Bradford v Halifax: Liam Finn ‘excited’ to see Panthers in action for the first time on Christmas Eve against Bulls

The Panthers make the festive trip to Odsal this Sunday, December 24 (kick off 12pm) in what will be Finn’s first game in charge since taking over from Simon Grix at the end of last season.

The former Dewsbury Rams head coach revealed: “I’m excited to see the lads on the field for the first time and have a look at them defensively as it is one of the hardest things to reproduce in training.

“There’s nothing like a game for that sort of thing. That will be the main area, looking at what we need to do to improve defensively after that game and build from that.

“We’ll be looking at areas that we may have missed off in pre-season that we don’t know about until it is exposed in a game.

“The players are looking forward to blowing their lungs open a little bit and getting used to match fitness.”

After a triumphant 2023 with Dewsbury, in which Finn led the Rams to the League 1 title and an instant return to the Championship, the Fax head coach has praised his new troops for their efforts since pre-season started.

He said: “I want to be as good as I can be and I want to try and get the most out of this group as I can. They are giving me everything in that sense and buying into what we are trying to do.

“Things aren’t going to be perfect on Christmas Eve by any stretch of the imagination, far from it.

“But the effort and endeavour to transfer what we have been doing on the training field to the playing field will be there and I am sure there will be plenty to work on after the game. That is something we want as that is what these games are about.”

Tickets are priced at £15 for adults and concessions (18+) and £2 for juniors.