Batley v Barrow action shots: ‘Masters of the grind’ produce ‘professional performance’ as Bulldogs beat Raiders

Tries from Joe Burton, Kieran Buchanan, Luke Hooley and Jonny Mitsias, his first for the club, did the attacking damage, while the defence only conceded a first half penalty goal.

Moxon told the Reporter Series on Monday:

“It was a real professional performance. The conditions were really greasy, there were some showers before the kick off so it made it a really greasy surface and it made it a grind.

“I heard that the Barrow coach labelled us the masters of the grind and I think they came prepped ready for a grind and that’s how the game went. But we got the job done and I was really pleased with how the game went.

“We won the toss so we went uphill first and we kept them to just a penalty goal and managed to pinch a try ourselves. We were happy at half-time and felt as though we had laid the foundations.

“The second half was a case of dominating the field position and executing in good bal,l which is what we did. I maybe would have liked it if we could have put the game to bed earlier than it happened but they came for a grind, they dug in and they never went away.

“They made it tough for us so I was really pleased we continued to trust the processes and we got the reward in the end.”

Greece international Mitsias also got his reward with a first try for the Bulldogs since joining in February.

Moxon said: “I am really pleased for Jonny. It hasn’t been plain sailing for him. He came over with a bit of a shoulder niggle to start with so he didn’t hit the ground running. He has had good players in front of him as well and they haven’t been getting injured, the likes of Buchanan, George Senior, Elliott Kear, experienced players.

“He has had to be patient as game time has been at a premium for him but I thought he was extremely safe yesterday. Every time he has played he has been really good defensively, we have maybe just been looking for a bit more from him with ball in hand and maybe score or create a few more tries and opportunities.

“He did some tough carries coming out of yardage and I was really pleased he got on the scoreboard. Hopefully that is not the last one we see from him this year.”

Take a look at these photos, by Paul Butterfield, from yesterday’s game.