T’Other Side: Sheffield Eagles

T’Other Side: 
Sheffield Eagles

SHEFFIELD EAGLES 2018 SHIRTS

LAST TIME OUT

Head Coach: Mark Aston

Amazingly, this is Mark Aston’s 18th season as head coach of Sheffield Eagles! He started the re-born club in 2000 and is still the coach, although he stood down and was only Chief Executive in 2006 but then took over the coaching again in 2007. When you add in his playing career he has been at Sheffield ever since 1985 with just one break for a little over a year when he was at Featherstone. A dynamic scrumhalf as a player he won the Lance Todd Trophy in 1998 when he led Eagles to that amazing win over Wigan at Wembley. He also played five times for Great Britain. Mark Aston is the head coach of the Ireland international team.

Captain: Matt James

Matt James is now in his second year as the Sheffield Eagles captain. He can play at second row or prop. Matt is a Welsh international although back in 2005 he played in the England U18 side. His club career started with Bradford Bulls and included spells with Barrow Raiders, Halifax and Harlequins RL before joining Featherstone in 2013. After 3 years at Rovers he moved to Sheffield.

At the back

Ben Blackmore usually plays but also occasionally at centre. His career began with just a single appearance for Castleford in 2012. He moved on to Huddersfield in 2013 and that year also played on dual reg with Batley and on loan with Doncaster. In 2014 he again played for Batley on dual reg and then was signed by Fev in June. In 2016 he joined Sheffield. He played one game for Scotland back in 2011. Ryan Millar, who usually plays at fullback but is equally at home on the wing, has a somewhat unusual profile for a rugby league professional. He was born in Germany, brought up in Birmingham and is training to be an architect. He is a product of the Eagles academy and scored two tries in his senior debut away to London Broncos in June 2015. He then scored a hat trick against Hull KR in his first home match. Menzie Yere missed the early part of this year because of visa problems. He is their record holder for tries in a season after scoring 46 in 37 matches in 2013. On May 26th he scored his 200th career try.

In the halves

Cory Aston is back playing for Sheffield, currently on loan from Castleford. He was signed by Castleford this year but is yet to make his début there. His career began with Sheffield in 2013. He was signed by Leeds in 2017 but he never played in the 1st team there, but played 12 games on loan with Fev and 10 with Bradford, also on loan. He is the son of Mark Aston. Simon Brown started his career with Doncaster in 2010 but he moved to Sheffield in July. In 2013 he played for York and then in 2014 for both Batley and Halifax. He spent 2015 and 2016 at Hunslet and then returned to Sheffield last year. In both 2011 and 2012 he kicked more than 100 goals but is now only the third choice kicker after Cory Aston and Oscar Thomas. Oscar Thomas is playing at scrum-half although he played mainly at fullback for Bradford. He joined Sheffield this year. From 2013 to 2015 he was a London Broncos player and also played for London Skolars on dual reg. In 2016 he joined Bradford and again played for London Skolars (this time on loan). He is a Scotland international and played in the 2017 World Cup.

At Hooker

Greg Burns has been at Sheffield for his entire career. He made his début in 2015. Matty Fozard is usually the starting hooker in the Sheffield side but he has also played at loose forward and stand-off this year. His career began with a single appearance with Saint Helens in 2014. During 2015 he played with Batley on loan and Rochdale on dual reg and then in 2016 he signed for Sheffield.

In the pack

Jack Ashworth is a Saint Helens player who has been at Sheffield on dual reg. He usually plays in the second row and occasionally at loose forward. He made his début for Saints in 2015 and that year also played for Rochdale on dual reg. In 2016 he was the man of the match for Saint Helens in a match against Hull FC. Oliver Davies (second row) signed for Sheffield this year from Swinton. He is another who started with Saint Helens making a small handful of appearances for them in 2015 and 2016. He played for England Academy in 2014. Maltese born Joe Magrin is a prop forward who has played for both Malta and Jamaica. He joined Sheffield this year from Bradford Bulls. He started his career with London Broncos and also played for London Skolars that year on dual reg. Prop Forward, Mark Offerdahl, was born in Queensland but his father is American. He played for the USA in the 2013 World Cup and was their captain in the 2017 World Cup. At club level he has played in France for Carcassonne in France, in Wales for North Wales Crusaders, in Australia for Illawarra Cutters, in the USA for Connecticut Wildcats and in England for London Broncos.

Dual Registration and Loan Players

Sheffield Eagles have a dual registration agreement with Saint Helens. This year eight Saints players have appeared for Sheffield: Jack Ashworth, James Bentley, Matty Costello, Matty Lees, Ben Morris, Matty Smith, Jake Spedding and Adam Swift. They also have former player Cory Aston on loan from Castleford and Thibault Franck played a couple of games for them on loan from Hull Kingston Rovers.

The Fev connection

Both the Sheffield coach and captain are former Fev players. Mark Aston played for Rovers in the 1994/95 season and 6 games at the beginning of the following year before returning to the Eagles. Matt James signed for Fev from Wakefield in 2013 and was at Rovers for three seasons before joining Sheffield. Cory Aston (son of Mark Aston and currently on loan from Castleford) played 12 matches for Fev last year while he was a registered Leeds Rhinos player. There are also 3 more players in the Sheffield Squad who are former Fev players. Ben Blackmore joined Fev from Huddersfield in June 2014 and moved to Sheffield at the end of 2015. Shaun Pick began his career with Fev in 2014. He was banned for 2 years for a drugs offence and then played for Toronto Wolfpack last year. Daniel Igbinedion who played for Fev last year began the season at Sheffield but moved to Dewsbury in May.

Four members of the current Fev squad have played for Sheffield. Keal Carlile was there in 2015 and 2016 before coming to Rovers last year. John Davies also moved from Sheffield to Featherstone. He spent one season, 2015, with the Eagles. Misi Taulapapa came to England to play for Sheffield in 2010 and spent 6 seasons there before joining Fev. Scott Wheeldon was at Eagles in 2016 and 2017.