have to make the game as challenging as possible for them.

“All the pressure is on them and that is how we like it. We have been written off all season and hopefully everyone is writing us off again.”