Halifax Panthers remain confident despite defeat to Leigh Centurions

The 28-year-old returned to the team after missing the midweek win over Dewsbury, but faced a frustrating afternoon as Leigh powered to a comfortable victory.

“It was a tough game,” admitted Saltonstall. “They rolled us a fair bit with their big bodies through the middle. We struggled to slow their ruck speed down and that’s probably what told in the end.”

He added: “I know we’ve been scoring a few points recently.

“Obviously, to not score is disappointing but I don’t think that was the key issue. I think we didn’t front up as we could have. Leigh more than deserved their win.

“We started [the season] slow but we’ve turned the corner over the last few weeks, knocked off some wins against the teams around us.

“No one likes getting beat 36-0 and the manner of the victory was pretty tough. We’re still confident in the group we’ve got and we’ll bounce back I’m sure.”

Next up for the Panthers are two consecutive trips to Cumbria, starting with a clash against Whitehaven on Sunday.

Saltonstall sees the two games as challenges but also believes they serve as an opportunity to mount a turnaround, saying: “Obviously its never easy travelling up to Cumbria.

“They are probably a couple of good games to try and get back on that winning streak.

“We don’t turn into a bad team overnight. We lost to a very good side.

“Hopefully we’ll be straight back on it next week and try to pick off a few more wins.”