1990-91 - Eagles move into a new eyrie

Gary Hetherington’s aim was to avoid another season of struggle, the Sheffield side managing to just avoid relegation back into the Second Division after one season in the Premiership, by a superior negative points difference. Relegation had been the fate of many of their predecessors. It had become a fact of life, over a number of seasons, that. If a club managed to secure promotion into the top division, there was more than an odds on chance of experiencing relegation twelve months later. The two clubs which had been promoted with the Eagles, Leigh and Barrow had suffered that fate, and of the three clubs securing promotion at the same time, Hull KR, Rochdale and Oldham, the Hull and Oldham sides had been relegated the previous season, This tended to suggest that there was a growing gulf emerging between the two divisions, as playing in the lower division did not prepare most promoted clubs for survival at the top.

The aim for the Eagles this season was to avoid another relegation dogfight and move up the table to a more secure future in the Championship. Hetherington believed he had the squad to do this, retaining eighteen players, all battle-hardened in that previous dogfight:

• Mark Aston
• David Close
• Andy Dickinson
• Mark Gamson
• Nick Halafihi
• Francis Leota
• David Nelson
• Richard Picksley
• Hugh Waddell
• Paul Broadbent
• Michael Cook
• Anthony Farrell
• Nick Grimoldby
• Neil Kellett
• David Mycoe
• Sonny Nickle
• Daryl Powell
• Andy Young

To that group he added a number of players throughout the season , a mixture of youthful talent and seasoned veterans:

• Andy Bateman (St Helens) Loan
• Des Maea (New Zealand)
• Sam Panapa (Auckland)
• Richard Price (Hull) Loan 
• Peter Tonks (Penrith/Salford)
• Peter Lewis (Bramley) Loan
• Keith Mumby (Bradford)
• Gary Pearce (Hull KR)
• Ian Russell (Illawarra)
• Tim Wilby (Hunslet

He also brought in a couple of younger players to the Eagles Alliance squad - Dean Johnson, Thomas Moore and Simon Rhoades (Bramsholme U17s Hull).

Again pre-season training started early. Darryl Powell played in all three

Test Matches against Australia and went on the tour of Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. He played in all five test matches’ scoring a try against PNG in the Second test.

A pre-season friendly had been organised once again against the South West Yorkshire District Development Amateurs on the 10th August, playing for the David Durie Memorial Trophy. David had been involved in the formation and running of the Eagles from start but had sadly passed away in May 1990. The Sheffield side, made up of a mixture of first team and alliance players, won the game 22-4.

An Eagles side also reappeared in the annual Wigan Summer Sevens Tournament, which they had won the previous year. Finishing fourth in the round robin competition, they beat St Helens in the Play-Offs, 16-8, before succumbing to the eventual winners, Wigan, at the semi-final stage 18-12.

Before the start of the Championship season, Sheffield had been drawn away at Bradford Northern in the preliminary round of the Yorkshire Cup. Bradford were the current holders of the Cup and were run close by the visiting Eagles. Sheffield were ahead at half-time, 8-4, The match then turned on an extraordinary decision, when a late intervention by a touch judge, disallowed an already awarded try by Mark Gamson. Bradford were very lucky to win the tie 20-12.

The Eagles were joint last favourites to win the league with newly promoted Rochdale and were the bookies favourites for relegation. Yet the season could not have got off to a better start. The first two matches were scheduled as away tries. The first against reigning Champions Wigan at Central Park, the scene of many heavy Eagles defeats in the past.

