Halifax Panthers

Boyhood Fax fan Finn excited by Panthers’ new crop of stars

In the 1990s, boyhood Halifax fan Liam Finn idolised the likes of John Bentley and Mark Preston rampaging down the Thrum Hall wings.

Three decades on, the fanturned-new-Fax head coach is hoping his first group of stars can excite the next generation of Panthers’ devotees at The Shay.

Eye-catching new signings Gareth Widdop and Greg Eden, in particular, add an extra zest and buzz to a squad Finn inherited from the departing Simon Grix which returned the glory days back to Halifax with their thrilling 1895 Cup final triumph over Batley Bulldogs last August.

Is this the start of things to come with Finn now at the helm, on the back of his own success in 2023 by guiding Dewsbury Rams to the League 1 title?

“We are trying to head in the right direction,” the head coach says. “I enjoyed watching wingers John Bentley and Mark Preston. I won’t be the only one to have grown up in Halifax and have those two as heroes in my era.

“Now, we have a few local lads that have put in a really good stint over the last six or seven years. Jacob Fairbank, Ben Kavanagh and James Saltonstall.

“Add Greg Eden and Gareth Widdop, those types who you probably thought you would never see in a Halifax shirt. Hopefully they will contribute massively and people will be excited to come down and watch them.”

He adds: “We have set ourselves some targets which we won’t make public but we want to be competing and we want to be in the mix. With the play-off format how it is in rugby league these days you have got to be in the mix to give yourselves an opportunity at the end of the season and then take it from there.

“Our first priority is to get the season off to a good start.”

Of course, the fixture-generator-gods at the RFL had a cheeky smile on their face when they paired Fax with the Rams for the first game of the Championship season.

Finn wryly says: “It is not a coincidence, is it? It’s there to generate interest in the game, which is understandable.

“I am looking forward to going back to Dewsbury. They will be a challenge. I am aware of a lot of their players. They have some really good players there, so it is going to be exciting.”

Excitement to come for Finn and Fax then. But what about that moment when he stepped out into The Shay for the first time in a competitive game, against Whitehaven in February, as head coach?

He recalls: “It was a proud moment obviously. It gets lost in wanting to get the job done to be honest but looking back it was a proud moment.

“It is a job I am proud to do and I have wanted to do it for a long time. I am grateful for the opportunity. Pride was the main thing but that was soon masked with the need to get the job done.

“It’s one job for one person and everything has to fall into place; the timing, getting the relevant experience, trying to prove yourself and actually wanting it.

“It’s not an easy job to get hold of but one that I would like to keep hold of for as long as I can.”