Championship preview: Catalans display ‘sets the bar for the rest of the season’ says Halifax Panthers stalwart
Halifax Panthers’ 2025 Championship campaign kicks off with a trip to Sheffield Eagles this weekend - and Kyle Eastmond’s men will be entering into the new season full of confidence after a battling defensive display against Catalans Dragons in the Challenge Cup.
Fax held the Super League side to a 0-0 scoreline at half-time at The Shay last Saturday before conceding only two tries in the second period, as the Dragons progressed into the last-16 with a 14-0 win.
However, that dogged performance has given the Panthers a lot of belief as they prepare to take on Sheffield at Olympic Legacy Park on Sunday, February 16 (kick off 3pm).
Jacob Fairbank, who is entering into his 11th season with the club, told Panthers TV:
“Catalans are a quality, star-studded side who have signed really well over the off season. It needed a one to 17 effort from the start to the full 80 minutes. The boys gave that and I was really proud of everyone’s efforts.
“It is definitely something (defence) we have worked on in training for the past 10,12 weeks under Kyle. It is something he has instilled in us - the workrate, the effort and the confidence he has given us, and the belief.
“He wants us to be brave. He just demands effort and work rate and it showed out there.
“It has kind of set the bar for the rest of the season now. We have shown we can do it against a quality side like Catalans, so why not replicate it this season?”
And head coach Eastmond believes his side can get “better.”
He said: “There are plenty of positives but we get better and we train and prepare for the next game, like we did with Catalans. That’s the way I look at it.
“My mindset is, and has been for the past couple of months, that we enjoy what we’ve done and what we are doing at the start of the week, and then we prepare for the next challenge as best we can, and then expect another performance as well.
“We will be working hard as staff to make sure the boys are prepared (for Sheffield) and I am sure the lads will come in with the same attitude as what you have seen and put in another great performance.”
Asked about the team’s defensive desire against Catalans and taking that into the new league season, Eastmond said:
“That’s a minimum for me. We should be desperate to hold teams out, we should be desperate to defend well for our fans and for the town.
“People are in here coming to support us and we should be putting our bodies on the line. We practice like that. It’s not just something we can flick on, we’re not good enough to do that.
“We train like that, we prepare like that, and, as you saw, the boys took it onto the field.”
On his appreciation of the Fax fans, he said:
“I go back to the Keighley game and the fans are there roaring the lads on. That doesn’t go unnoticed at all. We really appreciate it, the players do as well.
“We will make sure we keep preparing ourselves and the team to make sure we give them good performances.”