Eagles secure Wigan Warriors tie in Challenge Cup

Craig Lingard named a similar side to the one that started in last week’s pre-season victory against Doncaster at the Eco-Power Stadium. Coming into the changed side for the West Bowling encounter were Kris Welham and Jack Bussey.

After a delayed start to the game in South Yorkshire, it was the Eagles who opened the scoring after nine minutes as Ollie Roberts powered his way over to score from close-range.

The wet and windy conditions allowed for a much more even encounter in the first half, but James Glover spotted a gap to race through to score a second Eagles try of the afternoon just before the half-hour mark.

Glover then made it a double in quick succession as a break down the left-hand side saw the ball get back inside to the centre, who again raced away to score his brace with five minutes to go until the break.

Only a minute into the second half, Corey Johnson linked up with Glover down the left, and the duo sent a ball towards Matty Dawson-Jones, who managed to ground the ball out wide for a fourth Eagles try of the game.

From there, the Eagles ran away and scored four more times before the hour mark. Roberts crossed for his brace, as did Dawson-Jones, whilst there were also tries for Ben Jones-Bishop and Jack Bussey on his competitive debut in the red and gold.

More tries came the way for the Eagles in the final twenty minutes of the game. Farrell made a great break and a dart for the line which saw him go over to score for the first time since being appointed as our new captain.

Glover then completed his hat-trick as the clock started to wind down, before Alex Foster got in on the act as he worked well with Johnson to score under the sticks to complete the victory for the Eagles.

The Eagles will now take on Wigan Warriors at home in the third round of the competition. This game will be played over the weekend of 7-9th February, with full details to follow.