2014 - The Return to Owlerton

Mark Aston kept the nucleus of the side that won back-to back Championships. 

Mitchell Stringer signed to end of 2016; Andrew Henderson, Eddie Battye, Duane Straugheir, Peter Green and Menzie Yere extended their contracts by one year; whilst Scott Turner and James Davey signed until 2015.

Misi Tualapapa had received an offer to move to another Championship club, but decided to remain at the Eagles. Warrington were also looking at signing QLT, but the deal fell through and he resigned for three more years.

However players moved. Colton Roche signed for Featherstone Rovers; Nev Morrison for Doncaster; Vinny Finigan for Batley; Pat Smith for York; and Tom Armstrong for Leigh. Dario Esposito also left the club. Alex Szostack decided to take time out of playing rugby league but signed for Workington at the back end of the season

To replace those leavers, Mark Aston brought in a number of players on full time contracts or season long loans:

• Jack Blagborough (Huddersfield)
• Lelauloto Tagalola(Hawaii Chiefs)
• Will Hope (Salford season loan)
• Shaun Squires (Shaw Cross Sharks)
• Ben Jones (Dewsbury)
• Johnathon Ford (Salford season loan)
• Gareth Owen (Salford season loan)
• Tom Lillycrop (Dewsbury)

As the season progressed, other players were brought in to play for the club on a loan basis. These included the brothers Theo- and Arthur Gonzalez Trique (Toulouse): experienced half back Kyle Briggs (Featherstone) and Etu Uaisele (Featherstone);Jordan Burke (Warrington), but he returned to home club in June to consider his future options; Matty Hayden (Oxford) and Peter Aspinall (Huddersfield). Alex Palmer was promoted to the first team from the Reserves, The Eagles again decided not to participate in the dual registration scheme, which again through up issuers throughout the season

The season was marred by injuries to key players throughout, which had some impact on overall performance with Joe Hirst being ruled out for season with a knee injury. Liam Higgins who had major knee surgery during the season , announced his retirement as did Andrew Henderson , who played his last game for the club in the end of season Qualifying semi-final.

Mark Aston also strengthened the coaching side, welcoming former player and International, Keith Senior back to the club.

The club had arranged two pre-season friendlies against Limoux and Andrew Henderson’s testimonial against York. The Limoux game had to be cancelled, due to a strike by French Air Traffic Controllers, so a ring-rusty Eagles had only one game to help the squad get match fit for the start of the Championship season.

The game against relegated York City Knights was a stern test for the Sheffield side. York took an early lead. But with two people in the sin bin, one of them Peter Green, for punching, Misi Tualapapa struck back on 19 minutes, as he finished off a Dominic Brambani cross field move, to reduce the arrears to two points. A few minutes later, Andrew Henderson repeated the move, this time Corey Hanson touching down. The Eagles were in front. 8-6. York scored twice in the second half, on 47 and 55 minutes, to take an 18-8 lead. On the hour Mitch Stringer pulled a try back with Brambani adding the conversion. With three minutes left, Henderson capitalised on a penalty award to run across the face of the posts, passing to Connor Scott who touched down, with Brambani edging the visitors ahead 20-18. Menzie Yere’s explosive finish, with seconds to go, ended the tie 26-18.

Although the stadium had undergone major refurbishments in previous years, there still needed to be further work done on improving the playing surface to bring it up to rugby league standards and changing room facilities had to be replaced. The playing area was also much narrower than that at Don Valley. The flood lighting system also needed to be upgraded for any potential night matches 

The club were looking to open some parts of the terracing as well as installing more seating, initially it was suggested that they use those from Don Valley Stadium. However they opted to buy a, 400 seater stand to be erected in the ground. Whilst the club had secured finances to pay for these improvements, they were also looking for financial help from the Council as one off assistance to help fund their community development work.

Training was switched to Hallam University’s Sports complex on the outskirts of the city with the reserves and junior teams playing their games at the Bawtry Road centre.

Yet again there was another major change to the competition’s structure. There was again to be a top eight play-off to decide the competition’s winner. However teams needed to be in the first nine positions, if they were to secure a place in the 2015 Championship. The bottom five clubs would be relegated to the next division. The top two from Division One would be promoted, whilst the bottom club in Super League would be relegated to the Championship. As a consequence the Championship would be reduced from 14 to 12 teams from 2015. 

