‘No right answer’ for James Ford and play-off certainties Batley Bulldogs ahead of final game of regular season with Salford
James Ford has revealed there will be “no right answer” in terms of squad selection ahead of Batley Bulldogs’ final game of the regular Championship season at home to Salford on Sunday, August 30 (kick off 3pm).
The Bulldogs confirmed their place in the play-offs with a thumping 48-26 victory at local rivals Dewsbury Rams last weekend and will be looking forward to an eliminator clash at either seventh placed Sheffield Eagles or eighth placed Midlands Hurricanes in September depending on their own final position after this weekend’s fixtures.
If they avoid defeat against Salford, Batley will play Midlands, but if they lose and Whitehaven beat Cumbrian rivals Workington Town, the Bulldogs will travel to South Yorkshire for the first round of the play-offs.
So does Ford name a full strength side to maintain vital momentum going into the end-of-season extravaganza? Or will players be given some rest?
“There is no right answer,” he told the Reporter Series. “If you make loads of changes and you get hammered then you have lost your cohesion on the back of that. If you put your best 17 out and you pick up a couple of injuries then that is the wrong decision.
“Ultimately, however, I will not have a choice as I will only probably have 17 players available anyway for the game. Those who are not injured or concussed will be in the 17.”
Assessing the 2026 campaign, his first in charge at Mount Pleasant, Ford revealed:
“A top ten finish is good, it is not outstanding. It’s been bizarre really lately. The games that we have won have probably been our worst performances. The defeats against Newcastle and Oldham were fairly strong performances.
“Against Keighley we were miles off it and we were fortunate to come up with a big play at the end to win the game. We just need to make sure that we are accountable for the things that we do and aim to be better next week against Salford.”
He added: “It is a re-build season. We have talked about that before a couple of times this year.
“There will be some new people coming into the club next year and they will help to continue the re-build and hopefully we can progress further next season.”