Ahead of Sunday’s trip to Halifax Panthers in Round 12 of the Betfred Championship campaign, we take a closer look at this weekend’s opponents.
FORM GUIDE
Halifax welcome the Vikings in a rich vein of form, having won all four of their matches in June. Their last two results were wins away from home, having beaten Batley Bulldogs 12-22 and Swinton Lions 4-34.
Simon Grix’s side have lost just four of 11 Championship games so far this season, with two of those coming against the league’s two unbeaten sides Featherstone Rovers and Toulouse Olympique.
The Panthers are the league’s top scorers outside of those two teams, but sit just one place above Widnes in sixth in the current standings.
VIKINGS CONNECTIONS
Halifax prop forward Ben Kavanagh made 166 appearances for Widnes between 2008 and 2015, scoring 17 tries. His seven-year spell included four Super League seasons with the Vikings.
Scott Grix, full-back and joint assistant coach of the Panthers, played for Widnes in 2007 making 32 appearances and scoring 21 tries. He won the Northern Rail Cup with the Vikings and reached the National League One Grand Final.
Ste Tyrer spent nine seasons at Halifax and is their second-highest points scorer. He made 217 appearances for the Panthers, scoring 115 tries and 770 goals, amassing 2,000 points for the club.
Shane Grady spent three seasons with the Panthers, scoring 11 tries in his 59 appearances for the West Yorkshire club.
Danny Craven had a short loan spell with Sunday’s opposition in 2015, scoring two tries and kicking just as many goals in six appearances.
ONES TO WATCH
Scott Grix is always one to watch from full-back, with hooker Brandon Moore and the versatile James Woodburn-Hall also in good form for ‘Fax this season.
Scrum-half Connor Robinson has kicked 33 Championship goals this season so the Vikings will be wary of his form from the tee. He is the fifth-most prolific goal kicker in the league so far this season and has the tenth most points of any player.
HEAD TO HEAD
Widnes have won six of their last ten games against Sunday’s opponents, with the last meeting between the two sides resulting in a 40-10 defeat at Halifax in July 2019.
Widnes beat the Panthers at home earlier in the same season, by 40 points to 16.
The Vikings’ last win at Halifax was in August 2017 when they defeated their hosts by a scoreline of 12-36.
STREAM INFO
There will be no live Our League coverage of the game, but the full match will be available to watch on Widnes TV from Monday.
