Halifax Panthers v Sheffield Eagles preview: Grix expecting ‘tough encounter’ in season opener

Grix’s side finished third in the 2022 season while the Eagles missed out on the play-offs by ending in seventh place.

And Fax’s head coach admits his side - which has a number of fresh faces for their 150th anniversary season - will need to roll their sleeves up against Mark Aston’s men.

“We have got to expect a tough, physical encounter. The pitches don’t allow for the fancy stuff. It will be a game where we have to roll our sleeves up and do the tough stuff first.

“It is one to look forward to and I do think Sheffield will be much-improved this season. It’s a good test for us to start the season.”

New signings at The Shay include Italy international Jake Maizen, who arrives from Queensland Cup side Sunshine Coast Falcons, and props Will Maher and Eribe Doro from Hull KR and Widnes Vikings respectively.

But there will also be some former Fax players, namely Cory Aston and Titus Gwaze, on show in the curtain raiser to the new season.

Grix said: “There will be some quality players on show and some former Halifax players too which adds a little bit to it. We will do our own work on them and do what suits us, but we are just going to look after us. It’s early season so we will focus on ourselves.

“They have got some players who are long-serving Sheffield players and we know some of their qualities. We will do a bit of prep and digging on their performances during pre-season and go from there.”

And although Grix has insisted his side will strive to entertain over the coming months, he doesn’t expect a single side to runaway to the league title. He said:

“It’s important to remember that we are in the entertainment business. Five drives and a kick to the corner is not necessarily what people want to see when they are paying good money to watch it.

“But we will play our way. We have done a pretty good job over the last couple of years of trying to build an identity that is synonymous with our club and how we play is a big part of that.

“We have kept a chunk of the players to make sure that continues and added some bodies around them. We will certainly be trying to play.

“There are a lot of teams who do try to play and I’m not saying we are anything special, but we put a few teams to the sword last year. It is a greater challenge though this year. I think we will see a lot more closer scores.

“But we will know a lot more when we get into it and generally, by the halfway mark, you have a good idea of how it is going to look.”

Halifax Panthers kick off their 2023 Championship season at The Shay at 3pm, on Sunday, February 5, against Sheffield Eagles.