Grix relieved after Halifax Panthers hold on to beat London Broncos

A James Saltonstall double, on his 200th appearance, along with tries from Louis Jouffret, Lachlan Walmsley and debutant Eribe Doro, gave Fax a firm grip on proceedings but scores from Zach Eckersley, Dean Parata and Bill Leyland got the Broncos to within six points.

But the Panthers, despite the sin-binning of Dan Murray in the final ten minutes, held on to return to winning ways following their heavy defeat at Featherstone Rovers last weekend.

A relieved Grix said: “It was a poor quality game, particularly the first 40. Both teams hurt themselves but then we got out in front and from there we should have done a better job of closing the game out.

“Our discipline was borderline pathetic and maybe we were looking over our shoulders waiting for somebody to take the reigns and drag us through it, rather than be the one, which is something we need to learn to do because, for example, you can’t wait for a Keyesey to come up with a 40-20 or some big moment to swing it for you.

“You have got to work your way out of it. I thought we didn’t have the answer for that today. The amount of dropped ball, penalties, there was just no real flow to the game. You then start trying to fix stuff which isn’t there.

“In those patches where we were positive and making breaks, even when it comes to an error where Kav goes for an offload and it hits the ground - that’s fine because it’s something what we’ve shown them is going to work and what we’ve practised and I don’t mind it.

“It’s when we start making it up which is quite hard to watch, which was a good chunk of that game.

“But it’s round three and it’s a win. We could have quite easily lost that I think, particularly when it went to the sin bin. I thought we were good (after the sin bin). London were obviously trying to come up with something to make us drop the ball and we rode that well.

“We got a couple of penalties and took the two points which made us feel comfortable. It was just disappointing to put ourselves in that spot after putting a decent gap between us. I thought we could have really put the foot on the throat there and put them to the sword.

“I haven’t gone into them too much because you have got to enjoy your wins and we got two points at the end of the day. The tries we conceded were poor. But we will move on and get better. This time of year is about finding your rhythm and flow and we lacked a lot of that today.”

Saltonstall was joined by Adam Tangata and Zach McComb in celebrating individual milestones. Tangata was making his 150th appearance in Fax colours, while McComb made his 100th career appearance.

On the trios special day, Grix said:

“It was lovely for him (Saltonstall) to get over. He could have had a few more had we got our skill level right. Salty is an absolute enigma throughout his rugby league career. He is able to do things on a field for a bloke that shapes up like he has just got off the couch shouldn’t be able to do to be honest!

“But what he does have is an absolute desire to win. You will never see anyone who wants to win more. And he is very proud to represent this club. I think he shows that in all of his performances. He was great in round one against Sheffield and he had a dig against Fev in tough circumstances.

“I am really happy for him to get to that milestone. It is a big achievement, especially for your hometown club and I am sure he has got plenty more in the tank yet.

“Ads (Tangata) is like the bad penny, gone, come back, gone, come back. Each time he has come back we have got a better version of him. He is at the age now where he knows he is not going to last forever.

“He is bringing something different now, he is becoming a bit of a leader, and his performances are still good.

“I am happy for Zach. It is a good milestone for him. In the not too distant past, about five or six years ago, he was playing at Siddal, playing university rugby. It wasn’t all rosey to start with for us but he went on loan and got his head down and did things that he needed to do.

“He has turned into a really good player. I am still not sold on what he is, whether he is a winger or a centre but he does a solid job and tries his best in either position.

“He has gone round it the hard way to get to where he is and has worked really hard along the way and that definitely shows in his performances.

“It’s good that we’ve got a win on these milestones. We have passed many over the years and not really nailed it on some big ones for a few players which is disappointing. So to get a win on their milestones, in a home game, is really nice.”

At the other end of the spectrum, Eribe Doro was making his first Fax appearance following his loan move from Warrington Wolves. And he made it a debut to remember by scoring a try in the second half.

On his performance, Grix said: “Rusty but good. He came on and had a bit of leg speed, ran hard and took his try really well. He is athletic and moves across the ground pretty quick.

“It’s about working the best time to use Eribe. Had we had had possession for a bigger period when he was on the field I think we would have seen a bit more from him. Working out the best way to use him - is it off a long pass where he is standing still or is it bringing him onto the ball and get those legs moving? We will work all of them out in review.”

The result was marred by a serious-looking injury to Kevin Larroyer, although Grix confirmed it was not an achilles issue like first feared.

“He’s not great but he is better than first feared,” Grix said. “When someone goes down in a non-contact injury they are normally not great. We feared instantly that it was an achilles injury the way he went down. But fortunately it looks like a calf injury.

“It will be a significant one. I don’t know how long an achilles takes now, is it six to nine months? So it will be a damn sight better than that.”