Murrell cleared of serious injury but Fax let lead slip against Rams

Initial scans have cleared Halifax captain Scott Murrell of a suspected fractured vertebrae after a late tackle in Sunday’s 28-28 draw at Dewsbury.

Murrell was hit by a Dewsbury defender after he’d passed the ball in the early stages of the game at Rams Stadium.

The veteran half back, who only returned to the side last weekend after a two week absence, initially tried to play on after treatment, but was swiftly substituted and taken to Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield as a precaution.

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“We lost Scott to a late shot, so he went to hospital for a scan on his neck,” confirmed coach Simon Grix, who was less than impressed after his team somehow turned a 28-16 lead with 10 minutes to go into a frustrating stalemate.

“He’s turned, passed the ball out the back, and been hit.

“It was late, but you see plenty of those in the game and they’re rarely punished.

“The scan didn’t show any fractures, but we’re waiting for the full report.

“Hopefully, he’s okay and if he is it will be just about the only positive to come out of that game.

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“Dewsbury have a lot to play for, more than us on the evidence of today.

“They out enthused us and I’ve no complaints, they probably deserved to win and if Paul Sykes had his kicking boots with him, they would have done.”

Murrell’s absence saw Fax push James Woodburn-Hall into the halves alongside Ben Johnston, with full back Quentin Laulu-Togagae playing as a third pivot.

Woodburn-Hall had a hand or a foot in three of Fax’s tries, while QLT scored twice but also made a string of crucial errors, including throwing the pass that was intercepted by Rob Worrincy to ignite the Rams’ comeback.

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“We’d won it, then we tried to win it again,” said Grix, whose side’s next assignment is Saturday’s Challenge Cup semi final against St Helens.

“We were 12 points up, so you don’t have to be throwing those passes, you just need to finish the set in the right area of the field.

“It shows how much we rely on Scott, but here’s the thing; Johnston, Woody, Q, they all train those roles and they all know them inside out.

“But today, none of them managed to get hold of the game which is disappointing because I know they all have it in them.

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“They came up with some nice plays on that right edge, but we needed to keep going back there.

“The message was to go left and then attack right and we went right and attacked left, which was frustrating.

“I was quite positive after Widnes last week, and we did take some steps forward, but I don’t know if we fell in love with ourselves a little bit.

“We’d prepared really well, training was probably the best it’s been, which is also frustrating, because it wasn’t reflected in the way we played.”