I'd be tempted to play Taylor in place of Francis on the left-hand side of midfield. He's got more pace and probably has more of a physical presence than Francis as well.

I'd also play Ruben behind Langstaff and Scott so it becomes a 4-3-1-2, with the impetus on Austin and Taylor to provide the width. Looks good offensively, but not so sure about the defensive aspect with Palmer having to do a lot of work in the middle.

As for the fact that Halifax has become a must-win game, that's what happens when you draw three games in a row and already find yourselves four points behind the leaders after just four games. We've seen in the past three seasons what happens when we get off to a slow start - we always remain off the pace because we've proved incapable of putting a long run of wins together.