Halifax Panthers fall just short in Featherstone Rovers thriller

Brian McDermott’s side may have left the ground victorious, though it’s the hosts who may be feeling a little more optimistic after pushing their opponents to the very end.

Simon Grix’s part-time team closed out the regular season with just their third defeat in 22 games, and will now look ahead to the play-offs on the back of an encouraging showing against one of the Championship’s big hitters.

Halifax hit the ground running early as they looked to capitalise on the energy created by a noisy Shay atmosphere.

With three minutes on the clock, an early break from Zack McComb put the wheels into motion, while a penalty for a high-tackle on James Woodburn-Hall brought the hosts closer to the Featherstone tryline.

Moments later, the man who earned the penalty was soon diving over the whitewash after capitalising on build-up work from Brandon Moore and Louis Jouffret. Joe Keyes successfully converted the opener but their lead didn’t last long.

Featherstone were able to mount an immediate response through Junior Moors, who used his sheer power to force his way under the posts.

The raucous atmosphere was somewhat subdued, and that continued 120 seconds later as Ryley Jacks unleashed Jack Broadbent over the whitewash with a quick offload.

Both efforts were converted by Craig Hall who was soon back on kicking duties as Featherstone scored their third in a space of 10 minutes. On this occasion, it was Tom Lineham who powered over the line after spinning away from the clutches of Woodburn-Hall in the left corner.

Halifax eventually stopped the rot and went back on the offensive. It wasn’t long before their efforts were rewarded as a perfectly weighted grubber kick from Keyes was met by the welcoming hands of Ben Kavanagh who dived over to make it 18-12.

However, just as the Panthers closed the gap to four-points, Featherstone were able to mount yet another response to reinstate their advantage.

Joey Leilua was the try scorer on this occasion as Hall added the extras with another conversion to give Rovers a 12-24 first-half lead.

The opening 15 minutes of the second half were rather uneventful as both teams appeared nervy in what could be a precursor to the Championship play-off semi-final.

Ultimately though, it was Halifax who broke the tension with Matt Garside exploiting a big gap in Featherstone’s defence. Titus Gwaze laid the foundations of that effort as his break down the middle of the park put the visitors on the back foot.

The Panthers found themselves eight-points behind and they knew another effort for Featherstone could end their hopes of victory. With that in mind, the hosts put on a strong defensive showing in the next phase as they kept their rivals out for two consecutive sets, before going on the offensive themselves.

Halifax probed Featherstone’s back line on a number of occasions, and even had back-to-back sets themselves.

With two minutes remaining, McComb provided late hope as his try set up an emphatic grand stand finish. The winger, who replaced Lachlan Walmsley in the side, proved too fast for his opposite number as he touched down, with Keyes making it 24-22 thanks to a successful conversion.

Despite rushing to restart, Fax simply ran out of time on what proved a dramatic afternoon.

Halifax Panthers: James Woodburn-Hall, Zack McComb, Greg Worthington, Joe Arundel, James

Saltonstall, Louis Jouffret, Joe Keyes, Will Calcott, Brandon Moore, Dan Murray, Ben Kavanagh, Matt

Garside, Kevin Larroyer. Subs: Kyle Wood, Matty Gee, Jacob Fairbank, Titus Gwaze.

Featherstone Rovers: Craig Hall, Luke Briscoe, Joey Leilua, Jack Broadbent, Thomas Lineham,

Johnathon Ford, Ryley Jacks, Craig Kopczak, Matthew Wildie, Gadwin Springer, Joshua Hardcastle,

Jesse Sene-Lefao, Junior Moors. Subs: Connor Jones, James Lockwood, Samuel Eseh, Adam

Cuthbertson.

Halifax Tries: Woodburn-Hall (3), Kavanagh (20), Garside (55), McComb (78). Halifax Goals: Keyes 3/4

Featherstone Tries: Moors (6), Broadbent (9), Lineham (16), Leilua (31). Featherstone Goals: Hall 4/4

Match Official: Chris Kendall

Half-time: Halifax 12 Featherstone 24

Attendance: 2,440