Quote: NickyKiss "The debate wasn't about wanting to be in your position, it was about your players ability to deal with semi final and final pressure and the signs yesterday were pretty shocking. Somebody commented eaarlier that you probably played even worse yesterday then you did in the Catalans semi final last year and I'd go with that. I was honestly stunned with your nervy performance and as somebody who's been actually sticking up for your chances this year saying you'll win the lot at a canter, I'm now not that sure. Halifax are 8th in the Champonship, below Sheffield Eagles and Featherstone and just above Swinton. If a game like that at a half empty Macron Stadium got to your players in the way it did then the mind boggles as to what may happen at Wembley or Old Trafford.
Also you guys keep bringing us in to it. Your head and shoulders above us, I've no issue with that. If we're lucky enough to get another crack at you this year we can only hope our experience and bottle gets us closer. If Fax can do that to you then you just never know.'"
Okay, so I watched the same game as everyone else did yesterday, but I’m starting to think I didn’t - so bare with me.
What about that performance actually came across as nervy? There wasn’t a moment where we even looked like conceding let alone losing that game. We controlled every aspect of the game, Halifax barely made 30 metres a set and did absolutely everything we needed to do.
Was it that we didn’t score wonderful free flowing tries? The game before surely proved it wasn’t the game for that? Warringtons 4 fries were 2 kicks and 2 Hull mistakes. Was it we didn’t win by 40? We were 2 knock ons over the line, and a baffling ref decision to pull Naiqama back away from that. We were disjointed at times but most teams do after a week off. Rain and a championship level speed of ruck meant it was never going to be particularly high scoring, and Halifax’s entire season was played in that first half. We stretched them, grinded them down, and got a couple of late tries to round things off. We played an almost identical game away at Warrington a month or so back.