2011 - Grand Final At Last

Mark Aston sought to maintain the bulk of successful squad. Those out of contract were offered new deals. Menzie Yere agreed a three year deal, as did Mitch Stringer. Alex Szostack, and Andrew Henderson 2year deals. Misi Taulapapa, Alex Rowe, Ryan Hepworth , Dane McDonald, and Joe Hirst 1 year deals. Peter Green and Jack Howieson were already starting the second of their had a 2 year deals. Eddie Battye, Dan Hawksworth and Corey Hanson were added to the first team squad on 2-3 year contracts.

Jonny Woodcock decided to take some time out of rugby league following his season of injuries. He resigned for the club later in the season.

A number of players left. Brendan Lindsay has already decided to return to

Australia after 5 years at the club, he was joined by Trevor Exton. Ged Corcoran and Craig Cook signed for Toulouse, whilst Tangi Ropati went to Widnes. Michael Haley (Featherstone), Richie Barnett (Hunslet) and Matty Brooks (Dewsbury) all left the club.

• To replace those who left Mark Aston signed:
• Liam Higgins (Castleford)
• Scott Watson (Doncaster)
• Quentin Laulu-Togagae (Souths Logan Magpies)
• Pat Smith (Hull)
• Ben Hardcastle (Hull KR)
• Sam Scott (Wakefield)
• Tom Ashton (Eagles Reserves) 

Scott Watson did not turn up for training after December and it was assumed that he had quit the club, whilst Liam Higgins played in eight games before being signed by Super league team Wakefield Trinity. Nick Turnbull returned to the club for his third spell to cover injuries from Hoyland Vikings.

The Eagles also signed four dual registration loan players. Vinny Finigan and Jason Crookes from Bradford Bulls and James Cording and Kyle Wood from Huddersfield Giants. Dual registration played a major problem for the club regarding player availability throughout the season. The parent club had first call on the players if they needed them to play for them, which meant on many occasions they were not available to play for Sheffield.

Cording appeared in 9 games for Sheffield early in the season, as did Wood which meant that Aston had to move another player into his specialist half back position, usually McDonald or Togagae. They rarely played successive games and disappeared back to their parent club in mid-season. Of the Bradford pair, Crookes appeared 9 times up until Easter due to injury and Bradford’s need for his services, whilst Finigan was more of a regular player appearing in 21 matches. Due to their unavailability Aston had to call up players from the reserves as and when required. Commenting on the club’s experience with the arrangement he viewed that:

Super League Harlequins targeted Aston as their new coach., but Aston turned them down as he still had a long job to do with the Eagles. Andrew Henderson also joined the coaching team to help look after the two Academy squads. 

Both had been accepted into the Super League Academies competition.

Katie Butler. ex-England women’s international, became the first Eagles female coach.

During the season Eagles Director John Whaling took over as President of the RFL Council. It was the first time that someone associated with the Eagles had done so since the 1990s when Kath Hetherington was awarded the accolade of President.

Whilst Don Valley was the venue for the initial stages of the Northern Rail Cup, 8 out of the 10 Championship fixtures were at Bramall Lane. One of those fixtures was problematical as neither grounds were available, so the Eagles had to find an alternative and suitable venue in the Sheffield area, as their opponents Dewsbury were not prepared to reverse fixtures.

There were no pre-season friendlies arranged, but a public competitive match had been arranged involving all the squads to determine who would be in the first team. The coaching staff had reverted to the Northern Rail Cup as the vehicle to develop match fitness. Looking to the strategy for the Championship season Mark Aston was demanding at least one point from every game.

With no pre-season friendlies the Eagles were using their games in the Northern Rail Cup to get match fit for the forthcoming Championship season. They had been drawn to play against Gateshead, Whitehaven, Leigh, and Hunslet in Pool 2. 

The first tie involved a trip to play Gateshead Thunder at the start of February. In conditions that were a leveller, a waterlogged pitch with constant rain, pools of water and obliterated marking. the Eagles dominated the first 15 minutes, scoring at a rate of a point a minute. Following a penalty, Peter Green put Tim Bergin over in the corner on the fourth minute. Then Simon Brown intercepted a pass, moving the ball to Menzie Yere to give the visitors a 10-0 lead. After 16 minutes Sheffield were 16-0 ahead when Danny Mills squeezed in at the corner. Gateshead finished the half strongly, being held up on the line on one occasion, but the half time still had Sheffield 16 points ahead. 

The Eagles struggled for cohesion in the second half and were rocked by two tries in eight minutes just after the restart, seeing their lead reduced to 6 points. 

Yere then tried to supply some stability, scoring his second from a Dane McDonald pass to increase the lead to 20-10. Thunder hit back was a converted score on the hour to reduce the lead to 4 points, but Corey Hanson got on the end of Andrew Henderson grubber to extend the Eagles lead back to 10. Undeterred Gateshead scored in the corner but failed to convert. But Yere closed out the game with a storming run down the left to secure his hat-trick, the victory, 32-20, and the Eagles the three match points. Both Bergin and Brown scored two conversions apiece.

Mark Aston decided to freshen up his team for the home fixture against Whitehaven, bringing in players who had not yet played a first team game. It included six front rowers. The game was played at Don Valley, but only 727 were in attendance. Whitehaven opened the scoring with a penalty, and it wasn’t until 14 minutes that a Kyle Wood kick to the corner was collected by Tim Bergin out jumping his opponent to score, but he failed to convert. Sheffield had the lead 4-2. Wood and Andrew Henderson dominated play in the first half, and at one stage the visitors faced four sets of six. The pressure told and Ryan Hepworth barged in close in near to the posts, with Bergin adding the extra 2. The pendulum then swung to Whitehaven who had two successive attempts to score held up on the line, before they scored with nine minutes of the half remaining. The Eagles went in 10-8 ahead at the interval.

