James Batchelor leadership style in focus with Hull KR captain Elliot Minchella banned
Hull Kingston Rovers' James Batchelor recently took on added responsibility of a newborn baby, son Zak, and more has been added for him in his job on the pitch.
Batchelor captained the side in the absence of banned regular skipper Elliot Minchella, leading the side to a victory on Friday night against Leeds Rhinos that booked a top-two finish and home play-off semi-final. Minchella's ban being upheld means that the regular skipper will also miss that semi, so Batchelor is poised to step up as a leader again.
The two men have different on-pitch personalities, with the demonstrative and vocal Minchella having different characteristics to the more under-stated Batchelor. But Batchelor had a voice as Rovers secured their goal of a home semi-final. This is his second year in the club's leadership group and he is another player who is considered by the club as an exceptionally hard-worker.
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Batchelor, 26, has had brief spells of absence this season due to injury and suspension but he has still clocked up a lot of minutes and work as a regularly featuring player in the second row. Against Leeds, when Minchella's absence was felt, there was a big playing responsibility for Batchelor and the other forwards, while Dean Hadley was moved to starting loose forward.
Hull KR head coach Willie Peters said: "Batch is Batch. When we talk about Elliot Minchella, when we talk about Dean Hadley, when we talk about James Batchelor, those guys, you could sing their praises every week in terms of effort and competing. And I thought he led from the front. He was vocal in and around the dressing room. With Batch, it is more around his actions. He speaks through his actions."
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