#NRCupfinal

Halifax prop Jim Gannon is aiming to settle a score when he plays in his fourth consecutive Northern Rail Cup final with Sunday’s showdown against Featherstone Rovers at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool (3.00pm).

Gannon has won the Cup twice with former club Widnes Vikings but suffered heartache in the 2011 final when Halifax were beaten by a last-minute try from Leigh Centurions. This year he is hoping that the painful memories of that experience will help Halifax claim the trophy.

“I can’t wait for the final, this will be my fourth year in a row,” said Gannon. “I’ve lost two and won one so I want to equal out the scores on Sunday.

“There’s not just me who has experience of the final, we have plenty of players who were in the Batley Bulldogs side that won in 2010 so we know what to expect and will help some of the younger lads prepare for the game.”

Halifax go in to the game standing 80 minutes away from achieving one of the goals set them by new coach Karl Harrison at the start of the season but Gannon is aware it will be a tough test against Championship winners Featherstone Rovers

Gannon said: “It’s always a hard task against Featherstone, they are a very physical side.

“At the start of the season winning the Northern Rail Cup was one of our targets and now we are so close to achieving it.

“It would be great for our fans, especially after we lost in the final minute of the final last year against Leigh, it was a cruel way to lose.

“Karl (Harrison) has really good man-management skills and we all have so much respect for him. This year there has been a lot of competition for places in the team and that’s kept us on our toes we know that we have to play well to keep our place.

“We realise that if we are going to win the game we need to be at our best, if we play to our potential then who knows what can happen.”

The Northern Rail Cup final will be played on Sunday July 29 at Bloomfield Road, Blackpool. Tickets cost from just from just £14 for adults, and £8 for concession and are available by calling 0844 856 1113 or by visiting www.rugbyleaguetickets.co.uk

For more details on Northern Rail visit http://www.northernrail.org/ and for information on Blackpool, offers and where to stay visit www.visitblackpool.com/rugby