Possession in the second half was about even for both sides struggling to make a breakthrough. But on 58 minutes, after moving quickly up the field Whitehaven scored a try, which was converted. That was then followed by a long range penalty, to give the visitors a 6 point lead, 16-10. With time running out, Mitch Stringer was held on the line. Moments later he was over to score, leaving Bergin to convert to tie the match, 16 all, much to the relief and the Eagles fans.

However, Sheffield came unstuck in their next game at Leigh Centurions. A win would have secured progress to the next stage with a game to spare. But the injury hit Eagles failed to do so, being completely overwhelmed by a powerful and pacy Leigh team. Down 34-0 at the interval, by the hour they had fallen further behind to 50-0. It was only when the home side had reached a 68 point lead that the visitors managed a consolation score. With three minutes to go, Jamie Cottle weaved his way in, with Tim Bergin adding the conversion, but the Sheffield side had been well beaten 68-6. This was not an acceptable performance for Mark Aston and the coaching team, but it did tell them a fair deal about the players they had recruited.

That left the last game at home against Hunslet Hawks, which the Eagles had to win to progress to the Quarterfinals and it was also an opportunity to restore some pride. Still not having all his backs ready to play, Mark Aston had rerecruited Nick Turnbull to add experience to the backline. The game kicked off in torrential rain, and despite early pressure from the home side, Hunslet were the first to score, 6-0. Sheffield were struggling to control the ball but there were no further points scored by the interval. Menzie Yere had been put on report for a high tackle incident during the half. 

The second half was a complete contrast. A Simon Brown kick was mishandled by the Hunslet defence and, with Yere following up and diving full length, the Eagles had levelled the scores, courtesy of Brown’s conversion. Hunslet edged forward again with two penalties in front of the posts gifted by the Sheffield. defence. The home side soon snatched back the lead when a Brown kick was fumbled by a Hunslet player for Corey Hanson to collect and force his way over. Brown added the extras to make it 12-10. Hunslet missed an easy kick to draw level, whilst Mitch Stringer was held up on the line. It was looking as though the Eagles would go through, but with less than ten minutes left, Hunslet scored the converted try that won the game 16-12. A better defensive performance from Sheffield was welcomed by Mark Aston but he was disappointed by the outcome.

Before the start of the Championship season, Sheffield had an early March Third Round Challenge Cup tie against the students of Leeds Metropolitan University. It was to be the last game at Don Valley for 2011. In front of a crowd of only 350, the lowest for the season, the Eagles enjoyed a morale boosting run out. They were never threatened by their opponents, running in 15 tries shared by 12 players, but what mattered most was their performance in the lead up to their starting game in the Championship the following week.

Corey Hanson was first on the scoresheet after 5 minutes which was converted by Simon Brown with his first of 11 successful kicks. Jack Howieson was next under the posts, to be followed by Peter Green. Then Menzie Yere ran 70 metres for his contribution, followed by two from Alex Szostack in four minutes. Alex Rowe blasted 40 metres for his, and the half ended with Jamie Cottle weaving through the defence to give Sheffield a 44-0 interval lead.

There was no let up on the resumption. Leeds had more possession, but they were unable to get any results. Tries from Tim Bergin, Joe Hirst and Danny Mills gave the home side a 60 points lead. The students almost got on the scoresheet but failed to control the ball on touchdown. Further tries from Mills, Yere, Henderson and two from Dane McDonald completed the victory, 82-0. The Eagles reward an away trip to St Helens in the Fourth round. 

That game was played in the middle of May. An injury depleted St Helens were first on the scoreboard after three minutes. By the 18th minute they were 18-0 ahead, but the Eagles dug in and were rewarded by a try as Alex Szostack picked up the ball to score, Simon Brown adding the 2. But Saints scored again before the interval to give them a 22-6 lead.

St Helens piled on the pressure after the resumption taking their lead to 36-6, but Sheffield showed real character as Szostack got his second on 54 minutes. St Helens pulled further ahead to restore their 30 point lead. Pressure from the visitors saw both Andrew Henderson and Menzie Yere held up at the line before Quentin Laulu-Togagae (QLT) raced in to score his first. He raced into score two more in the last four minutes, but Saints, in the last play of the game brought up their 50 points, securing a 52-26 victory.

St Helens progressed to the semi-finals of the 2011 Challenge Cup, where they were defeated by eventual winners, Wigan Warriors.

Just before the Championship’s kick off, the Eagles received good news as their recent signing, Quentin Laulu-Togagae (QLT) was due to arrive in the country, but Misi Taulapapa was still experiencing visa issues. Menzie Yere had also received a one match ban from the RFL Disciplinary Committee following being put on report at the Hunslet game. Mark Aston had also secured the services of backs Jason Crookes and Vinny Finnigan on dual registration from Bradford to bolster Sheffield’s back line.

Whitehaven and Keighley had been relegated from the Championship at the end of 2010 , replaced by Hunslet and York.

The opening match of the season was against Widnes Vikings at Bramall Lane. The Eagles wore a specially designed playing strip with the slogan “Tackle It!” sponsored by the LGBT History Month and Pride Sports to help support equality and diversity in sport. Before the game the team were presented with the Pride Sports Challenge Cup in recognition of their efforts for equality. 

The crowd of 1,831 witnessed Widnes totally dominating the early play as they forced the Eagles into a series of dropouts. The pressure told and they took an early 6-0 lead. Sheffield forced themselves up the field and Peter Green breaking the Vikings line offloaded to Joe Hirst who got the ball to Dane McDonald who burst through to score. Simon Brown added the extras. However three more tries before the half hour saw Widnes in control, 22-6. Sheffield were on the ropes, yet an Alex Rowe 20 metre dash to the line, with a Brown conversion, reduced the lead to 10. Then QLT arrived off the bench and his first move, a 40 metre scamper, nearly resulted in a touchdown. Corey Hanson then scored, but it was ruled out for offside. Sheffield went in at the break 12-22 behind.

