Halifax boss Karl Harrison hailed a “big improvement” after his side wrapped up their pre-season programme with an 18-18 draw at Batley on Thursday night.
Fax bounced back from a sub-par effort at Dewsbury at the beginning of the month, leading three times at Mount Pleasant before the Bulldogs drew level with a late Ben Black touchdown.
“I thought in tricky conditions it was a really good, tough, old fashioned game of rugby league,” said Harrison.
“There was probably a bit more ball put down than the coaches would have liked, but I thought we did okay.
“Defensively, we were better than we were at Dewsbury, it was a big improvement all round on that performance.
“We still have some work to do with the ball, but the conditions probably played their part in that.
“We turn it over too cheaply at times, but we’re not a million miles away.
“Batley are a good side, who will be there or thereabouts at the end of the year.
“We’ll certainly be better for the run out.”
A major plus point for Fax was the return of prop Tony Tonks, who made his long awaited return from a broken arm with two destructive spells.
“It was good to see Tony back,” said Harrison.
“He carried the ball strongly in both his spells and hit a few people as well.
“Maybe he’ll double up and play in the reserve game at Leigh on Saturday, potentially along with a couple of others too.”
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