Batley to enjoy 'free hit' against Featherstone Rovers
Batley head into the West Yorkshire derby on Sunday on the back of three-straight wins, putting themselves in pole position to secure a Championship play-off place.
Rovers had their 13-game winning streak in the league ended by Toulouse Olympique last weekend and Lingard is expecting a response from the 1895 Cup winners on Sunday.
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Hide AdThe sides have met three times this season - once in pre-season, once in the league and one further time in the Challenge Cup - with Featherstone winning all three contests.
“If we had got beat last weekend, it puts more pressure on the Featherstone game,” said Lingard.
“They will be expected to get a victory this week.
“It is a free-hit for us but we are full of confidence, we are looking up rather than looking down.
“They will want a reaction from their performance against Toulouse. Hopefully we can catch them on an off day and we will be on form.
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Hide Ad“I can’t imagine a team like Featherstone will have two weeks on the bounce where they perform poorly. We are expecting a reaction.
“We have won our last three games and we are full of confidence and when you are full of confidence, anything can happen.”