Play-off preview: Halifax Panthers ‘ready’ for play-off challenge at ‘quality outfit’ Oldham
Halifax Panthers’ head coach Kyle Eastmond has insisted his players “deserve everything they get” as they prepare for their biggest game of 2025.
Fax travel to Oldham on Friday, September 19 (kick off 8pm), for a Championship play-off eliminator after finishing the regular season in a rich vein of form.
Eastmond’s men made it five wins on spin by splendidly recovering from a 16-0 half-time deficit to beat Doncaster 24-16 at the Eco-Power Stadium on Sunday to end the campaign in fifth place, leap-frogging Featherstone Rovers in the process.
The head coach told Panthers TV: “I am really pleased. Like I have said all along, the players deserve everything they get as they have put a lot into this, not just on the field in games but in training, in every single session, every week.
“They really deserve where we are at right now.”
On the second half recovery in South Yorkshire, Eastmond added:
“It was about composure and playing a little bit more direct. We said if we exert ourselves a little bit more in our defensive efforts then we will find our way back into the game from there.
“I thought they did that really well. They were really composed, they looked after the ball a lot better and, ultimately, got what they deserved in the end.”
The comeback win now sets up a mouthwatering prospect at Boundary Park against a side which has beaten Fax twice in their two league meetings in 2025.
“They are a quality outfit,” Eastmond admitted. “We certainly won’t be able to give up 16 points. I know a few of the players and staff there and they are very intelligent rugby people and there is no doubt they will be firing and ready.
“But so will we. Ultimately it is a play-off game, it doesn’t take much to get yourself ready to play in a game like that.
“We will be ready and we are looking forward to it.”
On a prospective selection headache for the fixture, Eastmond said:
“It’s always nice to have options. All the lads have put their hand up and they have all got a good claim to play but there will only be 17 that goes out there.
“It is for the rest of us, coaches included, to make sure we prepare the team correctly and we will do that.”