Panthers on the prowl, hoping for their second win in the 2022 Betfred Championship season

Halifax Try. Image Credit: OMH Rugby Pics/ Simon Hall.

Sunday 27th March sees the Halifax Panthers make the long trip to Cumbria to Derwent Park to face Workington Town in the rearranged fixture.

The previous meeting was called off back in February due to the weather and pitch conditions.

This game is a must-win for both teams as Workington town sit on the bottom of the Betfred Championship after losing all five games of the opening season to Newcastle Thunder, Widnes Vikings, Featherstone Rovers, Sheffield Eagles and Barrow Raiders.

Halifax Panthers sit in 11th place after five rounds following defeats against Batley Bulldogs, Widnes Vikings, Featherstone Rovers and Leigh Centurions, their only win of the campaign coming against London broncos in Round Two on February 6th.

Halifax cannot seem to break the run of defeats, and although improvements have been made, the points needs to start coming in.

Panthers coach Simon Grix told Premier Sports

“We’re obviously frustrated. It’s not how anyone wants to start the season, you obviously want more wins. Context is the big thing. But there’s no excuses. We haven’t been good enough to get the points regardless of who the opposition is. At the end of the day, if you were judged on being close and got points for it, that would be great. But you don’t, so we need to turn our attention to Workington, do a good job and start building into this season. We’ve gained a bit of belief that we can swing with the big hitters, we’ve not been quite good enough to take them out. But it’s given us a bit of focus about how we want to play.”

Halifax have scored 82 points going into the games against Workington’s 50, but it’s the points against which point in the Panthers’ favour as Workington have conceded 196 points to Halifax’s 87. Workington needs to tighten up in the defence if they are going to pick up their first win of the 2022 season.

In order to break their run of defeats, the Panthers will need to start the game all guns blazing and put their stamp on the game as soon as the whistle blows, they have been guilty of not starting the game until fifteen to twenty minutes into the game and have been punished by this.

Both coaches will be eager to get the win on Sunday, and due to the recent form, it would appear on paper that Workington’s coach Chris Thorman will see Sunday as his squad’s best chance so far.

On the flip side, the Panthers will also fancy their chances against a team at the bottom of the league, Making for a very important and entertaining 80 minutes of rugby league for both teams.