The team finishing top would receive £500k, the second, £450k, those finishing 3rd and 4th would receive £200k, £175k for fifth and £150k for the rest. 

There was also no longer going to be a Northern Rail Cup competition as there had been since the 2002 season.

Both York and Hunslet had been relegated from the Championship at the end of the 2013 season to be replaced by North Wales Crusaders and Rochdale.

Due to the changes envisaged at the end of the season it was predicted that this year the Championship would be the most competitive yet, as clubs tried to avoid ending up in the final five automatic relegation positions. Consequently many clubs had sought to strengthen their squads by having a spending spree which some could hardly afford, storing up potential financial problems for them in future seasons if they didn’t secure a place in the top nine of the division. Sheffield, however, continued its well established policy of spending on players what it could afford. The club’s declared aim for this season was to finish top of the Championship, with their fourth consecutive return to the Grand Final, where they aimed to retain their Championship title.

The Eagles Third round Challenge Cup tie against Leigh East was played at Owlerton on 16th March and was their first victory at home of the season. Sheffield scored ten unanswered tries in the tie, but the afternoon was marred by a suspected broken collarbone for Cory Aston. Aston had a hand in the first try sending Menzie Yere busting in over the line after only five minutes. Yere went close again, but was held up. Yet he flicked the ball to Michael Knowles, who passed to Scott Turner, who then scored in the corner. Brambani missed both conversions. Gareth Owen was the next to score on 16 minutes from dummy half, before setting up Brambani from acting half to enable him to secure his first try of the game. The scrum half missed the first conversion, but made certain of his own try, to give the hosts an 18-0 lead with 23 minutes played. Pat Walker came off the bench and his first kick resulted in the last try of the half, a chip to the corner which was patted back by Turner into the hands of Matt Garside who scored. Brambani’s conversion ensured an interval lead for the Eagles, 24-0.

A minute into the restart and QLT sprinted 60 metres to score, ending an uncharacteristic run of scoreless games. Brambani added the extras. Aston set up Knowles for the next try with 56 minutes gone. Just after the hour, QLT broke through again and grubbered on for Misi Tualapapa, who then passed off the deck for Brambani to score his second. Five minutes later Owen broke through, found Aston in support and passed to him for his first try of the season. Sean Squires rounded off the scoring in the last minute after strong running by Lelauoto Tagalauloto, Brambani’s kick giving the hosts the victory, 54-0.

In the Fourth round Sheffield had a home fixture against London Skolars which was played on April 5th. They ran up a 12-0 lead inside ten minutes. Duane Straugheir and QLT linked up to send Michael Knowles over for the first, then Misi Tualapapa profited from a sublime offload by Lelauto Togaloa. Dominic Brambani added both goals. With 22 minutes gone, QLT broke from inside his own half before passing to James Davey who scored , which with the conversion, extended the hosts lead to 18. Six minutes on and London secured their first points, but on 32 minutes Jack Blagborough secured his maiden Eagles try from a Mitch Stringer pass. London were on the scoresheet again with six minutes to the end of the half. However it was QLT who rounded of the first half scoring, collecting the ball from Yere to touchdown. Brambani maintained his 100% record with his boot, giving the hosts a 30-12 interval lead.

Togaloa scored his first Eagles try after the restart from a Brambani offload, before QLT once again broke through and passed off the deck to Blagborough, who got his second score of the game. Brambani missed the first but scored the second. London managed to score two tries, before Jordan Burke, providing the support for Tom Lillycrop, scored on his debut. On 69 minutes Brambani provided Pat Walker with the pass, with Brambani’s conversions bringing the score to 58-24. Yere knocked on from the resulting kick off which the Skolars capitalised on, to increase their points to 28. However the hosts put some gloss on the scoreline with two tries in the final five minutes. Blagborough completed his hat trick, after strong running from Peter Aspinall, before Matt Garside scored on the left hand side. Brambani’s conversions brought the game to an end, 70-

28. Yet again Mark Aston was not happy with the respect, attitude and discipline his players had shown, particularly letting in a number of soft tries.

