Championship icon and ex-St Helens man makes retirement u-turn for pre-season clash

Halifax Panthers legend Steve Tyrer is to dust off his boots one last time after agreeing to return for a pre-season clash to honour one of the club’s stalwarts this weekend.

The former St Helens junior is one of Fax’s modern era greats. In over 200 appearances for the club across nine seasons, Tyrer scored almost 2,000 points for the club – putting him second on their all-time list behind only Hall of Fame member Ronnie James.

Tyrer called time on his playing career at the end of 2022 after spending two seasons with Widnes Vikings but now, he will feature for the Championship side again one last time on Sunday afternoon.

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That is because Tyrer has agreed to feature in James Saltonstall’s testimonial match, as the Panthers take on Rochdale on the opening weekend of January.

Fax begin their Championship campaign just a fortnight later, meaning pre-season starts much earlier in 2026. And to celebrate the lengthy Panthers career of Saltonstall, a number of Halifax legends will play in the game: and that list now includes Tyrer.

The Panthers wrote on X: “Steve Tyrer will once again pull on the Famous Blue and White Hoops in support of Salty next Sunday 4th January 2026. Hall of Famer Tyrer made 217 first team appearances through nine seasons at The Shay, scoring 115 tries and 762 goals, and sits second on the clubs all time points scoring table with 1984.”

Another modern day Halifax great, Scott Murrell – who is now on the coaching staff at Castleford Tigers – will also play in the match, which will also serve as a key warm-up for Kyle Eastmond’s side as they look to once again push for a place in the Championship play-offs in 2026.