Widnes scored soon after the restart to extend their lead to 16, but they were increasingly under pressure from the Sheffield forwards. But on the hour a fumble by the Eagles near the Widnes line, resulted in a Widnes converted try, extending their lead further. Hanson pulled a try back from an offload by Mitch Stringer, but the Vikings finished the game with two tries to take the final score to 44-16. Mark Aston did not feel that the result reflected the way his team had played:

Four days after the Widnes game, the Eagles had a mid-week fixture against newly promoted York City Knights. With no points from their previous game, this was a must win game for the Sheffield side. In front of the TV cameras, York had an early try ruled out by the video referee as being put down short of the line. The visitors then struck, with a debut try from QLT, following a break by Danny Mills. Simon Brown added the first of his four conversions. York responded with a quick try, but it was unconverted, to reduce Sheffield’s lead to 6-4. The home side were soon in again to take the lead 10-6 on 23 minutes. On the half hour Ryan Hepworth was held up on the line. Quick hands from Andrew Henderson put Danny Mills in at the corner, with Brown’s touchline conversion to give the Eagles the lead again, 12-10. That is how it remained until the interval. 

After the break Sheffield always looked far more in control of the ball, despite York increasing their line speed. Two tries in three minutes effectively decided the tie. Quick hands from Menzie Yere, returning after suspension, enabled Mills to score his second try. Then Yere raw power and pace in a 45 metre angled run, with Joe Hirst in support who passed to Jason Crookes to touchdown for a spectacular try. Five minutes from time a flat pass from Mitch Stringer put Alec Rowe through to crash over and with Brown’s conversion the Eagles posted their first victory of the season, 28-10. Although disappointed that his side had conceded two tries, Mark Aston was pleased with the performance which put Sheffield in 7th place, just outside the playoffs on points difference.

At the end of the month, Sheffield were at home to Toulouse Olympique. Toulouse weren’t in the game in the first half. Vinny Finigan was given a debut after Danny Mills had broken a finger in training. Joe Hirst had an early try ruled out, but QLT rectified the situation sending Menzie Yere in to score, with Simon Brown adding the conversion. However poor defending from the home side enabled Toulouse to level the scores at 6 apiece after only 13 minutes. Sheffield were dominating possession, and Brown ensure that the pressure would reap dividends as first Hirst and then Finigan went over, to give the Eagles an 18-6 lead on the half hour. A knock on by QLT enabled the visitors to pull back a try, but Hirst then took the ball on the break to crash over, increasing the lead to 2410. Sheffield finished the half with Andrew Henderson combing with Kyle Wood and Brown to send Yere in for his second try. 

With a half time lead of 28-10, the Eagles appeared to be resting on their laurels as their opponents cut out the errors, but still, they could not breach the home defence. Just before the hour Jason Crookes took a long pass to sweep in for a try to edge Sheffield further ahead. Toulouse kept coming forward but had to be content with a consolation converted try in the final minutes. The Eagles victory, 34-16, put them in 4th spot in the league, three points from the top. Yet Mark Aston was not impressed with the second half performance.

Next at Bramall Lane were Halifax, the 2010 Grand Final winners. The Eagles produced another impressive first half performance, exploiting Halifax’s defensive failings. But it was the visitors who claimed the first points of the game after only six minutes, with a try and conversion. The lead was not held for long as on 12 minutes, after Menzie Yere powered over, following a QLT run. Simon Brown adding the extras. Vinny Finigan increased that after short swift passes by Kyle Wood and QLT opened up the Halifax defence near the corner, to give Sheffield a 10- 6 lead. As torrential rain swept the ground, the Eagles took control with Alex Rowe blasting in under the posts from Andrew Henderson’s pass, and Brown adding the easy conversion. Halifax were held on the line and from the subsequent set, the home side swept back in attack, QLT’s final pass to Tim Bergin had an easy run to the line. Brown, with help of the upright added the 2. At the break Sheffield were on top, 22-6.

With the help of penalties Halifax came back after the interval to reduce the gap to 10 points, but the home side’s direct approach enabled Henderson to score under the posts almost unchallenged from dummy half. Four minutes later, a Rowe launched a 30 metre break down the centre which ended with Wood crossing the line for the points. On the hour Halifax hit back with two tries in eight minutes, reducing the gap again to 12 points. A field goal from Brown halted the visitor’s momentum . In the dying seconds, Ryan Hepworth took a high looping pass from Henderson to give the Eagles a 41-22 victory. Mark Aston felt that his team and deserved the result from the effort they had put in. That effort maintained Sheffield’s 4th position on points difference.

A fortnight later Sheffield were away at Dewsbury Rams. The week’s rest had enabled many of the players with injuries to make themselves available. In hot conditions with a dry hard pitch both teams struggled to find their way. It took 20 minutes before the first try before Jason Crookes found a way through and despite the attentions of two Rams players he barged over, Simon Brown adding the first of his six conversions. The Eagles dominated possession, but Dewsbury managed to reduce the lead to 2 points with five minutes to the break. A high short kick off by Brown gave the Eagles immediate possession. Two minutes later a run for Menzie Yere left the home defence standing, the touchdown and conversion giving the visitors a half time lead, 12-4.

The Rams were fired up after the interval and had a try chalked off for offside. They reduced the arrears with a penalty, but from the restart Rams’ mistakes led to tries for the visitors. With intelligent play from Kyle Wood and Brown, both QLT and Crookes went over in the space of five minutes to extend Sheffield’s lead to 24-6. With six minutes left, Dewsbury scored a converted try, before the visitors finished the game, scoring tries through Dane McDonald and Alex Rowe to secure their fourth win on the trot, 36-12. 

