HALIFAX PANTHERS coach Kyle Eastmond wants to see signs of progress when his side face Batley on Sunday.
It’s a first home Championship match of the year after the Shay club beat amateurs London Chargers 88-0 in round two of the Challenge Cup.
That tie followed the 19-12 opening-round league loss at Doncaster, which left Eastmond disappointed but certainly not dejected.
The 36-year-old coach is in his second season at the helm after making plenty of observers sit up and take notice by guiding Halifax to the second-tier play-off semi-finals in his first.
That was on a tight budget, and with the Panthers still in RFL special measures and working to a sustainability cap after serious financial issues surfaced in 2024, Eastmond has reshaped the squad after the departure of key players like backs James Woodburn-Hall and Louis Jouffret and forwards Brandon Douglas and Adam Tangata.
Centre Tanguy Zenon (from Catalans), Australian stand-off Jesse Soric (Gold Coast Titans), props Dan Okoro (Warrington) and Leon Cowen (on loan from St Helens) and backrowers Bayley Liu (Bradford) and Ben Forster (Oldham) all featured against Doncaster.
Halifax went into action without having played a pre-season game after a cold-weather cancellation, but the coach wasn’t making any excuses as he reflected on differing moments in the match.
“There were some pivotal points where we could have found a way to score and possibly win but didn’t do that,” said Eastmond.
“They were down to twelve early in the second half, and we needed to put pressure on and certainly not concede, which we ended up doing.
“You have to take those opportunities to impose your game, and we need to manage those moments better.
“Ultimately it’s about winning, and we didn’t do that, but there were moments when it was clear to see that this is going to be good team, and we will keep working hard and get better.”