Sheffield Eagles: It’s early days but we’re ticking the right boxes says Eagles chief Mark Aston

The Eagles made it three win from three after coming from 10 points down to defeat John Kear’s Bulls, winning what could have been a tight contest with three tries in the last 15 minutes.

James Green’s red card certainly helped the Eagles’ cause, but even before Bradford were a man light, Aston’s side were showing an attitude which the experienced coach has longed for after some indifferent seasons of late.

Aston called on his 2019 group to show the character and steel which has been missing, and after another solid defensive display, the 51-year-old hailed another success which keeps his side’s 100 per cent record intact.

“We have won three games on the bounce, and they have all been different wins,” Aston told The Star.

“The first one was quite comfortable, we took them to the cleaners. Barrow was a tough grind, whilst Bradford was about composure, and just hanging in there.

“I don't think that we played particularly well, I thought we were a little bit indisciplined in how I want to play. We spoke about that, but I thought how we held in, and how we defended for the last 40 minutes. They didn't score second-half, which is pretty special. You can build something on the back of that.”

The Eagles certainly showed their flair in round one, whilst at Barrow they were forced to dig in to earn maximum points. At times on Friday night they had to show some defensive resilience, much to the delight of the long-serving coach.

He added: “I asked them before the game to show a defensive attitude which we have shown in parts of the last three weeks, but for 80 minutes. I thought that we got that. I am over the moon with them, I am delighted for them because they are working hard. They are a real strong, tight knit squad and they are all playing for each other.”

The Eagles were without hooker James Davey with a hamstring problem, with Aston confirming he is unlikely to be ready for Sunday’s showdown at Widnes.

Meanwhile, an announcement on a dual-registration with a Super League side is imminent, whilst Aston is also still talking about a link up with a team in League One.