Championship preview: Halifax v Sheffield

Coach Karl Harrison insists his only focus is Halifax as he prepares for Sunday’s mouthwatering Kingstone Press Championship showdown with Sheffield Eagles.

Halifax have lost two of their first three fixtures in 2014, including last week’s 10-8 home reverse against Batley Bulldogs.

Harrison said: “It’s going to take time for the team to gel, but that’s not an excuse.”

He added: “I don’t worry about Sheffield or any other team’s results. I worry about our own results. We’ve got a few issues ourselves that we need to talk about before this game.”

Danny Cowling should be available for Halifax, while Sheffield’s Will Hope is expected to miss out with a knee injury.

Hope joins Eddie Battye, James Davey and Joe Hirst on the sidelines, but Ben Jones is hoping to be fit for Sunday as battles to recover from an ankle problem.

Eagles coach Mark Aston is demanding a major improvement after last week’s 24-18 defeat against Barrow Raiders.

He said: “Too many people were not at the races. There’s no excuses, the team wasn’t good enough.”