For the London Broncos ace is a star after a hilarious try-scoring celebration lit up social media, showing him devouring a sandwich.
And prop Battye has a confession to make – that was someone else’s lunch!
The Broncos' powerhouse found himself the talk of the 13-a-side code when a Gif showing him smashing a ‘cheese on white’ sandwich went online after he scored a try in Sunday’s 42-24 win over Wakefield.
Instead of doing a celebratory dance or hand signal, Battye reached for the nearest thing he could find, with hilarious consequences.
“It was actually our media guy’s dinner,” admitted the 27-year-old, who ended up scoring twice. “So he went without I think!
“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure why I did it. Our media guy said, ‘Do what you want.’
“There’s no reason behind the sandwich, it’s not a nickname or anything like that. A few lads did different things and I’ll admit, I didn’t think it would get seen much as I don’t score that often!
“I honestly didn’t know what to do, so I just got the sandwich and smashed it in my face. A couple of the lads were behind the camera and were laughing their heads off.
“I don’t score that many tries but it was great to score and get off the nude run forfeit. There’s big pressure on a prop so it’s a weight off my shoulders!”
London’s opening day win sees them third in Super League and they head to table toppers Salford on Sunday.
After that, Battye will be heading to mum Cath and father Stephen’s farm in Penistone, South Yorkshire, where he is sure to muck in with some unlikely creatures – water buffalo.
“They were dairy farmers but decided to diversify,” he added. “So they went into working with water buffalo, going to things like farmers’ markets and food festivals.
“It’s true, honestly, but some of my team-mates, notable new ones like Luke Yates, don’t believe me.
“So I send them pictures of me with the animals whenever I go home.
“And even though I’ll have played, I can be sure there will be jobs to do around the farm. There’s always something to do.”
Battye’s route to Super League saw him start at Sheffield, head to French side Villeneuve, return to Sheffield and head to London.
Now after eight years, he is at the top table and he, like the rest of Danny Ward’s side, is determined not to let the opportunity pass him by.
He said: “Everyone has written us off ever since I came to London. We’ve always been the underdog and thought of as not being good enough.
“But we’re happy to be underdogs and just go about our business. We showed that if we believe in ourselves, we are good enough and making it two from two would be a real message to the rest.
“London is the polar opposite to where I’m from but after three years I’m used to it now and quite like it down here.
“Ever since I came, I’ve done pretty well and it wasn’t a bad way to start.”
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