Loan signing Jimmy Grehan will make his Batley debut in Sunday's Carnegie Challenge Cup fifth-round tie against London Broncos.
Second-rower thrown straight in to face Broncos
Australia-born second rower Jimmy Grehan will make his Batley debut in Sunday's Carnegie Challenge Cup fifth-round tie against London Broncos after signing on loan from Castleford.
The 23-year-old Grehan, who is eligible for the cup after missing out on selection for the Tigers' fourth-round defeat by Featherstone, will train with his new team-mates for the first time on Thursday and go straight into the Bulldogs squad for the Broncos tie.
"We're a bit light on second rowers so we've done a deal with Castleford to sign Jimmy on loan," said Batley coach John Kear.
Grehan, a former St George junior and Parramatta Eels squad member, joined Castleford from French club Limoux in January and has made four Super League appearances so far.
Kear, no stranger to Challenge Cup glory, is hoping the signing can help his team of part-timers pull off the second giant-killing act of the competition, following Featherstone's defeat of Castleford.
Advantage
Kear famously guided Sheffield Eagles and Hull to cup final upset victories over Wigan and Leeds respectively, and believes a win at Mount Pleasant on Sunday would rank among his greatest achievements.
"If a Championship team could reach the quarter-finals, it would be like getting to Wembley for them," he said.
"We spoke about it at the start of the season. One of our goals was to get to the quarter-finals of the cup."
Batley gained away wins over Workington and Hunslet to reach the last 16 and Kear, who is in his first season with the Bulldogs, is hoping the club's famous sloping pitch can help them reach their target.
"Being at home is a big advantage," he said. "Obviously our ground is a little unique.
"It would be a massive upset because it's part-time against full-time and we've got players laying tarmac drives and plastering walls in the build-up to the game, but I'm really pleased with our start to the season.
"We've played 11 games and we've been competitive in every one. We've won nine of them and we've lost by two points and eight points in the other two."
