Grix keen to build Halifax Panthers into Championship big hitters

Fax close out the regular season against fellow high flyers Featherstone Rovers this weekend before beginning their play-off campaign at The Shay a week later.

The Panthers will finish the season third for a second consecutive year under the stewardship of former player Simon Grix.

However, when asked whether his team have the tools to compete in the Super League should they overcome the odds and win the play-offs, Grix told Premier Sports: “Absolutely not, in my eyes. But would we be turning it down – absolutely not. I think the club has been starved of that Super League status for a long time. Punched above our weight for a while in the Championship.

“We’re probably a way off being ready for that in terms of, for example, a Featherstone who have been a top four team for more than a decade, consistently really.

"That’s something we need to strive to achieve before we’re actually ready for that big step. But there could potentially be changes in the game in the next little while which could sort of change the face of it.

"It could give us an opportunity for a full-time arena first. It would be great, but who knows. Nice to dream and see where it takes us, be a big task.”