Next was a trip to Batley Bulldogs. Playing down the slope at Mount Pleasant, the Eagles ran up five tries in the first forty minutes to Batley’s one. The Eagles grabbed two tries in the opening six minutes. A Simon Brown 40/20 led to Dane McDonald sending in QLT for the first, and then Andrew Henderson dived over from dummy half for the second. Batley pulled one back but on 18 minutes McDonald sent a long pass to Menzie Yere who scored. Sheffield stepped up their game, with Joe Hirst scoring from dummy half and then QLT 20 metre break and pass to Vinny Finigan gave the visitors a 28-4 lead at the break.

From the restart, Batley laid siege on the Sheffield 20 metre line. The Eagles held out set after set until on 61 minutes Batley scored to reduce the lead to 16. Tempers flared and both Henderson and Danny Mills were put on report. With two minutes to go, the Bulldogs scored again to secure the bonus losing point. Sheffield had held out, 28-18, the victory taking them to 3rd in the table.

The following week the Eagles played St Helens in the Challenge Cup. The next Championship game was a home tie against league leaders Leigh Centurions. who had so far been undefeated in their campaign. It was Misi Taulapapa ‘s first game back from injury.

Both sides made a slow start, the Eagles gaining an early 2-0 lead following a penalty for interference. The Centurions replied after 11 minutes to take the lead that they did not lose again. Despite the home side’s attacking efforts, a catalogue of errors prevented them from increasing their first half score. Leigh on the other hand ran in four tries to lead 26-2 at the break.

Sheffield continued to try to break through the visitors’ defence, whilst defending resolutely. It was not until 66 minutes had elapsed that the next try happened, another one for the Centurions. Sheffield eventually gave their supporters something to cheer about. After keeping the ball alive, Jason Crookes drifted left, linked with Menzie Yere and Alex Szostack popped the ball out to QLT to run to the posts. Leigh finished off the game with two further tries, bringing the unbeaten Eagles down to earth with an 8-44 defeat. Sheffield dropped to 6th in League but with games in hand on their rivals.

The next fixture was away at Halifax, who had won only one game at that stage of the season. With the game only a few minutes old, Simon Brown was stretchered off knocked out cold after a clash of heads. The Eagles were defending stoutly against Halifax attacks on their line, but on 13 minutes the home side took a 6-0 lead. Sheffield scored their first try on 21 minutes when

Andrew Henderson, Jason Crookes and Vinny Finigan combined to pit QLT through for an unconverted try. The Sheffield side moved onto the offensive with Henderson acting as the fulcrum for attempts on Halifax’s line. They took the lead nine minutes from the break, when Kyle Wood went through a break in the Halifax line to feed Henderson who sent Alex Szostack through to score, but Wood failed to convert. With seconds left Henderson broke through but was prevented from scoring by a cover tackle from a Halifax defender. The Eagles still led 8-6.

The visitors put even more pressure on the home side’s line at the restart. But on 52 minutes it was Halifax who scored next to take the lead 10-8. Halifax were back on top, but were not able to make it count, until two penalties in five minutes put them even further in front 14-8. Then on 72 minutes, Alex Rowe broke several tackles down the middle before handing the ball to Wood who spun it to the right to send Finigan in at the corner. Stringer could not level the scores as his kick fell wide of the posts. With minutes to go the game erupted with a mass brawl, with Rowe and a Halifax player being sin binned. Losing 1214, the Eagles had their chances to take the 3 points, but their own handling mistakes prevented them. The losing bonus point, however, enabled them to move up to 5th.

The end of May brought another home game against Hunslet Hawks. The Eagles had almost total ball control throughout the match, but it was Hunslet who took an early 6 points lead. The home side suffered a blow on 12minutes when Kyle Wood limped off and QLT came off the bench at half back. Despite constant pressure from Sheffield the visitors held them out until the 23rd minute, when Vinny Finigan was sent in at the corner, from an Andrew Henderson pass, for an unconverted try. The next Sheffield try came six minutes later when Joe Hirst burst the line from 30 metres to take the lead 8-6. With five minutes to the interval, QLT put in a curving run before sending in Misi Taulapapa to score his first try of the season under the sticks, Simon Brown adding the extras. At half time Brown’s long pass found Menzie Yere who crashed over the line to give the Eagles an 18-6 lead.

After the break Sheffield hit Hunslet with three tries in the first eight minutes and took a stranglehold on possession. Yere burst the line to give QLT an easy run in. Next Yere scored from a short inside pass from QLT. Then Alex Rowe raced through a gap to give Mitch Stringer an easy put down between the posts. At 36-6, the scoring wasn’t over. A jaded Hunslet defence soon saw Stringer get his second, then Jack Howieson burst the line to give the Eagles a 48-6 lead on 57 minutes. Poor defending allowed Corey Hanson to go in from 5 metres to see the 50vpoints up just after the hour. Hunslet finally responded with a converted try , but Sheffield did not ease up. Yere forced a dropped ball and QLT almost strolled in. Rowe burst over for a try and almost as the hooter sounded Jamie Cording took Stringer’s pass to touchdown, with Stringer adding the extras. The 70-12 victory put a smile back on Mark Aston’s face. 

The next fixture was at home against Dewsbury Rams. Neither Bramall Lane and Don Valley were available to host this game and the Eagles were having great difficulty in finding a suitable alternative. Dewsbury had refused alternative dates to hold the tie. They finally decided on using the facilities of a private school, Mount St Marys College at Spinkhill. With cut price tickets on offer and the loss of corporate facilities the move cost the Eagles financially. Yet the Dewsbury coach was not happy with the switch commenting that he might turn up in a school blazer, insisting that spectator facilities were not adequate, and the ground and floodlights were not up to Rugby League standards. The ground had been approved by the Rugby Football League.

