Sheffield Eagles: Confidence 'oozing back' after Batley win

The Eagles racked up 54 points to end a three match losing run in the league but it wasn’t enough to lift them back into the top five after Featherstone, Leigh and York all won.

Aston admitted his side were down on confidence coming into the contest, but an impressive start was followed by try barrage after the interval in a performance which included the speed and verve that was a cornerstone of their early season success.

Aston said: “We can play and we can score points, and you could see the confidence came oozing back. We've had a couple of tough weeks but we have played some quality teams during that period. I thought defensively in the first 30 we were great, our tackle management was great and our attitude was spot on.”

After winning the toss, the Eagles opted to kick against the slope, a move which Aston says surprised him, but showed the willingness of his side to restore belief the hard way.

He added: “We had a knock to confidence, but today they asked me which way we should play in the first-half, and I said to them to do what they feel. They decided to play uphill, and I expected them to go the other way to try and get some confidence back.

“It showed they weren’t daunted, and they got their confidence back in a different way.”