Daryll Powell dominated the game setting up first half tries for Sonny Nickle and Andy Dickinson, to give the Sheffield side a half time lead, 106. As the second half progressed, Wigan got their noses in front, but a 25 metre burst from Powell enabled him to cross the Wigan line, Mark Aston adding the conversion. Wigan scored again to take the lead,18-16, before Aston landed a 40 metre penalty to tie the scores with eight minutes to go at 18 each. That is how it remained until the final whistle. As one Eagles supporter commented:

The following week end the Eagles travelled to Rochdale Hornets. They met a determined home team who had suffered a heavy 42-6 defeat at the hands of Wakefield in their opening game. Drawing 18 each at halftime, the visitors managed to narrowly win 26-20, through tries from Nelson and Russell. Mark Aston scored two tries and three goals with David Mycoe goaling the other, as he took over the kicking from Aston when he retired with an injury that would keep him out of the team until late December.

September 29th brought about their long awaited opening game at Don Valley. Fans and sponsors had been able to visit the facility in a two day open event at the end of August. The stadium was unfinished when the Eagles took on Wakefield Trinity in this mid-week fixture. There was no turnstiles or perimeter fencing and the PA system was either inaudible or subject to long periods of harsh noise. The teams ran out to face a crowd of almost 8,000, although only 4,410 had actually paid.

The Eagles dominated play, creating some outstanding rugby, supporting each other well. With man of the match David Close replacing Aston as goalkicker, the home side were already 16-6 ahead at the half time whistle. Sam Panapa had arrived the week before and had a dream start to his return to the club after six years absence. Attacking from the 25 metre line he bumped off two defenders and handed off a third before scoring his return debut try. There were tries from Andy Young, Sonny Nickle, and Mark Gamson, before Powell took a quick tap and with a clear run scored a 40 metre try. Sheffield finished as 34-6 victors against a Trinity team that seemed to be completely disorientated.

With only three games played the Eagles had mustered five points and were in the top half of the table. It looked as though they would survive and prosper in the Championship for another season. However when the euphoria of the Wakefield game had died down, the harsh reality of surviving in the Championship kicked in. For nearly the next three months, despite some close results, the Eagles did not manage another positive result in the Championship.

Four days after their opening home game, they entertained Warrington at the Valley. A crowd of 4,920 watched a hard fought match, the Eagles leading 12-8 at half time, before losing the game 20-18, despite two tries from Sonny Nickle and one from Paul Broadbent. 

A week later, another tough game with a similar result. Losing 14-8 at half time to Featherstone Rovers, mid-way through the second half the Eagles were ahead 20-16 through tries from Nelson, Nickle and Kellett, before Rovers scored a couple of tries and drop goal, to win the game 25-22. David Mycoe had taken over the role as kicker, goaling five times. Prior to the game there had been another sponsored walk/run to the ground by Eagles supporters to raise funds for the club.

The next game was at home to recently promoted Oldham. The game attracted over 5,000. Drawing 12 each at half time, through tries from Gamson and Panapa, the Eagles lost the game 24-14 at full time. The following weekend they were at Hull. Despite Panapa getting his third try of the season and the Eagles only consolation try of the game, the Sheffield side was comprehensively beaten 34-6. 

The last game in October was a home tie with Bradford Northern to Don Valley. Hetherington had taken on Gary Pearce on loan from Hull to fill the vacant half-back and kicking position. Another 4,000 plus crowd, saw the Eagles concede seven tries as they lost yet another game, 26-16.

Commenting on the dismal run, Gary Hetherington remained confident that it would turn for the better as the season progressed:

Commenting on the team’s performance, his players felt that:

They fared no better in November. A fifth successive defeat at St Helens, 34-17, had started to cause concern about whether they would survive in the Championship. Although they had led 10-4 at the interval, they had again capitulated in the second half. A week later in the preliminary round of the Regal Trophy against Bradford Northern, they fought extremely hard to win the home tie. Behind 4-2 at half-time, a Sam Panapa converted try gave them hope of progressing to the next round, but their opponents managed to luckily out score them, taking the tie 12-8. In an attempt to bolster the team’s fortunes, Hetherington transferred Francis Leota to Salford and brought in Australian International Peter Tunks in exchange. He also brought in eleven times GB International Keith Mumby from Bradford Northern. Both had a wealth of experience and strong leadership qualities on the field, which had been lacking from the team’s performances. Prior to their arrival the Eagles had been conceding 34 points per match on average.

