Halifax Panthers produce inspired second half comeback to beat 12-man Dewsbury Rams

Three first half tries from Liam Copland, Connor Carr and former Fax man Brad Graham had given Dewsbury a healthy 14-6 lead at the break, only for the rampant Panthers to respond with three tries in a blistering ten-minute spell at the start of the second half courtesy of Ben Tibbs - his second of the game - and a double from Ben Will.

Dewsbury weren’t helped with Bailey O’Connor being shown a straight red card immediately after Will scored his first, as Fax, thanks to further tries from Connor Davies and Alfie Johnson, recorded a comfortable 36-18 win.

For the third game running, from the Rams’ perspective, it was a case of what might have been having let yet another half-time lead slip agonisingly away after a dominant first 40 minutes.

There were barely three minutes on the clock when the Rams moved the ball swiftly to the right allowing Copland to dive over in the far corner.

It got even better for Dewsbury a few minutes later as the pressure mounted on the visitors. The home side were held up on the line twice in the same set before Jacob Hookem grubber-kicked through for Carr to dive on and claim his first-ever try in Dewsbury colours.

Paul March had said in the build-up to the game that he had wanted to “put a show on” for the Dewsbury fans who had not witnessed a game here at FLAIR Stadium in eight weeks. And his troops were certainly doing that in what was turning into a long-awaited homecoming.

They seemed to be on roll thanks to a monstrous 40-20 which allowed Daniel Coates to ease through a gap but he was denied by a forward pass. Louis Collinson then threatened the Fax line with a great run while Copland could not quite keep a looping pass in play after another positive set.

These two teams, before today’s contest, would have been level in the Championship table if it wasn’t for Fax’s points deduction having both won seven games. Dewsbury, however, had the edge at the halfway point of the first half.

But Fax finally got a foothold into the game with breaks from Adam O’Brien and Ben Forster providing a much-needed spring in their step. And when Jesse Soric came up with an even better run, in possibly the half’s most exciting play, the Panthers were then able to recycle the ball out wide to Tibbs who went over in the corner.

Back came Dewsbury though as they deservedly got their third try of the half with former Fax player Graham easily going over to give the home side an eight-point advantage at the break.

Having a lead at this stage has not been unfamiliar for the Rams in recent weeks having led 28-0 at Barrow, and 24-18 at Sheffield in their last two outings, only to lose both games 39-28 and 42-30 respectively.

And the nerves in the Dewsbury ranks will have been jangling when the excellent Tibbs streaked clear in the first attack of the second half to get Kyle Eastmond’s troops back to within two points at 14-12.

Halifax then hit the front for the first time in the game when Will, who scored a splendid hat-trick in the defeat at Oldham last weekend, broke clear.

And the momentum had completely swung in the instant aftermath of that score as important full-back O’Connor was shown a straight red card.

Will continued his brilliant try-scoring streak again as Fax went back-to-back in a carbon copy of his first.

It was a mesmerising period from the visitors who had blown the home side away. Former Rams man Connor Davies then extended the lead before Alfie Johnson, who signed a deal with Castleford Tigers from 2027, made it 36-14 with an eye-catching finish in the corner.

George Senior had the final say for Dewsbury but it was nothing more than a consolation, as Fax recorded a Championship double over their West Yorkshire rivals.

Dewsbury: O’Connor, Copland, Carr, Senior, Delaney, Coates, Hookem, Nelmes, Lumb, Collinson, Bateman, Graham, Addy,

Interchanges: Sykes, Algar, Briggs, Roberts

Tries: Copland, Carr, Graham, Senior

Conversions: Hookem

Halifax: Will, Tibbs, Carter, Sutcliffe, Johnson, Roby, Soric, Bedward, O’Brien, Tangata, Connor Davies, Morgan, Fairbank

Interchanges: Thompson, Forster, McComb, Calcott

Tries: Tibbs (2), Will (2), Connor Davies, Johnson

Conversions: Carter (6)