I have to admit - the biggest disappointment for me this season has been the defence. After the NRC win at Dewsbury early in the season, where our pack was so dominant and the defence was so tight, I thought we were in for a fantastic year, but some of the goal line defence since then has been woeful
Penky has been a fantastic player for the last few season, but it has been obvious since the NRC final that his heart has no longer been in it. After he fired the bullet pass into Jims' face today I thought it looked like Gannon was going to crack him!!! Thing is - he does it too often - mistimed bullet passes to players stood 2 yards away that have not got a hope in hell of catching them. Yes he can be devastating in broken field, running from a quick play the ball at a tiring defence, but there is more to the game than that.
At the end of the day it was Rhino's first season in charge, with a lot of new faces and a lot of disruption through injuries. I think the key to the consistency we desire is a settled side, with a small turnover of players each season. We have won the NRC and finished third in the league table - if someone would have told me that at the start of the season I would have taken it. Yes, it may not have been pretty at times and we may have got out of jail a few times as well - but - hey - this is Halifax RLFC we are talking about. When did we ever do it the easy way!!!
In the meantime, lets see who comes and goes. Lets back Karl and the board to do whats right for the club and sign players that
WANT to play for Halifax, and can help move the club forward on the pitch, whilst the backroom staff continue to take the club forward off the pitch.
Enjoy the off season folks - plenty of amateur games to go and watch if you get bored on a Saturday and need a RL fix, and lets all look forward to next season!!