The following week they were at Warrington, who were on a six week losing run. But that did not appear to affect their performance, as they beat the visiting Eagles, 30-8. Peter Tunks played his first game for the Eagles at prop, producing a useful performance but could not stem the tide. After the game there was a two and a half week break before the next game. The Eagles had dropped to second bottom in the Championship, above Rochdale Hornets. But Hetherington remained optimistic of better things to come.

Next up were Leeds at Don Valley. The game provided no relief for the Sheffield side. The Eagles were the first to score, through Mick Cook, to take an early lead 6-0. Then their opponents had a player sent off for tripping. A further two Eagles tries were disallowed, before the floodlights went out, leaving the pitch in darkness. The referee took the players off until they were restored, the break seeming to have benefited 12-man Leeds as they were ahead at half-time, 8-6, before they ran out 24-6 winners at the full time whistle.

In that nine-game cycle of defeats, the Eagles had competed well, scored a few good tries, maintained a strong defence for long periods, but succumbed to teams they could and should have beaten with a little more concentration and skill.

As the Christmas festivities began, the Eagles faced a visit from St Helens. After eleven games they had only five points. The visitors had lost four of their games and were anxious to pick up some more points to maintain their challenge for top spot. Mark Aston was in Sheffield’s line up, having recovered from his knee injury, and many supporters felt that his absence had been the main cause of the long string of defeats. 

Behind 8-6 at the interval, the Eagles try being scored by Panapa, the second half was dominated by the tactical kicking of Aston as he moved the Eagles around the pitch. However it was David Mycoe who scored the points, with a try, conversion and two penalties. Aston added two drop goals to secure the valuable match points, 18-8. The Eagles fans in the 3,111 crowd went home happier that day.

The weekend after the Eagles travelled to Hull Kingston Rovers for their first ever game against the club. The home side were well ahead at halftime, 16-4 and looked to be coasting to an easy victory. .But Dave Nelson hit back seven minutes after the restart, with two tries in ten minutes in very muddy conditions. With Aston’s conversions, the game ended as a draw, 16-16.

As the new year dawned, the Eagles remained in the bottom two, with eight points, facing two tough league fixtures at the start of January. Don Valley welcomed Wigan for the first. It marked Daryl Powell’s 200th game for the Eagles, and Dave Nelson’s 100th. Wigan were not the force they had been in the previous season, currently fifth in the table, having lost six of the 12 games played. But they were on form on January 6th. In front of a crowd of over 4,800 they scored eight tries to Sheffield’s one, taking the points. 46-4, Andy Young’s try coming at the very end of the 80 minutes.

A week later and another defeat at Leeds, 38-16 in what was regarded as an ordinary display by the home side. Peter Lewis, signed from Bramley for £20,000, scored his debut try, with Cook and Russell getting the two second half tries.

The next game was the return home fixture against bottom club Rochdale Hornets. A win was essential if the Eagles were to keep in touch with the teams immediately above them. Oldham, in the other relegation spot were on ten points, Warrington and Wakefield on twelve, although Trinity had games in hand on the rest of the clubs in the relegation battle. St Helens were on 14 points.

A crowd of over 2,100, one of the lowest for a home game, watched the Eagles establish a 24-0 lead at the break, through tries from Panapa, Broadbent and Russell, before letting their visitors back into the game after the restart. A second Panapa try on 56 minutes, ensured a home victory, the Sheffield side winning 30-16. However the teams above also won their games, Sheffield remaining three points behind Wakefield in 11th position.

January ended with a preliminary round match against Hull in the Challenge Cup, ten days after the victory over Rochdale. It marked the debut of Des Maea, who had an immediate impact on the game when he substituted Hugh Waddell. He had the ability to break the line, which he did with a minute to go, scoring his debut try. The Eagles other try scorer on that day was Peter Lewis, and with Aston kicking five goals and a drop from Powell, the Sheffield side went through to the next round of the Cup, 19-6.

