Kingstone Press Championship preview: Workington Town v Halifax

Phil Veivers, the Workington Town coach was happy to get the win over Whitehaven last week but not too impressed with the overall performance.

“I was not overly keen on how we performed in the first half,” he said.

“I thought we were pretty loose in the second but we ground out the win, which is a positive for us.

“There was great desire from the players to get out of the hole they had dug themselves but it was an average performance from us.

“Halifax gave us a hiding up at their joint in Round Nine; we didn’t really get off the bus. I watched them against Bradford and they were very physical and ran them very close.

“They’re a very competitive outfit and well coached by Richie Marshall. Scott Murrell and Danny Craven make them tick.”

Halifax coach Richard Marshall saw positives in his side’s defeat to Bradford Bulls at the Summer Bash.

“I thought we competed for large parts of the game and defended well at times,” he said.

“I just thought we lacked concentration and Bradford have some class individuals who punished us. But we put a lot of effort in and made the most tackles of the season.

“We did some good work in the game but unfortunately came up short.

“We also picked up a few injuries. We lost Mitch Cahalane with a medial ligament injury, who will probably be out for eight weeks. Ryan Maneely went over on his ankle and Adam Robinson has a torn calf.

“So we have to change the team around this week but we put in a good performance last week and need to build on that.

“Workington had a great game last week so it will be difficult. We had a good game against them at home a few weeks ago and played really well, so we’ve got to remember that.”