Why Halifax Panthers boss Grix is not welcoming the break from Championship action

Last Saturday, Fax enjoyed a 30-10 win away in the north east as they scored five of their six tries in the opening 30 minutes. The team then took their foot off the gas and almost let the hosts back into the match following a laboured effort after the restart.

Grix said: “Game of two halves. First half we came up with some really good stuff. Attractive stuff, scored some nice tries. Half time came around and to be honest I think they were almost ready to put the cue in the rack.

“We just had to come out and put in a decent start to the second half and make the game easy for ourselves. But I thought we gave them an opportunity by starting the second half poorly. They grew a little bit and they put in a good effort.

“For us it’s two points on a long road trip; we’ll take them. But there’s just some stuff there which they’re not where they need to be if we want to kick on and be where we want to be.”

Due to the Challenge Cup semi-finals taking place this weekend, there’s no Championship action, meaning Halifax will return on May 15 at home against the Sheffield Eagles.

Asked whether he would prefer to avoid another long gap between fixtures, the Panthers boss said: “One hundred percent. Playing next weekend wouldn’t change anything in terms of bodies. We’ve got what we’ve got at the moment.

“We’ve had a few weekends off, we don’t really need them. We’re not in bad shape. Sometimes, it’s a very long week when you’ve not done a good performance. It’s going to be quite painful to be honest.”

The team’s recent win over Newcastle has taken Fax up to fourth in the standings - just two points away from fourth placed York City Knights.

After a tough start to the campaign, Grix admitted that his team’s position is beginning to look encouraging. However, the 36-year-old also underlined the importance of going on a strong winning run at the Shay - starting with the next game against the Sheffield Eagles.

He said: “We want to win every game. Being at home, I think you can only afford to lose so many at home before it starts looking a bit messy, and I think we might have lost our quota at home already.

“I think we’re sitting alright considering the start. I said it all along, yes it wasn’t a great start but there’s a long way to go yet. We’re sitting in a good spot considering what happened before. But it only gets harder from here on in.

“The Championship over the last couple of years has been really tight. We just need to keep plugging away and take it one game at a time.”