During January Ian Russell returned to Australia for the start of their season, whilst Nick Grimoldby went out on a six week loan to Halifax. David Close was transfer listed. Daryl Powell received his tenth GB cap and Mark Aston secured his first cap, playing in the 45-10 victory over France. Don Valley was also voted by the Rugby League Supporters Association as the game’s best ground in the country ahead of Knowsley Road and Headingley.

Whilst the Eagles were beating Hull in the Cup, the two clubs immediately above them lost their games Commenting on this development, Hetherington suggested that:

At the start of February the Eagles had two games at home against Featherstone Rovers, first in the league and then in the first round of the Challenge Cup. In some of the best rugby seen at Don Valley all season, Sheffield scored three very good tries, including one from Sonny Nickle, who made a long diagonal run across half the length of the field, avoiding three tacklers to score, Panapa, Powell and Tunks were the other try scorers, with Aston converting all four, but they were insufficient to prevent the visitors stealing the match points, 27-24, through some clever angled kicking. Fortunately results went Sheffield’s way for the clubs immediately above them. Aston also became the first player to score 300 goals for the Eagles.

The result didn’t bode well for the Cup game the following week. However the Eagles found themselves ahead at half time, 13-0, and despite Dave Nelson being sent off and a subsequent rally by Featherstone, qualified for the second round, 19-12, with tries from Panapa, Nelson and Farrell , three conversions from Aston and a drop goal from Powell. However the Eagles fans would have preferred that the results of the two games had been reversed.

The following weekend Sheffield were at home again, playing second division Salford in the second round of the Challenge Cup. Unbeaten in their league campaign, a lethargic Eagles side were beaten 19-16. Salford were then knocked in the following round. 

With only the league campaign remaining to focus on, the club had nine games to prevent relegation. They were still in the bottom two with ten points but needed to win at least six of these to repeat last year’s fightback. A tall order, but not impossible.

The first of those fixtures was a trip to Bradford, to whom they had lost on three occasions that season. It was a closely fought game, but with tries from Panapa and Aston they were able to beat Northern 10-6 and give new hope to their fans. Mark Gamson had played the whole eighty minutes with a broken thumb , ending his run of 76 consecutive matches played, which at the time was a club record.

Peter Bateman and Richard Price had joined the Eagles from St Helens and Hull respectively on loan deals with an option to make the moves permanent.

March started with an away trip to league leaders Widnes, a game which the Eagles were not expected to win. Yet the Eagles’ forwards dominated. With powerful driving runs from Hugh Waddell leading the assault, the visitors were ahead 15-4 at the interval, with Waddell claiming one of the tries. Two more tries after the restart scored by Dave Nelson and Des

Maea , coupled with three goal kicks from Aston and another Powell drop goal saw a comfortable 23-14 victory. This lead to suggestions from the Rugby League press that the Eagles were too good to go down.

The Eagles were now on 13 points, one behind Oldham and two behind Wakefield. The next game was a mid-week fixture at Belle Vue, three days after their win at Widnes.

In another closely fought affair, a tired Eagles team were unable to keep their winning momentum going, suffering a narrow defeat against Trinity, their only points coming through a Mick Cook try in the first half. The 12-4 defeat put another nail in the relegation coffin.

Before their next match, in typical Rugby Football League Council fashion it had been announced that there would be a change to the

League structure for the forthcoming 1991-92 Season. The

‘Hetherington Plan’, designed by Gary Hetherington, consisted of the Championship and Third Division would contain fourteen clubs, each playing each-other, both home and away, and a new eight club Second Division, playing each-other in a quadruple round robin. There would be promotion between the leagues of two up and two down.

The Second Division Premiership was also replaced by a ‘Divisional Premiership’, consisting of the top four of the Second Division clubs with the top eight of the Third Division clubs in a play-off to face the top four of the Second Division clubs.

