"It means a lot to me and I know it means a lot to the people in the stands" - Fax coach Grix on his affinity with his hometown club

Grix grew up in Boothtown, and would regularly play sport with a gang of seven or eight friends, including his brother and his cousin.

"I used to play out a lot, there were no computers back then," he says.

"There was a year between us all so we always had a pretty decent gang to knock about with for football or rugby.

"Sport was a big thing - it cost nothing, once you had your football or your rugby ball, you were away.

"Off the back of that, I started in junior rugby at Siddal for the under 8s.

"In those days the age groups were every two years, so it was then under 10s, under 12s and so.

"I got to an age where there was no team for me to play in, so I ended up ditching it for a bit, and played football.

"Then I found my way back and played the remainder of my junior rugby for King Cross.

"There were a chunk of us there who signed on at Halifax.

"At the time, Yorkshire camps and national camps were the sport's way of doing things to get the junior development going.

"I was lucky enough to get into them and play for Yorkshire, play for England Schools and so on.

"I decided, probably foolishly now when I look back, to stay at Halifax come signing age, and stay with my mates.

"But having said that, the opportunity I got to play for the first team very quickly, I wouldn't have got if I'd gone anywhere else, so it worked out pretty well in the end."

Grix says he would watch Fax at The Shay "as often as I could" as a youngster.

"When I was around 14, 15, that's when scholarships started, and they were my mates from King Cross, a couple of lads from Illingworth, a couple from Ovenden.

"We'd all go down and watch the games together, so you were part of it from a young age.

"I wouldn't call it the glory years because we weren't really flying then, but it was still a time when we were in Super League and it was still quite appealing to a lot of people because the club still had the resources to be out in the community."

A 17-year-old Grix was thrust into first-team action on June 20, 2003 during a 58-2 drubbing at St Helens.

"I think I was about 75 kilos wet through," he says.

"I was on the bench, I think we had a lot of injuries, which got me in.

"I don't think there was much intent of playing me, we just needed to fill a bench spot, but for whatever reason I ended up on the wing I think, then went to half-back.

"But we got hammered. St Helens were an absolute champion team then, they had Sculthorpe, Long and all those.

"After that I went on to play a handful of games that season. I remember playing against Bradford, which was Vainikolo, Fielden, Anderson, Jimmy Lowes, absolute legends of the game.

"I was in awe of them, starstruck.

"I was nowhere near ready, truth be told. But circumstances meant I was thrust into it."

After an eventful decade for club and player following a move to Warrington in 2006, Grix returned to Halifax.

"There were a lot of familiar faces still working at the club, still battling on," he says.

"I was different. I left when I was 18, 19, a boy really.

"Went away, grew up, played my rugby elsewhere, but I always had the idea it'd be nice to go back to Halifax and have a season or two there.

"But I probably wanted to do it in better circumstances.

"I ended up being let go by Warrington after a lot of effort went into trying to get me right (Grix broke his leg in 2014).

"The deal at the time was to coach, help Rich (Marshall) out, and then see if I could get myself fit.

"It was all for nought that year anyway, my daughter was poorly so I missed pretty much all the year.

"It knocked any enthusiasm for the game out of me for a while.

"The club were great.

"Obviously we are one of the have-nots, and they were paying me and I wasn't there.

"So they stood by me through a pretty rough time and I was grateful for that."

As time began to run out on Grix's playing days, his thoughts turned to what would come next.

"I'd been player-assistant coach, and me and Rich had a conversation about what the future held for all of us," he says. "You can't play forever and all that.

"We had it put into my contract that I'd get the first crack when Rich moved on, he obviously did that in circumstances which none of us could've predicted, so it was a bit weird.

"I wouldn't have asked for it the way it came about, but I had the ambition to coach. Coaching my hometown club would've been nice if I'd have put much thought into it, and it just happened to have worked out that way.

"There's been some highs, it's been pretty tough, there's been a lot of change.

"There's been a lot to contend with, but I've really enjoyed it and I'm really looking forward to getting back into it."

Grix says the job means a lot to him, but that working for his hometown club can be a double-edged sword.

"It brings a lot of frustration as well. I don't know how many coaches actually live in the town that they coach - they're probably smart enough to stay out of the way!" he says.

"I'm learning all the time. It's early in my coaching career, but it means a lot to me and I know it means a lot to the people in the stands.

"It's a bit of responsibility, but I'm happy with that. I know I work hard and do a good job, and I'll continue to do that.

"I want to improve and hopefully bring some good times back pretty soon.

"It's definitely something that, growing up, I wanted to play for Halifax one day, so transferring into the coaching realm, coaching Halifax would've been on the list.

"I think it's just come a bit sooner than I expected, but you've got to grab these opportunities with both hands.

"There's not many rugby league clubs out there. There's 11 Super League clubs, 14 in our league, plus League One, so 35 jobs in this country, and I happen to have one of them.

"It's a really privileged position, and I intend to do a good job and hold onto it for as long as I can.

What would the young Grix, playing rugby with his gang of friends in Boothtown, make of him becoming Fax coach one day?

"I don't think I'd be surprised. Rugby was all I ever wanted to do, so it makes sense in that respect," he says.

"I was a bit of a lazy kid so I probably would question whether I'd be hard working enough for a job like this.

"But we all grow up don't we.

"I've never liked the limelight, I don't really go into self-adoration or anything like that.

"I think I managed to carve out a pretty good career considering my body broke down.

"Then moving onto management, it's really early days for me. I've got a few years of experience of being an assistant and now I've got my hands on a head coach's job.

"I'm learning all the time and pushing myself out there to learn new things, meeting other coaches, spending time at other clubs and so on, to continue to grow."