Halifax head coach Richard Marshall has confirmed that Halifax have worked on the basic fundamentals of the game ahead of their vital top-four showdown with Featherstone.
Fax are the only club that can all but secure a place in the top four this weekend, with victory over Fev combined with a London triumph over Batley pretty much ensuring a place in the Qualifiers.
A heavy defeat to Leigh last weekend was largely down to Halifax disappointing completion rate, which has prompted Marshall to take it back to basics.
“We’ve worked on our core skill this week because it gets you everywhere in my opinion,” he told TotalRL.
“You can put your plays and lead runners out of the back, but if the ball control isn’t on the money it means nothing. It’s your skill level that ultimately gets you over the line.”
Despite the inevitable pressures surrounding the contest, Marshall believes that the current implications riding on the game are the norm for this stage of the season.
“We were in a similar situation to last year, and it happens every season.
“Unless you are like Leigh or London who have been good enough to afford a slip-up. We can’t do that and the teams around us can’t. That makes it a simple equation, that it is a big game. I’d suggest there’s a bit more on it for Featherstone than ourselves because they’re chasing us, but they’ll be confident and they’ll use the dual-registration with Leeds, but they’ve got a good squad anyway.”
Ultimately, two wins ensure Fax’s place in the Middle 8s.
“That’s testament to the players’ efforts, ” commented Marshall. “They’ve left it in our own hands with two games to play. We could have picked up some more points along the way but the other clubs are in that position as it has been a tough league.
“But if we win our two games, we’re in the four, and that’s it, done and dusted. That’s what we’re aiming to do.”