Commenting on the new arrangement the newly formed Rugby League Express suggested that:

After three games on the road, the Eagles had a home fixture against Castleford, who were looking for points in their fight to become Champions. It was their fifth in a fortnight.

The crowd of more than 3,800 watched yet another close game, with a nail biting finish. Both teams were level at the half time break, six points each, but the home side let their opponents dictate the game on the resumption. Midway through the half, Castleford were ahead 24-10, and were looking to be coasting to victory. With a few minutes to go both Mark Aston and Andy Young scored quick tries, but the visitors held out to take the vital match points, 24-20. If the Eagles had not gone off the boil after the restart, and Aston had converted all the tries, it is Sheffield who would have collected those much needed points

The next game virtually all but sealed the Eagles fate. Facing Oldham at the Watersheddings they had fallen 20-8 behind by the end of the first half. Fighting back after the interval, but still losing this hard fought game, 27-20. The Eagles points had come from two tries from Maea and one from Panapa, with Aston adding a further four goals to his tally. Sloppy defence in the first half had left them too much to do.

March ended with two home games against the two Hull sides. First to visit were Hull FC, Yet another hard game, but yet another defeat, this time 16-6.

The following week, Hull KR were the visiting opponents. In front of one of the lowest home crowds of the season, 2,684, the now relegated Eagles put on one of their best performances of the season. Des Maea and Sam Panapa were to return to New Zealand after the game, both hoping to return the following season, but left Eagles supporters with something to relish. With Panapa securing a hat-trick and Maea also scoring, the Sheffield side demolished their opponents 62-16, after being 10-8 behind mid-way through the first half. Other try scorers that day were Nickle with a brace, Nelson, Powell, Young and Broadbent, with Aston scoring seven goals. But the game points did not stave off the inevitable:

With two games left, the Eagles hoped to go out with a flourish. But that was not to be. Widnes arrived at Don Valley looking to get revenge for their earlier defeat. It was yet another close hard fought game, typical of the Eagles season. Sheffield were ahead at the interval 9-6, but it was Johnathan Davies kicking game that won it for the visitors, scoring 14 of their points in the 18-13 outcome.

A trip to Castleford was the Eagles final appearance in the Championship. Again it was a close hard fight with the Eagles taking an early lead, 8-6, before losing out to two Jeff Hardy tries in the second half. The 28-10 defeat saw the Eagles bow out of the Championship, the first backward step since their formation, in thirteenth place with only 16 points from their campaign, five short of what they had needed to continue as a Championship club. Oldham and Rochdale, two of the promoted sides went down with them into the new Second Division. But Gary Hetherington was not downhearted:

His priorities in the off season and the new season were to seek to strengthen the club’s engagement with its growing band of supporters and business sponsors. A key aspect of that was to develop and expand fund raising activities as well as look towards the establishment of a club room at Don Valley for members(season ticket holders).

His immediate priority was to retain as many of the existing squad as he could for the fight to come in the new Second Division. There were a number of top clubs who were looking to secure the services of a number of the Eagles stars. In the end only Sonny Nickle and Dave Nelson left the club to go to their Championship rivals, whilst Sam Panapa tried to return but was denied a visa for Sheffield but secured a contract with Wigan.

Commenting on his contribution to the Eagles campaign, Hetherington waxed lyrical about the player:

In the two seasons he had played for the Eagles he had made 38 appearances scoring 31 tries.

Those that left the club during or at the end of the season were:

• Andy Dickinson (Dewsbury)
• Peter Lewis (Bramley) 
• Sam Panapa (Wigan)
• Neil Kellett (Batley)
• David Nelson (Castleford)
• Ian Russell (Illawarra)
• Tim Wilby (Fulham)
• Andy Bateman (Keighley)
• Thomas Moore (Hunslet)
• Gary Pearce (Scarborough)
• Francis Leota (Salford)
• Sonny Nickle (St Helens)
• Peter Tunks (Australia)

After six years Andy Dickinson had left the club having played in 134 matches and contributing 57 tries. Another long time servant to the club, Neil Kellet moved on having played in 73 first team games,30 games for the Alliance side, scoring 19 first team tries and 29 tries for the Alliance. Both were to carry on playing in the new Third Division.

