BATLEY Bulldogs have already shown they will once again be no pushovers at Mount Pleasant after being edged out by Bradford Bulls in the final of the pre-season Yorkshire Cup.

The Bulldogs spent much of the second half of the clash playing with 12 men after having three players sin-binned, but were still only beaten 14-12 by Bradford.

Mount Pleasant – AKA the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium – has rarely been a happy hunting ground for any away team and Batley head coach Matt Diskin believes the display against his former club shows what they will be all about in 2019.

“We have shown we are in a really good position for the season,” Diskin told the Yorkshire Evening Post.

“It will be one of the toughest Championship seasons yet and we were against a full-time Bradford team who’ve got the luxury of more staff on the sidelines than we have players on the field.

“We’re looking very strong defensively, we’re battle-hardened and ready for that game against Barrow. We can’t wait for the season to start.”

Barrow Raiders head to Batley for the Betfred Championship opener tomorrow aiming to end a run of eight straight defeats on the infamous sloping pitch.

But head coach Paul Crarey insists his team have nothing to fear and that they should not be intimidated by the Bulldogs’ reputation or previous games.

“We talked about mindset and Batley is just a name,” said Crarey. “We don’t know what players they’ve got or whether they’re carrying injuries.

“We know it’s going to be tough and physical, and they’re relentless on their own track. We’ve gone with a strong middle who’ve got to play long minutes with eight substitutions, so that’s a test for everyone in this league.

“If you’re going to play a mid-table Championship side, you want to do it at the start of the season when everyone is a bit rusty, and hopefully we can go there and cause what would probably be a big upset.”