BATLEY BULLDOGS coach Mark Moxon sees plenty of further development in Alfie Dean after the 20-year-old’s eye-catching debut.
The winger went in for the last-gasp try which meant the Yorkshire side snapped a two-game losing sequence by winning 16-14 against London Broncos at Wimbledon in their fifth Championship outing of the campaign.
Former Castleford development system player Dean was recruited from amateurs Kippax over the close-season after playing three times for Newcastle in League One last year.
Moxon, unable to follow up their capital gain when they went down 28-24 against neighbours Hunslet on Good Friday, explained the signing was made after a tip-off from ex-Huddersfield, Wakefield and Castleford forward Ryan Hudson, who now runs a PE coaching consultancy.
“Ryan has worked with Alfie and alerted us to him,” explained Moxon.
“He’s a good judge of a player, and we did some research and made our move.
“He was playing for Castleford Reserves, then had a spell out in Australia under (former Castleford prop) Andy Lynch, and started playing for Kippax when he came back.”
Under the terms of the deal, Dean can turn out for the Yorkshire Men’s League side on dual-registration, and Moxon added: “He has just got on with things, not complained once and been patient, and it was great to see him take his opportunity the way he did.
“I believe there is plenty more to come, and we will keep working with Alfie to help him progress.”
Batley head to Sheffield on Friday, with Moxon pitting his wits against Eagles coach Craig Lingard, the man he succeeded in the Batley hot seat in 2024 after being his assistant.
“We still talk regularly, although we might be careful what we’re saying to each other at the moment,” he quipped.
“Paul Royston, our old strength and conditioning coach, is at Sheffield too, so it will be good to have a catch-up.”
