Rugby League: Mark Aston blames lack of competitiveness as Sheffield Eagles melt to home Halifax defeat

After victory at Rochdale recently, the Eagles took confidence into their Bank Holiday clash with Fax, but wilted in the May sunshine as the visitors blew them away with red-hot first-half display.

Coach Aston was again left with a similar post-match assessment to ones that have become synonymous with the Eagles’ start to the season, as he pointed out a lack of competitive edge from his side was the key to their disappointing display.

"We didn't compete, simple as that,” he told The Star.

“It was all about the start and being so far behind at half-time, the game was dead and gone. It is there for everyone to see. We are not competing. In the second half they got a bit sloppy and that's why it looks a little closer than the first half. There is certainly lots of things that aren't new to us, they are things that we have spoken about. It is same old, same old. Until we get that bit of softness out of us we are going to have plenty of these days.”

With a double-header next up against London Broncos, it doesn’t get any easier for Aston’s side as the Eagles chief looks to find the solution to the current lack of consistency.

It is back-to-basics now for the experienced coach who was disappointed with how many times the Eagles failed to complete their sets, as Fax put the game out of sight by the interval.

“That’s how it is at the moment. It is all about competing,” he added.

“You complete to compete. If you don't complete then you are not going to compete. We are running at 50 per cent in the first-half and that came from minute one. That's not good enough, especially in games like this one when it is red hot. If you are not completing your sets then you are going to get found out, and that's what happened.

"It could have been a lot worse in the second-half but they stopped completing so I am bitterly disappointed as I always am. We have things that we want to work on and we go away and we practice and then it comes to matchdays and we just don't put it out there.”