Liam Finn has one eye on the weather as Halifax Panthers prepare for final friendly at Keighley Cougars

Fax are due to visit Cougar Park this Sunday, January 21 (kick off 1pm) as Finn’s men complete their preparations ahead of the 2024 campaign.

However, with northern parts of the UK experiencing a cold snap, and Keighley’s temperature dropping to as low as -6C on Wednesday night, Finn is keeping a close eye on the weather forecast.

He said: “It wouldn’t be ideal if it was called off. I’m not a massive believer in a shed load of friendlies but they do serve a purpose to get you primed and somewhere near ready for the season.

“We need a run out and hopefully it doesn’t get too cold this week so we do get it played and we are not completely underdone for that Oldham game. It is just the finishing touches to our pre-season.

“We could do with playing it but if we don’t play it it will just be one of things we will have to overcome and get on with.”

The Keighley fixture will be the first without captain Brandon Moore who departed the club by mutual consent before signing for Championship rivals Batley Bulldogs.

Praising the forward, Finn said: “He has been such a good servant to the club. It was a mutual decision. I had been as honest as I could have been with Brandon about his situation and not being able to promise that he could play week in and week out, which is never an easy conversation, especially when it is someone like Brandon. It was a little bit more difficult to give that news.

“Having taken that on board and having done pre-season, he probably fancied a change to freshen up a little bit. He came to see me and said he wanted to go somewhere where he is going to play every week.

“At the stage of his career, having played every week at Halifax for the last seven or eight years, I had to be understanding to that and the respect he has got from me for what he has done for Halifax we weren’t going to stand in his way and hold him back just to thicken our squad out.”

He added: “The conversation is the difficult bit. The decision is easy. Decisions are just opinions and I get paid to voice my own opinion and go with that and have the strength, character and courage in my convictions to follow it through.

“I have got an opinion on everyone who plays rugby league in some way, shape or form, but I don’t need to give 95 per cent of those thoughts out. This one, I obviously do.”