Sheffield Eagles 'full of confidence' ahead of Leigh Centurions test

After head coach Mark Aston admitted his troops were behind in pre-season, the Eagles produced a better than expected display despite being narrowly beaten late on by Halifax.

Th Eagles may have even surprised themselves at the level of performance with Farrell, a try-scorer in the one-point defeat, later admitting that the display has raised confidence levels ahead of Saturday’s trip to Leigh.

He told The Star: “We worked hard at Halifax, their pack was much bigger than ours, but we got the better of them for much of the game, that will give us plenty of confidence ahead of a really tough game.

“When we stepped out at Halifax everything just seemed to click. Everyone turned up for each other and the talk has gone up massively. I think now the league games have started, everyone's head is on and we know it is time to go.”

The Eagles are set to be strengthened at Leigh with Anthony Thackeray and James Davey expected to return.

Farrell believes that performances will only get better, with the ex-Batley powerhouse setting the bar high for the season.

He continued: “I don't think that the top five is out of our reach, and we're keen on defending our cup. As soon as the tracks start drying up, I think you'll see us ripping some holes in teams.”