Well I certainly enjoyed what turned out to be a try feast last Sunday, played out on an excellent DP surface which belied the conditions of seven days previous.

However, I did - like our coach Gary Murdock - spare some thoughts for the rapid decline of the Hunslet Hawks. To see a club dive from the glory of a championship winning effort to the lower depths of the current NFP table within such a short time span is quite sad.

Last years champs, Dewsbury Rams, have as yet not deteriorated so dramatically but this weeks news of Rams coach Neil Kelly absconding to rivals Widnes will do the Rams more harm than good and, perhaps, Mr Kelly sees the AutoQuest route to top class RL participation as a better personal option.

Surely such examples as those at Hunslet and Dewsbury must send out some form of desperation message to the RL authorities. I'm sure 'they', of course (?), are not ignorant of the NFPs' plight. However, I still detect some misunderstanding of the functions that make survival a degree more comfortable for our clubs.

For one (to me glaring) instance I ask do 'they' not understand if there is nothing substantial to aim for (e.g. automatic promotion to Super League) then how can a club continually hold the attention of major sponsors? Even the perennial "stadium not up to SL requirements" doesn't wash with me. Has anyone noticed in the English soccer regime there is a club destined to jump from Division One to the Premier Division but do not have a stadium meeting the 'all seated' criteria of the elitists? Yet the FA authorities are to allow them further time to get up to standard. Why then couldn't the RFL have offered similar leeway to the aforementioned NFP outfits? Perhaps common sense is absent from too many 'political' agendas though.

Enough, for now, of the NFP drum banging. On a much more parochial note our win last Sunday maintained the top eight challenge. The bonus of such a healthy score line was that our points diff was also given a huge boost. Another boost was to see Graeme Lewthwaite notch a hat trick, the third being his career 100th. Seeing Lewty's form since joining us has me wondering why it has in fact taken him so long to achieve this milestone? I can recall being very afraid of his finishing power when he did wear the choccy, blue, and gold in Derby clashes but, perhaps, Whitehaven didn't utilise his thirst for tries as much as they should have. The flying winger has certainly shot forth to become a future Hall of Fame candidate for Town.

Hopefully another experienced player will make the same impact; I refer to our newest recruit Lynton Stott. Past memories do tend to play tricks, certainly within my fuddled dome they do. And I must apologise for the hastily constructed profile I did on Lynton for this web site. I had no recollection of him actually playing for Halifax as a pro - Sheffield are the club I best remember him serving. Yet, incredibly, I can still picture a teenage Lynton playing at Egremont for Woolston. Peter Livett (remember him?) was in the same visiting team. A feature of that match was seeing my big mate, Egremont's Nat Winterton, clear the huge boundary fence at Gillford Park with a goal kick…

I think Lynton Stott will be a star at Town, and he may not be the last piece in the current squad jigsaw .. whoops! No, I'm not rumour mongering, it's just a personal hunch - honestly.

It's off to the cold North East for the Townies, this Sunday, to a beautiful stadium at Gateshead. It's an arena that such as Linford Christie and Carl Lewis have graced, but have the Geordies seen anyone as dynamic and powerful as our Lewty..?

Let's also show how we western coast folk are also equally fervent followers of our favourite sports stars. Huge numbers, then, on the road east on Sunday please. UP THE TOWN!
K.S.