Marshall signs new Halifax deal

Head coach Richard Marshall has signed a two-year contract extension with Halifax, keeping him at the club until the end of 2019.

The 2015 Kingstone Press Championship Coach of the Year had one more year to run on his initial deal, but has opted to commit his long term future to the club ahead of the start of the Championship Shield campaign which begins this Sunday.

Marshall said: “I didn’t take long to mull the decision over when I was offered the opportunity to stay here.

“It’s a really, really good club and they have been very positive with me this year even though the results have fallen short of the top four.

“I want to achieve great things here and we are all in this together. I want to see the good work the club has been doing produce results.

“Working with the group of players is fantastic. They are characters both on and off the field who work really hard for each other, and the opportunity to do more with them over the next couple of years excites me.”

Halifax RLFC Director Ian Croad said: “As a club we are delighted to make this statement of intent by keeping Richard here for at least another three years.

“The club is building solid foundations for the future, as well as the reserve grade structure remaining in place where we hope to continue the development of young players at our club.

“We may have been quiet over the last few weeks as a club, but this is just the start of what we hope will be a lot of positive news ahead of the 2017 season.

“Along with Richard, plans are well underway in terms of recruitment for next season where the budget for the first team will be similar to when we finished in the top four in 2015 – regardless of our sixth place finish this season.”