Dewsbury set the pace with two early penalties, but they were met by a solid Eagles defence that gave Simon Brown and Andrew Henderson time to plan the offense. The dry hard surface suited the Sheffield passing game which set up their first try from Danny Mills in the corner. The Rams tried to respond but were hit by the home side’s response which sent QLT in under the posts. With five minutes to the break Misi Taulapapa made a try serving tackle but was sinbinned for hanging on. Dewsbury couldn’t take advantage of the extra man and keeping the ball after the hooter, Alex Rowe twisted his way over the Rams line and Brown added his third conversion. Sheffield were 18-0 ahead at half time.

Dewsbury started strongly on the restart and scored after four minutes. Possession was being shared but it was the Eagles who scored next after forcing a double set led to Menzie Yere blasting over to extend the home side’s advantage. It was only in the 67th minute that the Rams managed to get their second try, but it was too late to have any impact on the result. The Eagles added three late tries. Rowe forced his way over for his second, followed by Tim Bergin and then Corey Hanson. Brown converted six out of his seven kicks to give Sheffield a 40-12 victory, and the double over Dewsbury. Dewsbury didn’t hang around long after the game, catching the bus home immediately after the game much to the annoyance of Sheffield. The Eagles were now in 4th spot with a game in hand on third placed Batley.

Toulouse Olympique were the next team to play the Eagles and the away trip to France brought them their next double of the season. Sheffield struggled to stamp their authority on the game and Alex Szostack was sin-binned on seven minutes for a high tackle. Toulouse made advantage of the extra player to take a 6-0 lead. Penalties gave 12 man and good interplay between QLT, Andrew Henderson and Menzie Yere sent in Tim Bergin to reduce the lead to 2 points. On Szostak’s return the visitors took the lead. 10-6, through Henderson touching down after collecting a Simon Brown chip kick. Olympique drew level just after the half hour, but as the seconds ticked down to the interval a Brown high kick into the in-goal area was not handled well by the defence and QLT manged to get the touchdown giving the visitors a 16-10 lead at the break.

Toulouse opened the second half with a converted try on 33 minutes to tie the scores, and then had another one ruled out for a knock on. A war of attrition ensued until the stalemate was broken by Misi Taulapapa scoring by the flag, Brown adding the conversion. Sheffield started to exploit Toulouse’s defensive frailties when a looping pass from Peter Green found QLT who slipped the ball to Yere to power over. With three minutes left, QLT then managed to find Green who strolled over the line to end the match 32-16 in the Eagles favour. However Mark Aston was unhappy with the performance believing they had been very poor throughout the match making too many mistakes. 

After a week off, Sheffield were next at Widnes Vikings seeking revenge for the early season defeat. But the Vikings were soon in control, scoring their first points after 12 minutes and taking a 22-6 lead at half time, Jamie Cording the only Sheffield try scorer just before the break. After the break the Eagles put up more of a fight with Kyle Wood crossing after the interval. Two more tries from Widnes extended their lead to 34-12, before Menzie Yere scored Sheffield’s third to reduce the deficit to 16 points. Widnes however scored once more on 70 minutes, but the visitors ended the scoring when supporting Simon Brown latched onto a pass from Alex Rowe to touchdown. Brown kicked all four conversions to take his points tally to 12, but the Eagles failed to secure a bonus point, going down 24-38. Mark Aston was again disappointed with his team’s performance and the number of unenforced errors, despite the effort the players had put into the game. Although defeated, Sheffield held onto 4th place in the play-offs.

Barrow Raiders were the next to play in Sheffield at the end of June at Don Valley. Yet another game played in front of the TV cameras the two teams shadow boxed and manoeuvred for advantage in the first half but only managed to produce an 8 all draw at the interval. The Eagles points coming from a converted try from Alex Szostack and a penalty from Simon Brown. The second half was where all the action occurred. Straight from the restart, a 40/20 by Brown put Sheffield into a scoring position. From the scrum a delayed pass from QLT sent Menzie Yere through to give the home side a 14-18 lead. But the Raiders gained the ascendancy and slowly piled up a lead scoring on 45, 48 and 58 minutes to give the visitors a 14-26 lead with only 20 minutes of the game remaining.

Barrow managed to foil attempts by Mitch Stringer and Andrew Henderson to score but failed to keep out the hard working Szostak on 62 minutes. Brown’s conversion produced a split decision by the touch judges and was ruled out by the referee. But six minutes later a 40-metre break by Tim Bergin, set up by an off load by Joe Hirst, sent Brown in which, with his conversion, reduced the gap to 2 points. With five minutes to go a perfectly judged banana kick from Brown was followed up by QLT who stepped inside a defender to ground the try. Brown scored the extras to give Sheffield the lead 30-26. But they lived dangerously as Barrow came back at them in the dying minutes who had a final try ruled out by the video referee. Aston was well pleased with the victory which had seen the debut of Academy product, Connor Scott for his side. The three points gave the Eagles a firm hold on fourth position in the league. 

Due to Cup competitions Sheffield had a two weeks enforced rest from playing. During that period Jonny Woodcock returned to the team after a period out of the game, and Tom Ashton joined the squad from the Reserve squad after his performances had persuaded Mark Aston to give him a first team contract.

The only games the Eagles played in July were both away to the top two in contenders in the League, Leigh and Featherstone. The first game was at Leigh Centurions on the 24th. Leigh took the lead on 11 minutes against the run of play through an interception, but Sheffield narrowed to scores two minutes later when Misi Taulapapa made an unstoppable surge to the line, 6-4. Errors from the visitors enabled Leigh to extend their lead in the following ten minutes with two converted tries to 18-4. Dane McDonald had a try disallowed for obstruction, with Leigh adding their fourth with five minutes to go to the interval. On the hooter as Leigh threw a pass to the ground which they couldn’t clean up, McDonald picked it up, got it to Ryan Hepworth, who passed to Menzie Yere who touched down. With Brown’s conversion, the Eagles went in 10-24 behind.

