Kingstone Press Championship preview: Sheffield Eagles v Halifax

Sheffield Eagles have been up against some tough opposition over the last few weeks.

Coach Mark Aston said:  “We’ve enjoyed the big games. We had a great result against Featherstone and I thought we were a little bit unlucky not to come away with the result against Leigh.

“For large parts of the Cup game against Hull we made a good fist of it. We were losing 22-12 with 10 minutes to go then had a try disallowed.

“We enjoyed the Challenge Cup but it’s great to be back in the league and again we’ve got another tough game.

“But that’s what it’s all about, there are no easy games and it will be no different this week against a very strong Halifax team that played well against Wakefield for large parts.”

The Eagles will be without prop Tony Tonks, who is serving a one-match ban, but second row Michael Knowles and hooker James Davey will be available while half-back Pat Walker and second row Duane Straugheir could also return.

Halifax lost to Wakefield Trinity Wildcats in their Ladbrokes Challenge Cup tie but coach Richard Marshall said his side were competitive against the Super League outfit.

“We are disappointed not to be in the next round of the Challenge Cup,” he said.

“I thought we were in the mix for the majority of the game but Wakefield’s class and full-time status pipped us towards the end and we conceded some soft tries.

“We need to do better defensively against Sheffield. They’re a good team; the table doesn’t lie they’re there because they’ve been playing well for the majority of the year.

“They’ve had a couple of tough games over the last two weeks so I think it’s going to be an interesting game. We’ll be looking to continue our league form.”

Half-back Danny Craven, signed on loan from Widnes, will be added to the Halifax squad but prop Adam Robinson is a doubt with a wrist injury.