Anderson enters the fray

Tony Anderson will get an early reminder of just what an insecure career path he has chosen when he takes charge of Halifax for the first time this afternoon. All the bottom four clubs, including Halifax, have sacked their coaches this season; today's opponents, Warrington, have done so twice, and the man currently in charge, Paul Cullen, is still looking for his first win.

Anderson has left the relative stability of the assistant coach's job at Hull to enter a loosely disguised game of Russian Roulette. His initial contract is for the rest of this season and next, but if things get worse at Halifax he knows that will not save him; his predecessor, Steve Linnane, was sacked just four weeks after agreeing a new deal.

Anderson admits he is taking a gamble and that, had it been another club, he would have been inclined to stay put. There is no doubt that Halifax occupy a special place in his affections. As a virtually unknown player when he arrived from Brisbane Easts, Anderson shared in the club's successes in the 1980s, when they won the old First Division title and the Challenge Cup.

He served his apprenticeship there as assistant coach, before working under Shaun McRae, first at Gateshead, then at Hull. McRae is one who firmly believes that Anderson is ready for the top job and his appointment, like that of Cullen at Warrington, will be popular with the club's fans.

But it is a different club now from the one Anderson represented with such distinction. The old Halifax spent prolifically on the way to becoming one of the powers in the game; in many ways they have been suffering from that legacy ever since. Anderson will have no money to spend and several of the better players in the squad are on their way elsewhere for next season, including Andrew Dunemann to Castleford and Jim Gannon to Huddersfield.

With two extra points in the bank, Halifax should not go down, although a defeat today, coupled with Salford or Wakefield picking up anything from their games against Widnes and Castleford respectively, would make it too close for comfort.

It could be a nail-biting start to a head coaching career for Anderson, but that is what he has signed up for.