Halifax v Batley preview: Mark Moxon praises opposite number as Bulldogs travel to Championship table-toppers

Fax have won all of their opening four league games and sit top of the table despite a below-par 2024 campaign.

The Bulldogs, meanwhile, tasted defeat in the Championship for the first time in 2025 after being beaten 23-10 at home to York Knights last weekend.

And head coach Mark Moxon knows his side are going to be in for a “really tough challenge” at The Shay on Sunday, March 30 (kick off 3pm).

He said: “They are absolutely flying. It’s going to be a really tough challenge over at Halifax. They are certainly playing with some confidence at the moment and they have clearly got some cohesion.

“Kyle (Eastmond, Fax head coach) has obviously done a good job and he has certainly got them playing with confidence and togetherness.

“I think people may have been looking at them with their financial issues at the back end of last year, they lost a few players and they had a really small squad, so people may not have been expecting them to start the way they have.

“But they have got a good group of players and the core has been there a long time. He is getting the best out of them at the moment.

“Confidence breeds confidence and winning breeds winning. They are certainly in that rut at the moment and it will be difficult to get them out of it.”

The Bulldogs should be able to call upon on-loan duo Luke Thomas (Warrington Wolves) and Brad Martin (Leeds Rhinos), while Moxon also confirmed that Jonah Parsons had signed terms for the “rest of this season and next.”

Moxon said: “He has played every game and that probably wasn’t the plan at first. But we have had so many injuries and he has had an opportunity.

“He has played really well and he has caused a lot of threat coming out of dummy half. He has still got plenty of development left in him. Defensively he has been standing up to these big blokes.”

On Martin’s impact, Moxon added: “You can see that he is a full time player. He has been excellent. He has been versatile and that has been essential.”