In fact it was a real sense of déjà vu that pervaded the air at a busy and sun-dappled Ovenden Park as Rhys Morgan's side showed they still have work to do as far as gelling as a unit and overcoming certain frailties are concerned.
It is fair to say they had to also compete against a referee who liked the sound of his whistle far too much for most people's liking and whose decisions, to be honest, had representatives from both camps shaking their head in bemusement.
Whatever, a hefty penalty count against Halifax, particularly in the first half, does not make for pretty reading and certainly did not help the flow of a game that never rose above the mediocre.
And that penalty count also included two misdemeanours in the second period – a two minute burst of madness that not only cost Halifax two of their impact players but, arguably, the chance of rescuing a game that was already sliding away from them.
Having allowed a 13-5 lead to carelessly slip from their pockets, Halifax then proceeded to make life doubly hard when replacement back row forward Dan Solomi saw red two minutes after coming on when he engaged in a bout of fisticuffs with a Preston opponent.
Almost immediately No 8 Richard Brown saw the yellow card brandished in his face after a high tackle on visiting centre Ollie Moore.
A difficult task had become almost impossible and with confidence no doubt knocked by the double blow, Halifax failed to deal with a Preston attack and prop John Peterson had space to build up momentum on a run to the line, Moore banging over the conversion that gave Halifax no way back.
It had all started so well. In fact too well.
Straight from Halifax's kick-off, Preston incurred the displeasure of the referee and Iain Gordon stepped up to take responsibility for the resulting penalty.
After taking time to compose himself, the dual code utility back belted the kick between the uprights for a welcome lead.
One criticism levelled at Halifax last season was a lack of devilment, noticeably in the forwards, and in the early stages that looked to have been addressed resulting in the referee bringing the two skippers together for a "friendly warning chat" early in the proceedings.
The referee then claimed too much of the centre stage as the game stuttered and stalled with neither side able to build up any real attacking momentum.
Preston, whose main goalkicker missed the trip through injury, should have levelled but Martin Gambles, one of three kickers used by the visitors, saw his penalty attempt come back off a post.
Dave Hall embarked on one of the half's few attacking runs but he kicked on instead of backing his pace and the chance was gone.
Halifax also had to show their defensive mettle when Preston launched a series of drives close to the home line.
And when the visitors did get on the scoresheet it was the man in the middle who again drew the attention – he and his touch judge missing a forward pass in the build up, then a blatant obstruction that finally allowed scrum half Darren Wilson to romp in, Gamble missing the conversion.
Halifax knew they needed to start the second half strongly and they did with inspirational skipper Danny McGee leading the charge.
He brought nippy winger Gareth Brear into play and when he was stopped illegally, earning Wayne Steel a yellow-card, Gordon arrowed over another penalty that seemed to heading yards wide, but freakishly drifted back inside the posts, to everybody's astonishment.
Preston felt aggrieved when they had a score ruled out, flanker Luke Cunningham being deemed to have been held up over the line, while Halifax showed their forward intent with Brown making an excellent break and bringing the hard-working Dominic Moon into play.
He in turn passed to James Endersby, who misplaced his pass under pressure but visiting prop Richard Carleton saw yellow for attempting to play the ball from an offside position.
Halifax made Preston pay for that moment of indiscipline with returning stand off Craig Barker flying in unopposed after Halifax had worked the opening, Gordon making sure of the kick from in front of the posts for a 13-5 lead.
How many times should Halifax have kicked on from similar positions in the recent past? And how many times have they struggled to do so?
This was another case in point as Preston raised their game, despite being a man light, and after earning a five yard scrum, their pressure paid off with Leyton Taylor bullied over, Nick Smith's conversion attempt best forgotten.
Morgan sent on Solomi, Oli Marns and Andrew Goodwin but Halifax's response was to kick the restart out on the full and Preston couldn't believe their luck as, from the scrum, No 8 Andrew Dockray made the hard yards before slipping the ball to the supporting Gambles leaving Smith with a conversion in front of the posts that even he couldn't miss.
That gave Preston a 17-13 lead and with home frustration building, Solomi marked his re-appearance after two frustrating seasons disrupted by injuries by first of all forcing a turnover then getting himself sent off when he took exception to being punched and, uncharacteristically, dished out his own form of retaliation.
To make matters worse, No 8 Richard Brown followed him to the sidelines barely a minute later after a neck high shot on Moore.
Smith stepped up to take the penalty, but true to form he slammed his kick against a post.
That was game over as far as Halifax were concerned and Preston added insult to injury late on when they moved the ball smartly and prop Peterson stormed in leaving Moore to hammer the final conversion.

STARMAN
GRAFT rather than craft was the order of the day on Saturday – and when you want somebody to put in the hard effort then you look no further than Danny McGee.
The skipper hates losing –and hates losing more when his side have coughed up a winning position.
But his response is always to lead by example, putting in the extra effort in both his running with the ball and his tackling while cajoling everybody else in a blue and white shirt.
Dominic Moon had a hit and miss season last time out and he is one person who has to be looking to step up to the plate this time around.
And he made a decent start with an all-action display that saw him throwing himself into every situation. Not everything he does comes off, but he cannot be faulted for effort on this occasion.
Paul Turner has arrived with a solid reputation and that is what he provided against Preston - a solid display with no tricks but a real willingness to work hard and make his presence felt.
McGee picks up three points in the season long competition with Moon collecting two and Turner one.

MATCH FACTS
Halifax: McGee, Hall, Endersby, Gordon, Brear, Barker, Castle, Turner, Worsley, Lamptey, Cammiss, Corrigan, Burrows, Moon, Brown. Replacements: Maycock, Goodwin (Lamptey 61), Marns (Burrows 61), Solomi (Hall 61), Spence (Brown 77)

Tries: Barker
Conversions: Gordon
Penalties Gordon (2)
Drop Goals: None
Yellow Cards: Brown (foul play 76)
Red Cards: Solomi (75)

Preston Grasshoppers: McCabe, Hughes, Moore, Haworth, Flynn, Gambles, Wilson, Peterson, Sands, Carleton, Steel, Balshaw, Waller, Cunningham. Dockray. Replacements: Taylor (Hughes 55), Stone (Sands 77), Rigbye (Balshaw 77), Smith (Haworth 55), Leonard

Tries: Wilson, Taylor, Gambles, Peterson
Conversions: Smith, Moore
Penalties: None
Drop Goals: None
Yellow Cards: Steel (foul play 45), Carleton (foul play 55),
Red Cards: None

Referee: M Liddell (RFU)

PLAYER POINTS
WORKOUT WAREHOUSE PLAYER OF THE SEASON: 3 Danny McGee; 2 Dominic Moon; 1 Paul Turner.