Championship preview: Batley v Doncaster (Sun)

Batley Bulldogs coach John Kear has promised a marked improvement in his side’s defence after last week’s 36-30 defeat against Whitehaven.

The Bulldogs conceded six tries against the Cumbrians to leave Kear frustrated.

He said: “Our intensity dropped and we became loose and casual.

“Our defence wasn’t good enough and that’s something I’m annoyed about. (This week) they’ll get back to defending how Batley can defend.”

Kear is now hoping for more consistency from his entire team after a patchy performance against Whitehaven.

“Dan Fleming was absolutely immense and caused problems every time he had the ball, but we had some who had absolute stinkers.”

Doncaster coach Tony Miller has eight games left as head coach and will be determined to make the top eight.

The Dons are currently two points adrift of Workington Town, but are buoyed by last week’s 30-26 win over Hunslet Hawks.

Miller said: “We showed a lot of character to come back and we probably just deserved to win it.

“We got there and more importantly, we got the three points we needed.”