Battered Bulldogs aiming to bring end to losing run

Batley showed real heart in the 16-12 defeat to Sheffield Eagles last week but are facing up to an horrendous injury crisis.

Alistair Leek was already ruled out for the season after scans confirmed damage to anterior cruciate ligaments.

Mark Applegarth suffered a recurrence of his calf injury against Sheffield and faced scans this week to determine the extent of the problem.

Lee Paterson was a late call-up to last Sunday’s squad after Miles Greenwood was taken ill but he was unable to take goal kicks due to injury.

Kear was full of praise for his squad after the Sheffield defeat, saying: “You have got to admire what they are doing because you have got players who are hurting and are busted but still putting their hands up to play.

“It didn’t work with Mark Applegarth but it did work with Lee Paterson, especially as he was only informed he was playing (Sunday) morning because of Miles Greenwood’s illness.”

Flying winger Alex Brown was added to the injury list when he picked up a nasty eye injury, which will need continued assessment over the coming days.

Kear explained: “Alex plays in contact lenses and got a scratch across an eye which split one of the lenses

“It was a pretty nasty injury, which meant he was effectively playing with one eye after about 10 minutes but in the end the pain got too much and we had to take him off.

“It’s not a very pleasant injury but one which we hope can be rectified pretty quickly.”

Simon Brown has returned to Halifax following his spell but Keegan Hirst will spend the next month at Batley after joining on loan from Featherstone.