Both Dave Nelson and Sonny Nickle had remained in the Championship and would play against the Eagles in future years. Nelson had been at the club for four seasons since his transfer, appearing in 88 games and scoring 32 tries, whilst Nickle in his three seasons had played in 62 matches, scoring 22 tries.

Peter Tunks returned to Australia to take up a role as a Rugby League Development Officer, having been impressed with the structure set up by the Eagles.

Although out of action for a considerable part of the season, Mark Aston was top points scorer with 142 and top goal scorer with 58. The club had certainly missed his tactical prowess during his time on the sidelines, as results started to improve when he returned. One wonders if he had played a full season whether the Eagles would have survived and played on for a third consecutive year in the Championship. Sam Panapa was top try scorer with 14, his nearest rivals being Nickle with nine and Nelson with eight.

In the end of season awards, Mick Cook who made his appearance for the club during the season was voted players’ Player of the Year and was awarded a three year contract. At the event those who attended noted how confident the players and staff were as they looked forward to the battle to come next season. Relegation was seen as a temporary setback, from which the Eagles would come back stronger and better prepared for their second assault on the Championship.

Looking at life in the Second Division, captain Daryl Powell expressed the view which was shared by all:

Whether Powell’s prediction would come to fruition, only time would tell. A period of Consolidation, Growth and New Beginnings.

The Support Club continued with and developed new fund raising activities to help the team in its endeavours on the field. Another sponsored walk to Featherstone raised a further £2,300 and the Winter Draw raised £1,700 to fund the signing of new players. The profits from Cashline secured the signature of Peter Lewis from Bramley. Nearly 50 people were involved in the Club’s activities.

The Eagles had the biggest young members club in Rugby League. The members were involved in a variety of activities, including a trip to Wembley, a design a shirt competition amongst other initiatives, as well as providing volunteers to act as cheerleaders and mascots.

Commenting on the club’s organisation the Rugby League Express suggested that:

With Daryl Powell and Mark Aston continuing to coach, the school and community development programme continued to develop. Funded by the Rugby League Foundation and the Sports Council, which was due to finish at the end of the season after three years, the programme continued to deliver high quality coaching to nine schools and playing Rugby League had become part of the curriculum in 22 out of 33 of Sheffield’s secondary schools.

A community focus continued in pre-match entertainment at home games. 

This included Women’s rugby, U9s Mini League, Sheffield University and Polytechnic varsity games, Barnsley schools 7 a side, Whitbread sponsored touch rugby competition amongst many others. 

Twenty South Yorkshire and Sheffield schools entered the Sheffield and District Spring competitions, nine at u14 and thirteen at under 13, whilst the Junior Eagles went from strength to strength.

The Eagles Alliance side continued to improve on their first season winning more games than they lost, In the early stages they were in first position, maintained a top four spot throughout the season, but ended up in seventh spot out of eighteen, having played 24 games, winning fourteen and finishing on twenty eight points In the Alliance Challenge Cup, after narrowly beating Dewsbury 22-20 in the first round, they went out in the next, defeated by Doncaster 26-1.

After a season of friendly games, either touch or full contact, the Sheffield Eagles Women’s team joined Division 2 of the Women’s League. It was a seven team league comprising Redhill, York, Keighley, Wigan, Fulham, Sheffield and Rochdale.

One of their first games was against a well-established Keighley team in November who they were holding at ten each in the early stages, but as the strength and experience of their opponents began to tell, finally lost the game, 40-16.

Whilst they lost the majority of games, they did come away with three victories, including wins over Rochdale 14-1 and Fulham 40-4 in the latter stages of the season.