Is it the trap door or the play-offs for in-form Halifax Panthers? Sunday’s ‘vital’ Shay showdown with Barrow Raiders could be ‘hugely consequential’ says Liam Finn

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After two successive Championship victories for the first time this season, Halifax Panthers are now looking for a third straight win at home to Barrow Raiders on Sunday, August 11 (kick off 3pm).

Should they be successful at The Shay, Fax could end the weekend just two points outside the play-off positions if other results went their way.

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A place in the top six seemed a pipe dream for Liam Finn’s men after only two wins from their first eight league games left them floundering above Dewsbury Rams at the bottom of the table.

However, five wins from their next ten, including the back-to-back triumphs over fellow play-off hopefuls Batley Bulldogs and York Knights, has given the Panthers, who only have to face three of the current top six in their final eight outings of the regular season in Wakefield Trinity, Toulouse and Bradford Bulls, something to play for.

After two successive Championship victories for the first time this season, Halifax Panthers are now looking for a third straight win at home to Barrow Raiders on Sunday, August 11 (kick off 3pm). Photo by Simon Hall.After two successive Championship victories for the first time this season, Halifax Panthers are now looking for a third straight win at home to Barrow Raiders on Sunday, August 11 (kick off 3pm). Photo by Simon Hall.
After two successive Championship victories for the first time this season, Halifax Panthers are now looking for a third straight win at home to Barrow Raiders on Sunday, August 11 (kick off 3pm). Photo by Simon Hall.

Finn told the Courier: “They are all massive games. Every single game is now massively important and hugely consequential. We are trying to stay neutral in the sense of not getting carried away about pushing up and not getting too worried about going down. But every game is vital.

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“You’re only another loss away from being dragged right back into it so we can’t get carried away but, at the same time, if we can get another one at the weekend we can put ourselves back in the mix.

“We’re not far from either - the trap door or the play-offs. We’re in a precarious position where we could finish the season and make it a really enjoyable one or it could end up being a tough run in.

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“We need to be on it every single week.”

Asked what has instigated this resurgence in form, Finn said:

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“There’s been a little bit of a minor rejig with the squad and that has had a positive effect. The group has dug in and started sticking together.

“When our backs have been against the wall the senior players who have been at the club a while have really stepped up in terms of leadership and the young lads, and the new lads that have come in, have added that energy and a competitiveness to it.”

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