Pre match to Halifax Panthers vs Bradford Bulls (good Friday)

Halifax Panthers go into the their food Friday battle on the back of back-to-back wins for the first time this season and seeing the Panthers hit some of the form of what was expected during the pre-season.

It hasn’t been the dream start fans had hoped for but there have been some promising signs during the defeats. 

Weather has been a thorn in the sides of many teams in the early stages and now that the seasons are changing players are being able to play some champagne rugby and showcase their players in the form they promised.

The wins have been a welcomed boost to the coaches and players alike and coach Simon Grix credits the players hard work and determination to a successful couple of weeks.

“Every win is an important win, but after a few tough weeks it was good to get those wins under our belts. The lads have been pretty solid and although hurting at the losses they have moved in to the next one working hard for one another. If things aren'tgoing your way sometimes, they only way is to roll your sleeves up and worked hard and I can't fault the lads on that” 

Grix spoke to Panthers TV at the end of the Featherstone away fixture which saw solid first half performance in a game that could have gone either way, he told them it was a tough one to take, I asked Simon how he, as head coach lifts the team and prepare them to do battle the following week. He said the key is to remain positive.

“I think people will be bored of hearing me speak about context, but we are seven games into a twenty-seven round season, so we have a long way to go yet and this has been part of our conversations. Remaining positive is key and celebrating the successes from those games, but more importantly is making sure we are all held to account in the areas we fall short and making sure we address them” 

Some of those areas for improvement that have been highlighted in recent week by pundits and fans has been, unforced errors I addressed those issues with Grix to see how he expects the team to eradicate those errors from the game.

“A lot of our limited time together is spent with ball in hand and between this and the fact we have skilful players we feel it is a strength we need to utilise; therefore, ball movement isn't going to be taken away from our performances. However, it comes with a risk and can be forgiven at times, but other times not so much. The referees are under a lot of scrutiny and have a difficult job. The play the ball penalties for example, some are very harsh but each year they start with a focus area and we need to switch on to it. As mentioned previously, the lads are honest and hold their hands up to the errors and get to work each week intent on getting them out of the game, nobody makers an error on purpose after all. We will make errors but I feel we are still building to the necessary level of resilience required to defend them.”

In the close season saw the Panthers bringing in a lot of players, including a number of playmakers to bring a different creative edge to the team and bringing a different type of play than previous season, Grix sees this as one of their strengths this season.

“Our strengths to date have been our ball movement and our general toughness in some tough games. We are still building our identity as a team with so many new additions but I don’t think were far off at all. In the past Halifax have been known as hard working and is a trait required to play for this club, but we are building on that now with a skilful approach for our possession.”

Last season saw Halifax Panthers in the play offs and a third-place finish, I asked Simon what the team needed to do to reach those highs again.

“To get to the play offs this season is no easy feat, but one we are more than capable of achieving. To do this we have to develop consistency individually and collectively. In addition to maintaining hight standards for ourselves and each other is a must, learning from the good and bad as we go. 

Halifax are still in relatively early days of their massive rebranding before last season into the Panthers and is something that the club are constantly pushing forward to get the brand out there, looking forward we spoke about the vision of the club 2022 and beyond.

“Well, I suppose the vision will be directed by the people who run the games, the course they set will determine our goals and ambitions. Right now, this is beyond our knowledge or control. Internally, as a club, we will look to make progress in all areas; on field, off field, community etc as we try to establish the Panthers brand in the town.”

The Panthers next game sees them face historic local rivals Bradford Bulls at Odsal Stadium on good Friday  at 7pm, can Halifax keep their run of form and continue their winning streak, one thing is for sure it will be a clash of the titans!