Lingard eager as Sheffield Eagles prepare for Barrow clash

Saturday’s fixture will be a challenging one, with Barrow currently leading the league after three consecutive wins. They have the highest points difference, scoring 108 and conceding only four so far. Lingard is fully aware of the threat Barrow poses. “I'm really impressed with what Barrow has done so far. I think historically, when you think about Barrow, and they're a flashy team, and they like to play expansively in what they do, but looking at the conditions they've played in this year, they've had to grind victories out. The fields that they've played in are very slow, very wet, very tricky to play on, but they've defended really well, and also put some points on as well.

“They're top of the league for a reason; they're scoring a lot of points and conceding very few as well, so it's going to be a really tough ask for us this week. It's a game we're really looking forward to.”

Despite his players’ excitement to be back to playing competitive rugby, Lingard knows his side faces a physically demanding contest. “They're buzzing over at the gym; they might not be buzzing when they get on the field after fifteen minutes because there will be a lot of contact, so we'll see how they react after that.”

Still, he remains optimistic about his own squad’s form. “We've got some green shoots that are there, and there are some really good positive signs that we've seen since the start of pre-season and in the games that we've had so far. But we have been hindered by the lack of games that we've had or the consistency in the games that we've had, with a brand new spine and a pretty new team as well.

“It's beneficial for us to be playing week in, week out. And we've had a bit of a stop and start to the season, so it will be nice to get some games under our belts continuously week after week, now to try and build those connections and get a little bit of consistency on the field.”

After the last two weekends without a fixture, the Eagles are ready to get back to action. Their previous game was cancelled due to Halifax Panthers losing their RFL membership. Reflecting on this setback and Halifax’s unfortunate situation, he commented that, “It's nice to have a game, obviously, there was last week's issue with Halifax. First and foremost, our thoughts go out to everybody involved with Halifax, particularly the supporters who were the ones who were most involved. There's a lot of history involved with that club, so our thoughts go out to them.

“It's nice to get a game on this week, we've been a bit hit and miss in terms of the games, with us having round two as our weekend off, and then last week missing too. So it's nice to get back out there and have a competitive game.”

This break has led to adjustments in the team’s training routine, with Lingard stating that, “It changed a little bit last week. Tuesday was pretty much the same as it would've been anyway, because as we had been told on that day, we should prep as if we were playing on Sunday.

“But I think it was Wednesday when we got the nod that the game wasn't going to go ahead, so we changed up our training for the rest of the week, and gave the lads a bit of a touch-up late into the week, and gave them a bit of a longer rest over the weekend.

“But they had some programmes to continue at home as well, so there's been some hard work away from the club and some hard work done on the field. So we're back into normal prep this week for Barrow.”

Thanks to key pre-season signings, competition for places in the squad is strong. Lingard remarked, “We need games, we need to play week in, week out now and looking at the fixtures, that's what we've got. We've got a couple of people injured at the moment, but nothing too serious, so we've got a lot of people on the sidelines waiting to have a shot, so it's nice having that competition for places, and that's what we've been crying out for since I've been at the club.

“We have that competition in training as well. We have some good physicality in training now, where people are pushing each other, and the performances are there on the field. People know that if they're not playing particularly well, people are waiting to take their shirts. So we've got what we've been asking for for a long time now, so hopefully we can see a bit of consistency and development on the field in these next few weeks.”

On the topic of injuries, Lingard provided an update on Jack Bussey: “Jack's not far off now, to be fair. I think he's a little bit further ahead than we thought he would be. I think initially we were thinking it could maybe be two or three months, but as he's presenting at the minute, it could be a couple of weeks.

“So we'll keep him off it this week or keep him away from contact this week, and maybe start introducing him next week and see how he progresses with it, and we'll try getting him over the next couple of weeks if all goes well. So good news for Jack and good news for us.”

Eagles’ winger Will Oakes has been on loan at Batley Bulldogs for the majority of the beginning of this season, due to a lack of minutes so far in the campaign. Lingard explained, “He's spent a lot of time out of the game, and he came in towards the end of last season, probably undercooked and not match fit, I think he'd admit that himself. It'd been a long time out of the game, but when he came in towards the end of the season last year, he brought a different sort of physicality for us, carrying out a yard and getting us on the front foot. I think he played a big part in us winning the last couple of games of the season.

“Also, with Kieran Gill and Josh Hodson in the centre role, and at this moment in time, they're fit and playing well, it's difficult for Will to force his way in at the moment. So we thought the beneficial thing for Will would be to get him out at Batley, get him some game time, and he's had three 80-minute performances so far, and that's going to be good for Will and good for us as and when he's needed with us.”