Greenwood calm ahead of cup clash
Lee Greenwood is on the verge of one of the biggest games of his life but the Batley Bulldogs winger is remaining totally calm, having told himself that, compared with recent experiences, Sunday’s Carnegie Challenge Cup fifth round tie at Halifax will almost be a doddle.
Greenwood is certainly not writing off the threat of Championship rivals Halifax; instead, Greenwood is enjoying the luxury of not having his loyalties and emotions ripped down the middle, as happened in the fourth round.
Batley coach Karl Harrison banished Greenwood from the club before the fourth round tie and told him to concentrate on his other role as coach of their opponents, Siddal.
Most people thought it was a win-win situation for the former London Broncos player but Greenwood said he hated the whole experience.
He said: “The last round was crackers and was such a weird situation. Game day was very strange.
“It was really hard to get into it and I tried not to let my feelings rub off on the Siddal players.
“I would probably have been a lot more vocal on the bench but 10 yards away were my Batley mates.
“It felt like a no-win situation for me. This fifth round game will be low key compared to that.”
Greenwood insists he’ll be hyped up, however, as both Co-operative Championship sides battle it out for a quarter-final spot.
He added: “I have never been to the quarter-finals before. Two Championship sides are guaranteed a quarter-final spot and that’s a big motivator.
“I have never been that far before and I’m sure that’s the same for most of my team-mates.
“It would be massive if we got through. Then, fingers crossed, we will draw a glamour Engage Super League team which will be good for the club’s finances.”
Greenwood works during the day as a sports co-ordinator at Calderdale College and still lives in Halifax, where he was born.
But he insists he won’t feel any pressure playing against his former club, in his own back yard.
He said: “Batley almost always go into games as underdogs and this is no different. There is no pressure on us but we are determined to try and win because reaching the quarter-finals would be massive.”
