Andrew Henderson said his side had to win ugly up at Workington last week: “We weren’t very good with the ball and didn’t create a lot of opportunities and I was pretty disappointed with our end of sets,” he said. “We let Workington off the hook a little bit by giving away cheap penalties.
“But defensively I thought we were very, very good, we had a good attitude and are working hard for each other. It was our defensive effort that ultimately won us the game. We got an opportunity late in the game with some field position, which we were fortunate enough to capitalise on with a couple of tries. We were nowhere near where we needed to be but managed to get the result. It was an important win for us because it’s the first time we’ve won in Cumbria.
“I know Richard Marshall will have his troops ready this week, they play an exciting brand of Rugby League, an up tempo, quick game. They are going to challenge us defensively in ways other teams haven’t done. We’re going to have to be even better defensively than we have been in recent weeks.
“They’ve got some quality players throughout their team and some real threats across the park. We’re going to have to be very, very good this week. I’ve no doubt they’ll be coming down and looking for a response after their loss last week.
“We need to keep riding this momentum and I’m sure it’s going to be an exciting game.”
Back rower Alex Foster will be available for selection this week, as will skipper Wes Naiqama and prop Jamie Thackray.
Richard Marshall’s Halifax team lost to an in-form Batley side last week: “It was a tough game for both teams,” he said.“We limited Batley to a couple of chances which they took and all credit to them, they toughed out a good win. We created more chances but didn’t convert them but there were some positives for us to take away. We just need to control the ball better and make sure we’re locking up the ball because they got a few offloads on us.
“London are a good team with some good skills and some very good players. Obviously they’re playing at a different venue this year; that in itself will be challenging.
“We’ll have a good week’s practice and try and put our best foot forward to get our levels back up to where we need and get some players back into form.”
Scrum-half Gareth Moore is doubtful with a calf strain as is stand-off Scott Murrell who got a whack in the face.