Kear: We can’t our take foot off gas

Batley coach John Kear admits his side can’t afford to be complacent going into the final two matches of the regular season.

“The next couple of weekends are vital for us and we’re delighted to be in amongst it,” Kear said.

“At the start of the season, if you’d have told me we’d be in fourth position with two games to play I’d have bitten your hand off twice.

“You could say we have exceeded expectations this season and I think London are another team who have, which is credit to the group of players down there and his coaching staff.

“They are cemented in the top four, and are a big, big challenge.
 
“We’re delighted where we are, but to round off the season, we need to win these next two games.”
 
Kear also wants to see a much improved performance after the 34-6 home defeat against Featherstone Rovers last time out.
 
“We were poor last week but I don’t want to take anything away from Featherstone, who were excellent,” he said.
 
“They played with focus, intensity, desperation and channelled it in a very positive way – which is something we need to do this week.”
 
London booked their place in the Qualifiers a few weeks ago but coach Andrew Henderson wants his team to establish some consistency during the final two matches in preparation for the next stage.
 
“These next two weeks for us are ideal preparation for the Super 8s because they are going to have that ‘finals football’ feel against both Batley and Halifax the following week,” Henderson said.
 
“Their seasons could be determined by these results. They’ve got a lot to play for and so have we.
 
“We need to bounce back this week and deliver a good performance to get some confidence and build some momentum going into Super 8s.
 
“It’s just as important to us that we respond in the right manner but we understand that the opposition we are facing this week and next week are desperate and are fighting for their lives.”

Henderson was damning of the team’s performance during their previous match, losing 32-14 at home against Sheffield Eagles.
 
“We started the game really well but we lost our way a little bit and hit the self-destruct button,” he admitted.

“We lost that energy and desire to defend well for each other and with the ball we were disjointed and disorganised. It’s the first time this season I’ve seen a performance like that from us.
 
“I’m just hoping it was a one-off. Every time we’ve suffered a loss this season we’ve certainly responded in the right way so I’m expecting a good response this week and a good performance, which we’re building towards.”