On the restart Vinny Finnigan nearly scored but was hauled down by a Leigh defender into touch. Further errors from the visitors led to the Centurions adding a further 10 points to their tally, to establish a commanding 34-10 lead. Sheffield rallied and despite losing Joe Hirst and Brown to injury, claimed tries through Tim Bergin and McDonald. Bergin’s try came courtesy of quick hands after the visitors had forced back to back sets on 67minutes. McDonald cleverly grubbered through, picked up and ran round a Leigh defender to touchdown with three minutes left. A defeat by 22-34, but a bonus point for the Eagles never say die attitude.

Featherstone Rovers were the next opponents at their ground, Post Office Road four days later. An injury hit Sheffield failed to test the League leaders. They matched them for the first 20 minutes but after that it was one-way traffic. During that period a Mitch Stringer off load gave Misi Taulapapa the opportunity to score near the posts, with Simon Brown converting. That was the only points scored by the Eagles as Featherstone went onto to lead 16-6 by the interval, Despite second half efforts from Menzie Yere, Alex Szostak and Tim Bergin, it was only the home side who scored to take the tie 34-6. After these two consecutive defeats Sheffield had dropped to fifth only 3 points above 7th placed Halifax. 

However, they got a boost when sixth placed Barrow were deducted 6 points for breaching the 2010 salary cap, with a further 6 points deduction suspended to the end of the season. This strengthened the Eagles hold on a play-off spot. Leigh had also had 3 points deducted for the same offence. 

As the League entered August, Sheffield had five games left to the end of the season. The first of those was a trip to Hunslet Hawks. With the return of Joe Hirst and QLT from injury, they outplayed the Hawks in the first half. Misi Taulapapa crashed over from close range after four minutes, with Simon Brown converting. Mitch Stringer had a try chalked off for a forward pass by QLT. Sheffield went further ahead after a flowing move enabled Corey Hanson to score after 22 minutes, with Brown adding the two. Hanson was over the line again on the half hour but knocked on. Then against the run of play, Hunslet scored to reduce the Eagles lead to 12-6 at the interval.

The Hawks levelled the scores soon after the restart, but Stringer edged the visitors ahead, on 50 minutes, with Brown again converting. Hunslet then had a lucky escape when Hanson failed to ground a bouncing ball, but then scored to level the scores again on 59 minutes. They then grabbed the lead on 66 minutes, 24-18. Sheffield bounced back through another converted score from Hanson with 11 minutes left. Hunslet missed a drop goal, but Sheffield stole victory two minutes later through Taulapapa, followed by a last minute penalty by Brown. The 32-24 victory kept the Eagles in fifth place five points behind fourth placed Batley. After the game it was revealed that Alex Rowe had broken his arm and would be out for the rest of the season.

A trip to Barrow Raiders was the next fixture. Barrow monopolised play from the kick off, with the visitors hardly getting their hands on ball. The Raiders were up 26 points without reply after only 20 minutes. But then Andrew Henderson found a gap in the defensive line to score with Simon Brown adding the conversion. Sheffield started adding the pressure but when, following a scrum, Menzie Yere sent Vinny Finigan to the line, Barrow held firm and the danger fizzled out. Ryan Hepworth was tackled near the line and from the play the ball QLT darted over on 33minutes , but the Tim Bergin conversion hit the posts leaving the score 26-10 to the home side. That’s how it remained until the interval.

Sheffield kept the pressure on from the restart. Corey Hanson was tackled when it looked as though he was through and then Danny Mills was dumped into touch. On 48 minutes good teamwork saw QLT cut inside to score with Bergin this time adding the extras, to make it 26-16. But four minutes later QLT limped off. The pressure continued with Hanson again being denied, but on 56 minutes Yere proved unstoppable as crossed with several Barrow players hanging on. The gap was down to 4 points. Bergin was next on the attack running 50 metres before he was bundled into touch. Barrow were the next to score increasing their lead to 6 with 17 minutes to go. Five minutes later Dane McDonald chipped into the Raiders goal area and Hanson get a well-deserved try. But the game ended in Barrow’s favour, with a converted score, securing a 36-26 victory. Given the chances the Eagles had, they could have won the game, but ended up with a losing bonus point. They had, however, booked a top six spot so that they would be in the playoffs, but needed to secure home advantage for the first of those games. They still remained in fifth position behind Batley by 3 match points, but the Eagles had two games in hand.

The Eagles had three games of the regular season left, all at Bramall Lane. The first was against 4th placed Batley Bulldogs. Poor Eagles defending saw Batley move into an 18-0 lead in the first 21 minutes, before the Eagles managed to put points on the scoreboard. A triple substitution, including the return of Jonny Woodcock for his first game in 16 months after knee surgery, did not lead to a quick fix. Pat Smith was put on report for a dangerous tackle on the half hour. But four minutes later Woodcock was involved in the move that saw Dane McDonald take an offload from Jack Howieson to crash over with Simon Brown converting. However, Batley came back with three minutes to the interval, to ensure that the Bulldogs retained the lead 24-6.

The Eagles were the first to score one minute after the break, when Peter Grenn was held on the line before Corey Hanson went over immediately after. Five minutes later, Joe Hirst latched onto a McDonald chip kick, Simon Brown converting both tries. Batley could not get a look in, and on 57 minutes, on the last tackle of the set, a high ball was won back and was swept wide for McDonald’s pass to send Tim Bergin in at the corner. Brown could not add the extras and the teams were tying, 22 points apiece. Batley had a try disallowed for a forward pass and then disaster struck as McDonald intercepted a lax pass and raced 40metres to touchdown, the Brown conversion giving Sheffield the lead for the first time in the game, 28-22. With three minutes left Batley gained field advantage from a penalty and scored in the corner, but the conversion just went wide. The Eagles got the 3 points, 28-26 but remained in 5th position.

