Halifax Panthers fall to third successive defeat against impressive Swinton Lions

Fax had lost their previous two outings against Widnes Vikings and Sheffield Eagles without scoring a single point in three halves of rugby.

And they were pointless again when the half-time hooter sounded here but Swinton gave them too much to do in the second period after they had raced into a 20-0 lead thanks to tries from Mitch Cox, Jayden Hatton, Daniel Abram and Jonathon Vaughan.

Louis Jouffret scored Fax’s first points in 170 minutes at the start of the second half to provide a glimmer of hope, which was widened when Greg Eden went over for his first league try for the club.

But that hope was extinguished when Kevin Larroyer was sin-binned and Swinton put the game beyond doubt with a fifth try through Jordan Gibson to seal a 28-12 win.

Head coach Liam Finn said his side needed to “get their house in order” after those two defeats against, ultimately, main rivals for a top six spot come the end of the season.

And he named a very attacking line-up in an attempt to return to winning ways in emphatic style with Jouffret moving to full-back while James Woodburn-Hall moved to centre with Zach McComb moving to loose forward. Greg Eden came back onto the wing, Joe Keyes joined Gareth Widdop in the halves from the start while Brandon Davies and Ed Barber made their second debuts from the bench.

Finn had named three areas of improvement ahead of the contest - concentration, toughness and resilience under pressure. But a loose Widdop kick at the end of the first set gifted the Lions possession and field position - and they took full advantage.

A Dec Patton kick forced a goal-line drop-out as Swinton gained repeat sets. And although Joshua Eaves was held up on the line, Swinton worked it well to the right with Cox diving over.

Cox had scored twice when Swinton produced a stunning victory - 22-12 - here on the final day of the regular league season last September which crushed Fax’s play-off hopes while also ensuring the Lions’ status as a Championship team. The Panthers must be getting sick of the sight of them.

Fax did look to respond with a couple of encouraging carries from Woodburn-Hall and Adam Tangata which ended with Jouffret being held up on the line.

They then came close to a superb try after silky hands from Keyes and Widdop moved the ball from left to right but when Eden chipped ahead, Ben Tibbs couldn't grasp the ball cleanly.

Eden was then denied by a last-ditch tackle as Halifax continued to apply the pressure.

But Jayden Hatton delivered the ultimate sucker-punch after outpowering the Fax defence following a short ball from Patton.

A third try soon followed. From a Swinton perspective, it was perfection. From a Fax persuasion, you will have been left questioning the defence as a Patton kick wasn’t dealt with and Gibson, somehow, gloriously scooped the ball up and threw it behind him - behind the posts to keep the ball from going dead - and Abram collected to touch down.

Fax’s defences frailties were showing considerable and they conceded a fourth try on the hooter. A grubber kick wasn’t dealt with by the Panthers and Vaughan pounced gleefully.

Swinton were producing the kind of performance which saw them record a stunning triumph in Toulouse earlier this season.

As for Fax, it was a fourth consecutive half without scoring a single point. Maybe that is not such a surprise considering they were the lowest points scorers with only 66 after the first five rounds.

However, it only took them four minutes into the second half to finally get on the board with Jouffret going over after great hands from Keyes and Widdop.

Barber, who came out of retirement earlier in the week to return to his hometown club, came close to scoring on his second debut but he was held up on the line.

Larroyer then bustled down the middle but he was also held up while a Widdop pass to Saltonstall flew over the winger and out of play. That kind of summed up Fax’s day.

They did get another try make Swinton sweat via Eden but Larroyer’s sin-binning seconds after the restart halted any prospect of a miraculous comeback, with Patton knocking over an extra two points for comfort.

And the extra man paid dividends when Gibson easily danced over late on as Swinton sealed another incredible win at The Shay, as Fax endured another torrid afternoon.

Halifax: Jouffret, Eden, Tibbs, Woodburn-Hall, Saltonstall, Widdop, Keyes, Larroyer, Inman, Tangata, Kavanagh, Gee, McComb

Interchanges: Fairbank, Lannon, Douglas, Barber

Tries: Jouffret, Eden

Conversions: Jouffret (2)

Swinton: Abram, Ritson, Vaughan, Hatton, Williams, Patton, Gibson, Green, Eaves, Wood, Foster, Cox, Hall

Interchanges: Hartill, Cooper, Spencer-Tonks, Badrock

Tries: Cox, Hatton, Abram, Vaughan, Gibson

Conversions: Patton (3)

Penalties: Patton

Attendance: 1,372

Referee: Michael Smaill