Sheffield Eagles boss hails injury-hit side

Aston’s side racked up 46 points at Odsal Stadium. The victory was all the more remarkable considering the Eagles had lost their last four league games. The Eagles’ cause also wasn’t helped by losing several key players to injury, but Aston’s patched up side cruised to one of the club’s best results in recent history.

“We lost Scott Wheeldon, Keal Carlile and Garry Lo” Aston confirmed. “Mark Mexico got busted in the ribs so at one stage we had Menzie Yere on the wing, then George Tyson on the wing and Elliott Minchella in the centre. It was about guts and attitude – it is something that we speak about a lot. I’ve been hard on them after some of the games. I lost my head with them after the Dewsbury game, but I said to them look, it is up to you to sort this out, and they did.”

Experienced operators Mitch Stringer and Rob Worrincy were left out, but youngsters like Ryan Millar stepped up to vindicate Aston’s selection. Winger Lo also made a successful return to the side, scoring a 90 metre try, but he left the field shortly after, when it appeared that the PNG speedster had suffered a reaction to the dislocated shoulder.

“Obviously we left players out” Aston added.

“It was all hands on deck and I spoke about this before we went out there, sometimes when your back is against the wall it fires you up, and that’s what happened. Nobody thought we could win, there were two quick tries early on from Bradford, but we found a way to get back in.”