Panthers’ poor run continues as Lions roar to victory at the Shay
Halifax Panthers fell to a third successive defeat in the Championship after an exceptional performance from Swinton Lions at The Shay.
Fax had lost their previous two outings against Widnes Vikings and Sheffield Eagles without scoring a single point in three halves of rugby.
And they were pointless again when the half-time hooter sounded here but Swinton gave them too much to do in the second period after they had raced into a 200 lead thanks to tries from Mitch Cox, Jayden Hatton, Daniel Abram and Jonathon Vaughan.
Louis Jouffret scored Fax’s first points in 170 minutes at the start of the second half to provide a glimmer of hope, which was widened when Greg Eden went over for his first league try for the club.
But that hope was extinguished when Kevin Larroyer was sin-binned and Swinton put the game beyond doubt with a fifth try through Jordan Gibson to seal a 28-12 win.
Finn had named three areas of improvement ahead of the contest - concentration, toughness and resilience under pressure.
But a loose Widdop kick at the end of the first set gifted the Lions possession and field position - and they took full advantage.
A Dec Patton kick forced a goal-line drop-out as Swinton gained repeat sets. And although Joshua Eaves was held up on the line, Swinton worked it well to the right with Cox diving over.
Fax did look to respond with a couple of encouraging carries from WoodburnHall and Adam Tangata which ended with Jouffret being held up on the line.
They then came close to a superb try after silky hands from Keyes and Widdop moved the ball from left to right but when Eden chipped ahead, Ben Tibbs couldn't grasp the ball cleanly.
Eden was then denied by a last-ditch tackle as Halifax continued to apply the pressure.
But Jayden Hatton delivered the ultimate suckerpunch after outpowering the Fax defence following a short ball from Patton.
A third try soon followed. From a Swinton perspective, it was perfection. From a Fax persuasion, you will have been left questioning the defence as a Patton kick wasn’t dealt with and Gibson, somehow, gloriously scooped the ball up and threw it behind him - behind the posts to keep the ball from going dead and Abram collected to touch down.
Fax’s defences frailties were showing considerable and they conceded a fourth try on the hooter. A grubber kick wasn’t dealt with by the Panthers and Vaughan pounced gleefully.
However, it only took Halifax four minutes into the second half to finally get on the board with Jouffret going over after great hands from Keyes and Widdop.
They did get another try to make Swinton sweat via
Eden but Larroyer’s sin-binning seconds after the restart halted any prospect of a comeback, with Patton knocking over an extra two points for comfort.
And the extra man paid dividends when Gibson easily danced over late on as Swinton sealed another incredible win at The Shay, as Fax endured another torrid afternoon.