Tough against Toulouse, says Sheffield Eagles boss Aston

Aston’s exiles play their first home game of the season at Wakefield’s Belle Vue tomorrow, seeking their first win of the campaign after defeat in round one at Oldham.

It won’t be easy as Toulouse laid down a marker to the rest of the division with a 44-6 demolition of Batley.

Aston’s side, in contrast, are still in a transitional phase. Despite their infancy as a group, they showed some positive early signs against the Roughyeds which has given the Eagles chief confidence ahead of tomorrow’s fixture.

“We are coming up against what is a very good Toulouse side. I have watched the video of the Batley game and they tore them to shreds,” Aston, pictured, told The Star.

“Let’s not kid ourselves here, they ripped Batley apart, and they missed five kicks so it could have been 60 points. After the season that Batley had last season, you certainly wouldn’t have expected that to happen.

“But I will always back my sides against anyone if we follow the plan. We have a quality group but we just need time. What we need to do is try to be more disciplined and then we will get the results, I’m pretty confident about that.”

The Eagles will be in the unusual surroundings of Belle Vue (5.30pm kick-off) with Aston’s side following Trinity who play their Super League curtain-raiser against Hull FC at 3pm.

With Mark Mexico banned and Duane Straugheir doubtful, Aston will again use the dual-registration deal with Leigh to bolster his ranks.

“We’ll have two or three players from Leigh on dual registration,” he added.

“We had Lachlan Burr last weekend and he was great.

“He was strong and reminded me of a Steven Thorpe when he first came on the scene.

“We are delighted to have him this weekend, as well as a couple more too.”

Click here for the latest news from our Rugby League teams