The next game was the return fixture against league leaders Featherstone Rovers. The first 40 minutes was marked by forced handling errors. The tightness of the game initially saw Sheffield secure a kickable penalty, but Simon Brown’s effort went wide. The deadlock was broken when Andrew Henderson split the Featherstone line on 19 minutes to race 40 metres, then passing to Joe Hirst to finish. Brown this time added the two. A few minutes later they were awarded a penalty for an infringement and the penalty gave the home side an 8-0 advantage. Just after the half hour, Featherstone pulled the points gap back with a converted try, but a great solo try by Vinny Finigan in the last few minutes of the half was enough for the Eagles to go in at half time 12-6 ahead.

Rovers hit back in the second half scoring five tries to take the game., 34-12. In the final minutes Menzie Yere was sinbinned for a tackle that left a Featherstone player out cold. Sheffield could no longer catch Batley who had moved into third place but had a chance of securing fourth spot if they beat York in their final game of the regular season.

York City Knights were given a lesson in defending in the game, until the Eagles switched off in the last ten minutes. Under pressure York couldn’t match the home side’s speed around the ruck often left the Knights outflanked. 

Jack Howieson set up the Eagles first try on eight minutes with a pass to Alex Szostack who powered on before passing to QLT to finish the move, with Simon Brown adding the conversion. York levelled the scores on 17 minutes , but three minutes later from a tap Joe Hirst took an Andrew Henderson pass to restore Sheffield’s lead, 10-6. Another six minutes passed and then Dane McDonald pass on the burst gave Szostack an easy score under the posts. Brown converted. With a minute to go, York were hit again as Brown’s kick was blocked but picked up by Tim Bergin who sent Corey Hanson clear for a 50 metre run for the try that gave them a 20-6 advantage at half time.

York’s frantic play to get back into the game after the restart led to handling errors. Poor covering allowed Menzie Yere and QLT to exchange passes before Misi Taulapapa touched down. Bergin who had taken over the kicking added the first of his four goals. It was game over when York were then hit by three tries in seven minutes approaching the last 20. Mitch Stringer combined with Sam Scott to send Yere in. He then claimed a second after dropping over from Vinny Finnigan’s pass on the line and then Hanson followed up a chip kick to claim his second. Yere completed his hat trick on 63 minutes. Stringer followed on 69 taking advantage of poor defending to take the Eagles to 52 points. York got a couple of consolation tries in the dying minutes, but it was the Sheffield side that took the prize, 3 points and home advantage in the play offs by 52-18.

In the Elimination play-offs Sheffield were at home to 5th place Widnes Vikings. Since being promoted to the Championship in 2007, the Eagles had never beaten the Vikings. Prior to the game, Menzie Yere was hit by a two match ban by the RFL disciplinary committee. Only 564 watched the game, which was a great disappointment. An early penalty gave Sheffield field position and the subsequent pressure led to QLT twisting from dummy half to add the first points after five minutes. Simon Brown kicked the first of his eight goals. Widnes managed to reduce the difference to two points nine minutes later. On 18 minutes Mitch Stringer managed to break through the visitors line with Dane McDonald on hand to take the pass and score. Widnes tried to respond but resolute defence from Sheffield held them out. Three minutes to half- time they were penalised for holding down Peter Green and Brown slotted the penalty between the posts, to give the Eagles a 14-4 interval lead.

Soon after the restart another penalty for high tackle saw Brown convert it from 30 metres out to extend the lead. However, he missed another penalty minutes later. Widnes pulled six points back on 50 minutes, but the Sheffield reply was another two tries in seven minutes. McDonald got his second with a perfectly timed burst and then Misi Taulapapa finished a passing move with speed and power. On the hour the Eagles were ahead 28-10. Widnes battered the Sheffield line and eventually managed to score two tries to reduce the lead to eight points, but the hosts had the last say on the game as QLT scored his second with two minutes to go, and then Brown added a late penalty to give the Eagles a 36-20 victory and progression to the Elimination Semi Final.

In the other play off Halifax beat third place Batley Bulldogs 32-22 so the Eagles had home advantage for the Elimination Semi Final. Halifax had won the Grand Final in 2010 after defeating Sheffield in the Elimination Final. But they could not match the Eagles power and determination as they were well and truly beaten this time round. 

In front of 1,223 spectators the home side dominated possession, running in eight tries. As in the Widnes game, Sheffield took an early 2-0 lead from a penalty for holding down. But Halifax were the first to score a try on six minutes to lead 6-2. They were not in the lead for long as Misi Taulapapa slipped a tackle before sending QLT to finish the job. From the kick off Mitch Stringer took the ball through the Halifax defence to start a passing move that saw Joe Hirst score. With the conversion the Eagles led 14-6 after 13 minutes. Desperate to score next Halifax, were soon further behind as an error let Andrew Henderson go in under the post from dummy half on 20 minutes. The visitors were being forced into some risky passing as they became more desperate to break down the solid Sheffield defence. As heavy rain started to fall, Taulapapa slipped through another tackle to enable Dane McDonald to stroll over the line on 27 minutes. 

Brown tried a field goal but failed but the Eagles remained in the ascendancy . 26-6 ahead at the break.

Ten minutes after the restart Halifax scored, pulling the lead back to 14. However as the sun came out briefly McDonald forced himself over the line for his second. Brown converted and then was a gifted a further goal in front of the posts from a penalty for holding down, Another penalty and weak defence allowed Henderson to score from 10 metres on 62 minutes. A Halifax sinbinning for dissent was taken advantage of by Taulapapa who made a perfectly timed angled run and dive for a try to give the Eagles a 44-12 lead on 66 minutes. Jonny Woodcock finished off the rout with two minutes left, squeezing through the defensive line to give Sheffield a 50-12 victory and a place in the Elimination final for the second year running.

