Sheffield Eagles’ boss questions his team’s will to win

Eagles, defeated only once at the OLP in the Challenge Cup by Leigh this season, were uncharacteristically off colour, as Fax took the spoils just 24 hours after it was officially confirmed that their coach Richard Marshall had departed the club.

Aston said: “We got beat by a team that wanted it a little bit more. We spoke about it all week. We knew what they were going to bring. They were going to provide plenty of energy, plenty of commitment because they have lost their coach, and usually that's what happens. We were poor. We didn't complete and we didn't compete. I felt that from minute one. We started sloppy, and that carried on for most of the game.”

Eagles struggled to rediscover the form that brought about impressive back-to-back wins over Easter against Toulouse and Rochdale, against a side who were out to prove a point after losing their well respected coach.

Aston was particularly disappointed with his side’s inability to complete their sets, reeling off the disappointing stats after the game.

He continued: “We weren't disciplined enough. We had 23 sets in the second-half, but only completed 15 of them. They only had 16, but they completed 14 of them. That was the difference. We should have been draining them, and we didn't - we drained ourselves. It is really disappointing because I am always conscious that it is the third game over Easter that is always the tough one. They have had a tougher gig than us, but they wanted it a lot more than us today.”

Meanwhile, Aston confirmed that centre Ben Hellewell, on dual-registration from London Broncos, was withdrawn late in the day through illness, with Rory Dixon thrust into the side at short notice.