On Sunday, our freshly relegated Yorkshire neighbours get to 'deal' with a trip to Spotland in the game's glamour competition the Arriva Trains Cup.

This year’s National League parachute pariahs Halifax descend on Spotland on Sunday. Now divested of their Blue Sox monicker, Tony Anderson’s side looks very useful across the park.

The team sheet reads like a who’s who of proven National League journeymen who, between them, know what it takes to hack it at the top-end of our competition.

Ex-Hornet Jon Roper is joined by Danny Arnold, Phil Cantillon, Jamie Bloem, Chris Morley, Pat Weisner and Anthony Farrell - a core of experience that should prove significantly stronger than the sum of its parts.

We went and had a look at Halifax in their pre-season game against Shuddersfield Midgets and - even though they paraded what was fundamentally an academy side - ex Leigh utility Pat Weisner looks the key to everything they do. He wore 13 but played at out-half and bossed the game from start to finish.

Every single passing move goes through his hands and he does all the field kicking - kicking early, usually to the touchlines or corners. He also feeds the forwards with inside balls up the middle to make the hard yards. In addition, he takes all place kicks. So if you stop him, you'll stop Halifax.

Halifax also worked a move where they ship the ball wide very quickly and then turn the ball back inside when you think it's going to the winger - Huddersfield fell for it half a dozen times.

Overall, Halifax were very big on enthusiasm - tackling in big numbers and scrambling very effectively on defence - particularly on the flanks. If Anderson has drilled this attitude into his whole squad, then they’ll provide a very big handful.

Last week’s tonking of Conference side Oulton Raiders offered few clues. A 66-10 win yielded tries for nine of the 17 - Cantillon and winger Oli Marns grabbing two apiece. The week before, the same Keighley side dumped unceremoniously out of the cup by Dudley Hill took Halifax all the way in an 18-12 defeat that could easily have ended in an 18-all draw.

Here at Spotland, Bobbie Goulding is beginning to see how his new Hornets side fits together - and there’s much to be optimistic about. His big pack looks to have a decent combination of graft & craft, his half backs look to have the right balance of style & guile and the addition of Sam Butterworth’s unpredictable, quicksilver game at centre provides the perfect foil to Paul Anderson’s no-nonsense power game.

In what was a good all-round performance last week, Andy Gorski’s non-stop pressure on attack and defence caught the eye - as did John Braddish’s more expansive game at out half.

With the Late Trains Cup earmarked as a test bed for New Hornets, The Bobster will be juggling the problem of playing-off consistency against looking at the permutations. But if he can get the core of the side set-up and ticking over, we’ll only get better.

Hot on the heels of Dynamo Moscow - and in the build up to the arrival of Warrington Wolves - the bread and butter of Halifax No-sox may seem like an anti-climax. But every team Halifax comes up against will be keen to prove a point this season - and Bobby Goulding’s World Famous Rochdale Hornets will be no different.

Winning’s a good habit to get into - and Bobbie wants to win every week.

This week will be no different. so we’ll see you there. It’ll be a cracker.