In the Qualifying semi-final Featherstone beat Leigh 35-20 to go through to the Grand Final.

With Menzie Yere back in the team, the Eagles travelled to Leigh Centurions for the Elimination Final on 22nd September. . Leigh had beaten Sheffield twice in the regular season and where favourites to do it yet again. But from the outset Sheffield started with a plan to grind the Centurions down with Jack Howieson, Mitch Stringer and Menzie Yere doing much to put them on the front foot before Simon Brown’s kicking came to the fore. 

It took Leigh 15 minutes before they launched their first attack forcing a drop out but then squandered possession. The first score came on 21 minutes when a Brown chip kick was collected by a Leigh player who was deemed to have obstructed Brown as he was running through to collect it and a penalty was awarded to Sheffield. Brown slotted it between the posts to give the visitors a slender two point advantage. Sheffield kept building and continued to turn Leigh around until on 32 minutes a last tackle play involving Andrew Henderson, Dane McDonald and Peter Green, saw Sam Scott cut back on an angle, brush off an attempted tackle and score between the post. Brown’s conversion gave the Eagles an 8-0 lead which they held on to until half time.

Four minutes after the restart, Leigh got the break they had been attempting at all game, scoring a try and conversion, to reduce Sheffield’s lead back to two. They continued to pile on the pressure, but the visitor’s defence held firm. A telling point was, on 54 minutes Yere popped a pass between two defenders to Vinny Finigan who sailed over the Leigh line from 20 metres. Extending the lead to 14-6. Straight from the restart Alex Szostak put a foot in to touch before he caught the ball on the full to secure an Eagles penalty on halfway. They charged into the Leigh 20 metre area and then QLT snaked an arm over the whitewash to secure another try, which Brown again goaled. The visitors were now 20-6 ahead with 24 minutes left. Again, Leigh applied the pressure, but the Sheffield defence was solid, and it was not until the 72nd minute that the Centurions finally breached the defensive line to score but the conversion fizzed wide. The lead was now 10 points, which was too much for the home side to secure. With the final score at 20-10, the Eagles were in their first Grand Final since they gained promotion in 2006. They were the first team outside the top two to achieve this.

The Grand Final was held on October 2nd at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium. Featherstone Rovers were the odds on favourites to take the trophy. The Eagles were without Menzie Yere who had again been banned by the RFL Disciplinary Committee for “a dangerous throw tackle” in the Leigh game, which had oddly not been put on report by the referee. In front of a crowd of 7,263 the Eagles faced a mountain to climb after only six minutes as they had been hit by two tries. They gradually fought their way back into the tie and, on 12 minutes, Misi Taulapapa went close, but Dane McDonald plunged over from dummy half. Simon Brown missed the conversion. One attacking chance went a begging when QLT dropped the ball following a scrum, although replays indicated that he had copped a high shot from a Featherstone player that was not penalised by the officials. They were then pulled back for a debateable offside when Brown’s innovative kick in his own 10 metres went to Tim Bergin who was in the clear. 

Featherstone finally scored again with seconds to go to the break, going in 19-4 ahead at the break.

Rovers scored again 2 minutes after the restart and by the hour they had moved to a 36-4 lead. It was not until the dying minutes of the game that they secured their final try to take the game, the trophy, 40-4 and the £100,000 prize money. Despite the heavy defeat the Eagles supporters were extremely proud of what the team had achieved in their 2011 campaign. 

A number of incidents during the game were subsequently investigated by the RFL Disciplinary Committee. As a consequence, Mitch Stringer received a two match ban. Joe Hirst, Dane McDonald Misi Taulapapa, Tim Bergin, and QLT received one match bans for their part in a mass brawl instigated by Featherstone. 

During the season the Directors revealed that they would be submitting a Super League Franchise bid in 2015.

So, was the 2011 Season a success? Not as far as the performance in the Northern Rail Cup. But in terms of the Championship, it was. Continuing their upward trajectory, scoring at just under 2 points a game, the Eagles had got through to the Grand Finals although they dd not achieve the ultimate accolade of being crowned Champions Both Menzie Yere and QLT were in the top 10 try scorers in the Championship, whilst Simon Brown was third for goals scored as well as total points scored.

Off the field they had continued to improve their financial performance The club had made a small financial profit for the second year running rising 19% from £8,278 to £9,852. This was achieved against rising costs with turnover growing 24.5% from £644,710 to £801,960.

In terms of game attendances, the average number attending home matches fell from 1,223 to 1,118 a falldrop of 8.6% compared to a marginal fall in the Championship average of 1.590.

• Player of the Year: Mitch Stringer
• Supporter’s Player of the Year : Joe Hirst
• Players Player of the Year: Joe Hirst
• Website’s Reader Player of the Year: Peter Green
• Shooting Star: Corey Hanson
• Chairman’s Champagne Moment: Quentin Laulau-Togagae (Hat Trick against St Helens). 

Reserves

• Player of the Year: Ross White
• Players Player of the Year: Ross White
• Shooting Star: Nathan Walmsley

Academy

• Player of the Year: Kane Feek
• Players Player of the Year: Harry Lynn
• Shooting Star: James Proctor

• Andrew Henderson and Joe Hirst were in the Rugby League World’s Team of the Year
• Mark Aston became Irish coach in a dual coaching arrangement. 
• Vinny Finigan named in the Irish squad, as was Tim Bergin, Pat Smith. 
• Ale Szostack and Andrew Henderson were in the Scottish squad.
• Corey Hanson was named in the Jamaican squad for the World Cup preliminaries.