Club of the Week: Halifax

The Halifax players are ‘not in a great place’, according to head coach Karl Harrison.

After suffering their second defeat in a week away at Barrow on Sunday, injury hit Fax have slipped to fourth in the Championship table.

“It’s certainly not a great place to be at the moment,” said Harrison, who was very critical of his side’s performance against the Raiders.

“We contributed to our downfall and created a lot of energy-draining situations.

“You have to respect the ball. When you are turning the ball over on play three and defending your line all the time, you end up exhausted.”

Former Salford coach Harrison says that nobody at the club will throw the towel in, but admits they are going through a tough spell.

He said, “There is no one more hurt than me at the moment, but we have to re-address a few things and get ready for the play-offs.”

After winning 12 and drawing one of their first 13 fixtures in all competitions, the 2012 Northern Rail Cup champions have endured a tough second half to the season.

In their last four Championship games they have only managed one win – at home to third-bottom York – and a first Grand Final victory since 2010 looks a very remote possibility at the moment.

In some positive news for Harrison he should have one of his regular playmakers back for the upcoming match with Doncaster, as Anthony Thackeray has recovered from an ankle injury.

Captain Scott Murrell, who has also been struggling with injury, should be available after Harrison confirmed he is to play through the pain by using injections on his broken hand.

Harrison said, “He’s struggling, and you’d have thought it was hampering him quite a bit but he’s a brave player and he knows the situation we’re in, so he’s playing with it.”