England captain Tom Halliwell insists there’s no pressure on Leeds Rhinos in their title match against Halifax Panthers.

Sunday’s Betfred Wheelchair Super League Grand Final is a repeat of the Challenge Cup decider two months ago final which Panthers won 92-24, thanks largely to an incredible performance by Rob Hakwins who scored 72 of their points from 10 tries and 16 goals. Halifax are one win away from completing a second successive treble and Leeds will go into the showpiece as underdogs - but Halliwell reckons that’s brings out their best.

“They have stars all over the park,” Halliwell said of this weekend’s opponents at the National Basketball Performance Centre in Manchester. “[In the Cup final] they found a way of getting the best out of Rob and they exploited that to the best of their ability, but you can’t focus too much on Rob, or someone else will get you.

Leeds Rhinos' Tom Halliwell, right and Finlay O'Neill, of Halifax Panthers, with the Betfred Wheelchair Super League trophy. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.

“They are a great side and a great-run club, but the pressure is on them. They have won every trophy and are going for back-to-back trebles. We have just got to play our game, do our stuff and play some good rugby and if we do that, I think we can win.”

Halliwell missed the whole of last season and most of this year with a shoulder injury, but featured briefly in the Cup final loss. With more game time under his belt he feels in far better shape now - and believes the team are the same.

“As a squad we didn’t train together that much, everything was quite disrupted in our build-up,” he recalled. “I had just come back so I hadn’t trained too much, we had a lot of adversity with a lot of people missing games and training.

“Everything was quite out of sync, but now we have got everyone back, everyone has been training and playing and we are all together. We are in a good spot now, I think we’ve found some good form and we are ready to play this weekend.”

Halifax Panthers are on course for a second successive treble, having beaten Leeds Rhinos in the Challenge Cup final two months ago. Picture by Olly Hassell/SWpix.com.

On a personal note, Halliwell added: “I’ve finally put a good string of games together. We are getting those connections back now, which was quite tough.

“When I was out we had a bit of a change in playing style and game style, so when I came back it felt a bit different for me and all the players. Now I’m just grateful I am back playing and I can showcase what I am about and do my thing.”

Halliwell was a Grand Final winner with Leeds two years ago, but what he has gone through since would make a victory in Sunday’s Sky-televised showdown, which kicks-off at 5.30pm, extra-special. He said: “When you are a kid you want to play in Challenge Cup finals and Grand Finals so to have the opportunity to do this so soon after coming back, I am so grateful. As a team we’ve gone through a lot of adversity in the last two years, so to have the chance to make it right in a Grand Final would be good and I’ll definitely be shedding a tear if we do win.”