I don't think anyone was over the moon after the friendly win over Oldham, it was a training game nothing more. When Fax parted ways with Richard Marshall I thought it was absolutely the right thing to do. The club's decision to chose a coach from within could be seen as a taking the cheap option in giving a rookie coach his 1st No1 job but if that had to be the case I couldn't see beyond Scott Murrell. Simon was the clubs choice however and although his results have hardly been world beating the circumstances we found ourselves in hardly helped him or the players. Now though he has his own team, he's gained some experience and has what looks like a very good squad to go with for this season. It's in his hands now and we shall see whether or not he is able to take Fax at the very least into the play-offs. The Batley result and performance was more than disappointing but it's gone now so we need to get behind him and the players and see if we can finally get the club to where we all want it to be. Up The Fax!

Haha Im certainly not calling for the coach to be sacked if that is how you took my post. I regard Darryl Powell as one of the best coaches there has been in the UK game in the past 10 or more years and if, and its likely a very big if, he decided he no longer wanted to coach at SL level then any club in the Championship would be daft not to be taking a look.

As for Dual Reg it will just be dressed up as "season long" loans that will have recall clauses. I wouldn't be believing its dead just yet sadly.

Grix has to be given this year, there is no doubt about that. This is truly his team, he has got rid of the players he wanted to get rid of and has brought in a lot of the players he asked for. Ultimatley he will be the one who falls on his sword if results do not go our way. It can't be overstated how much the missing players would have improved the team we put out against Batley. I said before the season started that outside of our first 17 we look pretty weak and to be honest we had at least 4 players who I would not count as in our first 17 and 3 of those were in the pack, a pack that was easily dominated.

One thing that does worry me is how we didn't really look up for the game like Batley did and we looked to lack leadership which is also a worry as Im presuming that is the reason Scott Grix is on the field.

With all that’s gone on and the disruption it’s caused no surprise that we will be off the pace.
But it’s been exactly the same for all the other teams.
With just one game to go on and from watching the games live or the highlights which are now all available on YouTube the only assessment to make is we looked more off the pace than the others.
Of the so called better teams they clearly looked better and we didn’t look to be in that group.

London could be just the right game to focus the minds but if we fail again already the pressure starts to build.

Yes as SG says it’s a long season but with all the rebrand hype and expectancy we need to hit the ground running in the games building up to crowds been allowed back in.

In that sense you only have a short period of time to get any new interest growing and simply stated that means putting on a show and winning, otherwise it’s back to the faithful few that gradually get fewer.

Hopefully a couple of good performances / results and ............................?

Absolutely spot on!

i wouldnt have given him the job in the first place john sharp would have been my choice the performance on saturday reminded me of the game against dewsbury last season where they turned up all fired up with a basic game plan that was good enough to beat us on the day thats the problem for me is thats all it takes these days to get a win at the shay the way are attack was set up on saturday was shockingly poor and thats down to simon grix just like most of his time as coach he is not up too the job and should go

I guess the issue is that pre season we all see a good team being put together, we read all the hype in the Rugby press, we all get our hopes up, and then the team trip at the first hurdle and suddenly it's all 'same old Halifax, same old failings, here we go again with another mid table season'.

Lets face it, there is a high proportion of fans who's fall back position at any slip is 'Sack the Coach', we've lost some pretty good coaches over the years to win pressure (not saying Simon Grix is a pretty good coach, he's still to prove that; I too was surprised when he was appointed).

I guess being a Halifax fan you get used to the roller coaster which is the weekly inconsistency of a Fax team.

The problem is it's exactly that, same old same old. We are out of the Challenge Cup and out of the 1895 Cup already. A couple of early defeats in the league and we would be struggling in that competition too. We haven't topped the 2nd division once since relegation from SL, and while I'm not saying we will top the league this time it would be nice to at least be in the running. I believe our 1st 17 are as good as any in the Championship this time. The players are there, it's a case of over to you now Simon. Up The Fax!

i agree very well put hudd-shay

I did think that we had recruited well. However so have most other teams and this league is always very competitive. We might be short of some class and unpredictability. We are short on a vocal leader and just hope some step forward.
Need to see if our halves can run the game as we have been very spoilt having had Muzza for so long.
Most teams can beat each other on the day and only those with a rich backer generally are always near the top.

Can`t wait to see how we go next weekend.

Hmm. Jot down the first choice 17 of Toulouse, Fev and probably York too, and tell me how many of the Fax 17 you think would get in to those teams. You'll probably get as far as Brandon Moore, maybe Rawsthorne too, and that will be it.

Not hvaing a go, just being honest as I don't think Fax have the resources to attract the same calibre of players as the big three. I don't think Grix has been very impressive as a coach so far but to suggest he's been dealt an equal hand to the likely top two or three teams isn't accurate imo.

hello phantom i would also add fairbank,spinger,murrey wouldnt look out of place in those teams you mention i also think those sides are better coached witch always helps make players look better

The big three!

I reckon maybe 5 or 6 would but the key thing is that only Moore would be a stand out. All that said its why its vital we play as a team this year to make up those differences in quality. On the run out against Batley we looked anything like a team and we can use the excuse that the team hasn't been together for too long but that would be unfair on Batley. The fact is the team badly underperformed and people are going to call them out for it.

There's nowt like the modesty, graciousness and benevolence of Fev fans

[list[/list:u
The new bulls!

It's probably their on going partnership with the Rhinos that's going to their heads.

Just remember also sheffield had knocked us out the cup last season. I do not think Grix is the man for the job no experience what so ever as off yet

It would appear,results wise, that he isn't. Nonetheless he's the man in charge now and as such we should all get behind him. It's his team now and it's up to him to get the best out of the excellent players he has to chose from. We shall see. Up The Fax!

Perhaps not the best choice of words, but Toulouse, Fev and York clearly have had more money to spend and it shows in their squads.

Doesn't mean other teams can't beat them or even finish above them in the league, but in terms of the squads they have been able to assemble, three teams have clearly been in a more advantageous position. I'm not sure that's a particularly controversial thing to say.

Yes, those three would all be in contention for a place, they're all good players. Think you could argue either way whether they would get in the 17 at Toulouse or Fev.

I mentioned the big three, not the big one, it's got nothing to do with being immodest or graceless. My point was very clear that I don't think Halifax have had the same resources to build their squad. Do you think I am wrong?

No DR this year, try to keep up! And most Fev fans were as against the concept of DR as you were.

And to be fair to T, F and Y behind the money and squads there has been a massive amount of work going on to get the cash in and in many other areas to get them where they are.

No freebies just hard work from the top down as with a lot of other clubs which for me means a great comp with some cracking games for us all to enjoy all throughout the year.

I’m sure it will be the best for a long time.

Nothing to do specifically with your Big 3 comment, more to do with the way Fev fans have been over the last 10 years or so whenever you get a little success. Bit like the year you had champions emblazed on your kit before you'd won the grand final (which you lost lol)

"Fev fans" - all of them or a few vociferous ones on social media (and yes there certainly are some)?
Every club has a few mouthy fans who either get full of themselves when they do well, or get jealous and bitchy when other clubs do better than them.