IN FOCUS: Halifax Panthers

Ahead of this Sunday’s Betfred Championship Round 3 clash with Halifax Panthers, Danny Craven takes a closer look at the opponents…

FORM GUIDE

Halifax have one win from their opening two games after suffering defeat at the hands of Batley Bulldogs in Round 1. The Panthers raced into a 16-0 lead down the hill at the Fox’s Biscuits Stadium, but Batley hit back with a try on the stroke of half time to give them confidence going into the second half. Fax literally faced an uphill battle in the second half and four unanswered tries from the Bulldogs saw them run out 30-18 winners.

Last weekend saw them come away with their first two points of the season, with a resounding 28-0 win over London Broncos at The Shay in awful conditions.

Widnes Vikings head into the game with two wins from their opening two fixtures against London Broncos and Workington Town.

Round 1 saw the Vikings travel to the capital to take on London Broncos at their new home in Wimbledon. Widnes got off to a fast start and went into half time with a comfortable 24-4 lead. The second half saw both teams score two tries apiece with the final score 34-12 in favour of the away side. You can find an injury update here.

Widnes entertained Workington Town in Round 2 of the season in their first home game of the season. Running in 12 tries, the Vikings streaked into an early lead at the summit of the Championship table.

VIKINGS CONNECTIONS

Three members of the 2022 Vikings squad have represented Halifax in the Championship. Ste Tyrer sits second on the Halifax all-time points scoring chart after spending a successful 9 years at the Shay. Tyrer donned the blue and white on 176 occasions and is still highly thought of at the West Yorkshire outfit.

Shane Grady joined Halifax at the start of the 2017 season from Dewsbury Rams and played 47 times, scoring 11 tries before rejoining the Vikings ahead of the 2020 season.

Danny Craven also played for Halifax on loan in the 2015 season, playing 6 times and scoring two tries.

Panthers enforcer Ben Kavanagh represented Widnes Vikings 180 times over an eight-year spell at the DCBL Stadium.

Prop forward Adam Tangata joined Widnes in 2019, playing three games before being sold due to the club’s financial situation at the time. He rejoined Fax for 2021 after a couple of previous stints with the West Yorkshire side.

New Widnes lead Strength & Conditioning coach Bob Beswick played 87 games for Sunday’s hosts, scoring 21 tries in blue and white across a three-year spell.

ONE TO WATCH

Panthers captain Brandon Moore has been a consistent stand-out performer over his time at the club. Cumbrian-born Moore came through the Castleford Tigers academy programme before joining Halifax in 2016. Moore has a lot of utility value and can play at loose forward as well as his preferred hooking role. One of a few middle men who regularly play 80 minutes every week, his sharp running game and deception will keep the Vikings players on their toes.

PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Last ten meetings:

Widnes 25, Halifax 6 (ChR18, 22/8/21)

Halifax 17, Widnes 16 (ChR12, 4/7/21)

Halifax 40, Widnes 10 (ChR21, 14/7/19)

Widnes 40, Halifax 16 (ChR1, 3/2/19)

Widnes 26, Halifax 12 (S8Q-R5, 15/9/18)

Halifax 12, Widnes 36 (S8Q-R2, 13/8/17)

Halifax 0, Widnes 14 (S8Q-R1, 9/8/15)

Halifax 10, Widnes 34 (CCR4, 6/4/14)

Halifax 26, Widnes 24 (ChR20, 11/8/11)

Widnes 47, Halifax 36 (ChR6, 21/4/11)

The Vikings have won seven of the last ten meetings between the two sides. Widnes beat the Panthers in the most recent, with tries from Craven, Ollie Brookes, Ste Tyrer and Kenny Baker.

TICKET INFO

Supporters are now able to purchase tickets for Sunday’s game away at Halifax Panthers directly from the home team’s website.

ADVANCE TICKET PRICES