Sheffield Eagles boosted by agreement with London Broncos

The Eagles have had a deal with Danny Ward’s side on standby before the start of the 2019 campaign, but the early season form from Mark Aston’s new look side has meant the deal had been placed on ice.

But with Blake Broadbent beginning a two-match suspension, coupled with injury to centre Jason Crookes, director of rugby Aston has chosen to act in order to give his side a shot in the arm ahead of the clash at Bootham Crescent, with centre Ben Hellewell and prop Sadiq Adebiyi both in the 19-man squad.

With Brad Knowles also facing an upcoming ban, the Eagles are set to be light in the coming weeks. Aston has also expressed concern that some of his group have endured a mini-dip in form over the past two rounds, after defeat at Featherstone was followed by a dramatic late win over Dewsbury.

Aston said: “Whilst we have had a good start to the season with five wins out of six so far, I think I’ve been pretty vocal about my disappointment in some of the performances, especially our ill-discipline over the last couple of weeks.

“Jason Crookes dislocated his shoulder at Dewsbury so we are light in the centres and with Blake Broadbent now suspended for two weeks and some other potential disciplinary hearings we could be light up front too.”

London, promoted to Super League last season, have earned some notable results at rugby league’s top table in 2019, but have a number of players who need game time.

Dual-registration proved crucial to the Eagles last season, with their partnership with St Helens proving to be the valuable ingredient in their eventual Championship survival.

Whilst the Eagles are in much better shape this time around, Aston is again keen to stress the importance of the new relationship.

Aston recently told The Star: “The importance of having a dual-reg this year wasn't as paramount, but the opportunity has come up.

“We had a conversation with Danny Ward, who we know well and who is close with Keith (Senior), and he has some good young kids who need to be playing. If we can help them, and they can help us then it is a win for all parties.”