‘This group of players have got an opportunity to be revered’ - Halifax Panthers stars could be held in same breath as 1987 heroes Wilf George and Mick Scott as Simon Grix begins preparations for Wembley final with trip to Sheffield Eagles

Fax’s 35-year wait for a visit to the national stadium ended last Saturday in the 10-6 victory at London Broncos, meaning they will face West Yorkshire rivals Batley Bulldogs in the showpiece occasion on Saturday, August 12 on Challenge Cup final day.

And with Grix revealing this will be his last year in charge of the club, he has said that the focus should be on his players.

“I won’t make it about me,” he insisted. “I can talk about whatever I’m going to end up doing at the right time. The players are the ones we should be focussing on and also the occasion.

“We talk about a visit we had to Wembley 30-odd years ago quite often, like it was just yesterday. We said it would be nice to have another trip there and get another result to be proud of.

“This group of players have now got an opportunity to be revered such as the Mick Scott’s and Wilf George’s of this world.”

He added: “We had spoken about the limited opportunities you have got to actually reach a final and play in one. They don’t come around too often. The lads really bought into that and it meant a lot to them, as there are a lot of lads from Halifax, and some of them are on the wrong side of 30 so they might only have a few chances left.

“They have booked themselves a game there which is really good and I am really proud of their efforts. It has been a turbulent, up and down season, but they have managed to pull it together at the right time and hopefully that gives us a little bit of confidence to kick on into the league.”

On the trip to Sheffield, he said:

“They are a great team who play very well for each other. We will be up against it but hopefully we can take some of the confidence from the London game and put in another good performance.”