Coach calls on Sheffield Eagles to move on quickly from Oldham defeat with Hunslet up next up
Defeat against Oldham last week ended Sheffield Eagles superb undefeated run
Head Coach Craig Lingard knows his Sheffield Eagles’ side can bounce back from last week’s unfortunate loss against Oldham and return to winning ways in this Sunday’s clash against Hunslet (3pm KO).
It was a hard-fought battle last Sunday against Oldham, in which the Eagles seemed comfortable to head back home with a point after an equalising penalty in the final minutes, until a drop-goal from Josh Drinkwater sealed the win for the hosts. Despite the game being taken from their grasp in the final moment, Lingard is well aware that his side needs to move on and regain their confidence heading into these final few fixtures of the campaign. He said, “You can’t really dwell on the loss too much. There is obviously that frustration of not getting ourselves over the line, and we felt as though we let one get away.
“There were a couple of things that we needed to do better; the start of the game was not great, with us being sixteen points down against a team like Oldham.
“But then you look at the positives, like how we managed to get back into the game; we came out in front going into half-time.
“But at the start of the second half, we did not start well either, conceding a try in the first couple of minutes.
“The starts of the halves are massively important for us. I think if we can nail the start of the game, it means we can continue to kick on and do really well.
“So that is something that we need to work on being consistent with. We cannot just start great and then drop off, we need to maintain those levels throughout the game.”
He added, “It was disappointing. I thought that when we got that penalty goal just before the final minute, you would think that you had the point guaranteed, and you would also get a chance to get the ball back and head upfield to have a go at a drop goal.
“But we didn’t manage to claim the kickoff, which is poor from us, and we need to be better in those sorts of situations.
“Coming into the playoffs now, it is going to be knockout rugby for us from week one. Minus the two London games and the one Doncaster game, we have lost four games against top six sides, by a combined total of thirteen points.
“We have shown that we can compete with the top six sides, but we have just struggled to get over the line in those close games.
“It’s not through a lack of effort or confidence, so it’s more disappointing that we have not been managing to do that.
“But as I’ve said, we have a few games now until the end of the season, so we will be having to prepare for knockout rugby.”
Looking ahead for the Eagles, they have a crucial chance to gain some points this Sunday against Hunslet, and with that opportunity comes an occasion to regain their confidence and get back into their winning momentum.
Speaking on this weekend’s prospects, and how his side have begun to prepare for the visiting opponents, Craig remarked, “Whenever you lose a game, it is always nice to try to get that fixture the following week that can get you back onto the winning routine, which is what we will be trying to accomplish this week.
“It is a difficult one to prepare for this week against Hunslet, as we do not know what sort of team they are going to have, with them struggling for players over previous weeks.
“I’ve watched their last three games this week, and the team that they played with at the weekend featured Eddie Battye and Charlie Graham at halfback, replacing the missing Lee Gaskell and Dan Abram.
“So, it is difficult to prepare when you do not know who you might or might not be playing against. There is a lot of information that we are going to give the players this week, but we are going to have to account for what may or may not be in front of them this weekend.”
Hunslet came away with a gritty win against Keighley Cougars last weekend, and another strongly battled two points the week prior against Dewsbury Rams, showing that despite the six places between them and the Eagles, this fixture will not be an easy obstacle to overcome for Sheffield.
Commenting further on his opponents and the strengths shown in their win last Sunday, Craig stated, “It was a hard-earned win. It was a difficult watch for certain; there were a lot of errors in the game, which you tend to expect when there are a lot of people playing out of position.
“With Keighley being where they are in the table, and they have not won for a long time, it resulted in a scrappy game.
“But if you’re in the Hunslet camp, you would be full of confidence and admiration for the players doing what they did, with a lack of any sort of pivots within the squad.
“They did what they needed to do; they got the victory, and they scored quite a few points. They have won their last few games now, in difficult circumstances for them.
“Eddie Battye is playing long minutes as he always does, and he is obviously vital to what they do. So, we know what Hunslet can do, and it is up to us to restrict any strengths that they have.”
Providing information on how his squad is shaping up after last week’s clash, Craig said, “Billy Walkley will be back in contention.
“But Josh Hodson is still out as he needs to see a specialist for his cheek and his jaw, after failing his HIA after a collision with George Griffin last weekend.
“Hopefully it is not season-ending, and it might just be a couple of weeks out; there is no timescale for the kind of injury that he has.
“Other than that, it should be the usual squad that we have had recently.”