James returns to boost Sheffield Eagles' bid for first victory

The 30-year-old was ruled out of last weekend’s defeat at Toulouse through injury, but is set to lead Mark Aston’s side at Featherstone after three straight Eagles defeats.

Aston is also set to welcome back Nabil Djalout after he was concussed in round two at Halifax, giving some much-needed depth to the side ahead of their trip to Post Office Road.

“Matty James will be good. There are no problems there,” the coach confirmed. “He will be back available so he will be putting his hands up to play, which is great news. Nabil Djalout is the same. He should be fit and ready to go.

“There are a few coming back in for us, which gives us a bit of competition, which is something that we need. Some players need to be looking over their shoulders.”

Aston will again look to lift his side after their Jekyll and Hyde display in the South of France last Saturday.

After a solid first-half showing which saw them trail by only two points, the Eagles were put to the sword after the interval.

The long-serving coach is taking the positives ahead of another tough ask against Fev, calling on his side to show the attitude from the opening period in France for a prolonged spell this Sunday (3pm).

“We had a good attitude and a lot of energy in the first half, but we let ourselves down and we stopped competing,” Aston added.

“That was the sad thing about it. For 40 minutes we showed the light that I was looking for and there were a lot of positives to come out of it.

“There were a few lads who certainly put their hand up to be in the team, which will come into my thoughts as we head into this weekend’s game with Featherstone. We have to build on that first 40 minutes last weekend. The second 40 was embarrassing. Some put up the white flag.

“We spoke about it and looked at the game. I told them what I thought, they responded, we were quite honest.

“We now look to move forward, and we remain confident that on our day we are more than capable.”