Halifax Panthers come out on top against Batley Bulldogs to secure first league win of season

In an enthralling game of rugby league, which contained great tries, touch tackles, sloppy errors and manic passages of play, Fax won 28-10 at The Shay.

But don’t let the three-score margin fool you as Batley gave it their all, with Fax producing the sort of mistakes which will have left Kyle Eastmond pulling his hair out.

The Panthers fell behind to a Joe Burton opener but recovered well to lead 16-4 at the break thanks to tries from Ben Tibbs, Tanguy Zenon and Ben Crooks.

And although the spirited Bulldogs refused to go away with Luke Cooper’s effort giving them some hope, those dreams were dashed by two tries in five minutes from Jesse Soric and Charlie Graham.

After an opening round defeat at Doncaster two weekends ago, it was a great way to kick-start their 2026 league campaign.

Batley, in their first league outing of 2026, started well – with James Ford naming some debutants in his 17 including in Ben Reynolds, William Oakes and Akim Matvejev - although they were helped along with a Myles Lawford forward pass and then a late tackle.

Fax, who thrashed amateur side London Chargers 88-0 here at The Shay last weekend, remained firm to keep them out and they thought they had taken the lead in the seventh minute but Will Calcott was denied due to a forward pass in the build-up.

It was action-packed, must-watch rugby, with some tough tackling as well as ball-playing magic. Felix Ellis’ afternoon was cut short due to the former when he was forced off with a head injury assessment.

The centre was replaced by Robbie Butterworth, who started from the bench with Ben Reynolds making his Batley debut at full-back.

Moments later, Alfie Johnson laid stricken on the Shay turf as Burton looked destined to score in the corner but he was somehow denied by a combination of the exceptional Zenon and Tibbs.

Johnson left the field with his arm in a make-shift sling to seemingly protect a shoulder injury.

Fax regrouped and when Batley were penalised for offside, Owen McCarron couldn’t quite get on the end of a Lawford grubber kick.

But, in the blink of an eye, the Bulldogs went straight to the other end to open the scoring through Burton who scooped up a loose ball and strode over the line.

It was no more than the visitors deserved. But that was as good as it got for Ford’s men in the first half as Fax began to apply some constant pressure before getting their just reward.

Batley thought they had done enough when Walshaw produced a brutal tackle on Tom Inman. But Fax persisted with Zenon beautifully finding Tibbs who finished in the corner.

Zenon then got on the trysheet himself following some neat footwork as the home side forced ahead.

It was compelling viewing. But there was more mayhem to come as Ben Forster produced a fabulous run down the middle of the pitch. He was eventually caught but he managed to offload the ball to Lawford who tried to kick towards three team-mates on the left but Butterworth came from nowhere to boot the ball dead.

But, unbelievably, that wasn’t the end of the action. As the half-time hooter sounded, Fax kept the ball alive with Crooks picking up a loose pass from Forster and found a massive gap in the visiting defence to extend the lead.

The interval gave the two teams - and fans - a chance for a breather, but Ford sent his troops out early. And whatever was said was certainly adhered to as the Bulldogs got back to within six points at 16-10 when Cooper received a short ball from Jonah Parsons to barge over.

Decisions from the referee seemed to be going against the home side. But when they were finally awarded a decision in their favour, Lawford couldn’t find touch with the kick. It summed up Fax’s start to the second half.

But the Panthers showed character and resilience to keep Batley out before taking their chances at the other end.

Soric scored a great individual try on the hour mark after producing a mesmerising dummy to create some space.

If that wasn’t game over, it certainly was with 13 minutes remaining when Graham bravely charged down a Josh Woods kick just inside the Batley half and ran home unopposed.

Halifax: Zenon, Tibbs, Johnson, Graham, Carter, Soric, Lawford, Calcott, O’Brien, McCarron, Crooks, Day, Inman

Interchanges: Halafihi, Forster, Cowen, Fairbank

Tries: Tibbs, Zenon, Crooks, Soric, Graham

Conversions: Lawford (3)

Batley: Reynolds, Burton, Ellis, Hudson, Oakes, White, Woods, Kirk, Leak, Stevens, Flynn, Walshaw, Atkinson

Interchanges: Parsons, Cooper, Matvejev, Butterworth

Tries: Burton, Cooper

Conversions: Reynolds

Referee: Tara Jones