Halifax v Dewsbury preview: Panthers head coach hopes Rams can “bounce straight back up” to Championship - but a win against former club will ease Fax’s own relegation worries
Halifax Panthers’ head coach Liam Finn hopes Dewsbury Rams can “bounce straight back up” to the Championship following his former club’s relegation to League 1 - but he knows a win against his ex-side this weekend will ease Fax’s own doubts for the dreaded drop.
Dewsbury, buoyant after Finn guided them back to the second tier in style in 2023, have endured a miserable 2024 campaign, which started with Finn’s new side recording a 24-10 victory at FLAIR Stadium.
And although the Rams beat Batley in Round 2, they have remained winless since, with relegation confirmed after the 18-10 defeat against Whitehaven last month.
Ahead of the Rams’ visit to The Shay this Sunday, September 8, kick off 3pm, Finn said:
“They have got some good players there. But as a lot of teams find out - and we have too - sometimes you get on a bit of a run and it’s hard to see where your next win is coming from.
“Conversely, you can go the other way and get a few wins and you feel like you are going to win every week. It is a tough competition that comes at you thick and fast for a very long time in comparison to League 1. It does take its toll.
“They have run a lot of teams close. They got blown out a little bit by Bradford last Friday but they have put in some good performances where they have been in games for long periods.
“They have had teams at bad times, like we have, like playing Whitehaven on that ridiculously emotional week for them where they were always going to get a response.
“They have got nothing to lose. They can just come and throw the ball around and have some fun. We are not taking it lightly, put it that way.”
Fax, however, have still not secured their own Championship safety despite a dramatic 17-16 victory at Doncaster last weekend thanks to James Woodburn-Hall’s late drop goal.
Finn’s men are just two places and two points above Whitehaven in 12th. A win, therefore, against already-relegated Dewsbury, with fellow strugglers Haven, Barrow and Swinton all playing teams in the top five in Wakefield, Toulouse and Featherstone respectively, should hopefully give them a bit more breathing space.
Finn said: “We always have our eye on it but it changes that quickly in the Championship. We probably thought we were relatively safe when we won three in a row and then with back-to-back losses, and a few results going against you, you’re dragged straight back into it.