The fifth round of the Cup was a visit to Super League team Castleford Tigers. Fielding an injury hit side, the Eagles kept battling with QLT at the forefront, but they could not withstand the onslaught of their full time opponents. They scored first through Scott Turner and led for four minutes, but by the interval they were 36-4 behind. 

They went for the Tigers on the restart, with Duane Straugheir knocking the ball out of a Castleford players hands to touchdown, Brambani adding the extras. Their only other score was from Tom Ashton, from a QLT pass, Brambani adding the conversion. Despite losing 60-16, Mark Aston was proud of how his team challenged the Tigers in the second half. 

The opening game of the season was planned to be a home time against Rochdale Hornets, a replica of the first ever game that the Eagles had played at Owlerton in 1984. But the game was a total washout after a week of winds and torrential rain, which had even bent the newly erected posts. It was postponed by the referee after an early pitch inspection the day before. The club had been expecting a large crowd, as season ticket sales had been the highest since the Eagles rebirth.

After the postponement of their opening fixture, the Eagles opened their season with an away game at Swinton Lions. Sheffield were caught cold in the opening minutes of the game by Swinton, who were four points ahead after only three minutes. It took until the 15th minute before Dominic Brambani drilled a smart kick across. after spotting Scott Turner in acres of space. who then ambled in to score. Brambani then topped things off with an inch perfect touchline conversion to give the visitors the lead, 6-4. Sheffield had a number of opportunities to increase their lead, but on half-time Swinton snatched back the lead, to go in at the break 10-6 ahead. 

With the introduction of Gareth Owen after the restart, he quickened up the visitors game. Following a series of penalties, for offside and interference, he outwitted the defence on 47 minutes, by dummying his way over the line from a tap, Sheffield going back in front. It was the next few minutes that decided the game. First QLT and Brambani combined for Jon Ford to cross. Two minutes later QLT broke the line, saw an overlap and dinked a little kick for Turner to finish off. Sheffield were 24-10 in front with twenty minutes left. Swinton were the next to score. reducing the margin to eight points. They could have scored again, if their player had managed to touch down a grubber kick. It was left to a Swinton knock on to decide the outcome of the game. From the resultant play, Turner completed his hat trick, with Pat Walker slotting the extras. Sheffield had secured their first points of the season, a victory by 30-16. At the end of February, the Eagles were 7th in the league.

March brought the Eagles first game at Owlerton against Barrow Raiders. Concern was expressed about the narrowness of the pitch compared to their previous Don Valley home. But the players and coaches were not phased by this.

The 837 who turned up for the game witnessed the Eagles crashing to the Raiders, who had not won any games so far that season. A heavy pitch suited the visitors style of play. Sheffield suffered an early blow when Will Hope went off with a knee injury. They did score first, with Andrew Henderson passing out to Menzie Yere to put Scott Turner in. The lead then changed four times, with Barrow’s determination to keep going forward paying off. On 27 minutes the visitors went ahead 6-4. They then had a player sin-binned, but it did not deter them from increasing their lead, going in at half time 12-4 ahead.

Sheffield came back with two tries in the first six minutes after the restart. Gareth Own squeezed in from dummy half and Pat Walker started and finished the next move. Dominc Brambani’s only successful kick of the game took them ahead, 14-12. Turner’s second try pushed the Eagles further ahead, but Barrow spoilt the homecoming party, with two tries in nine minutes just after the hour, to take the three match points, 24-18. Sheffield could only claim a losing bonus point on their unhappy return to Owlerton.

The next fixture was a trip to Halifax. The hosts were the first to score on three minutes to take a 6-0 lead, but Menzie Yere reduced the deficit to just two points six minutes later. However the hosts had built up a 14 point lead before the Eagles hit back again. Matt Garside reduced the lead on 26 minutes, when he forced his way over, which, with Dominic Brambani’s conversion, reduced the lead to 16-10 at half time. 

Halifax were awarded a penalty on 51 minutes, but It took until the 57th minute before the first try of the second half, as Halifax extended their lead to 24-10. It was not until the 70th minute that Sheffield made a real impact on the game with Garside scoring again, Brambani adding the extras. From the kick off, Turner immediately touched down to reduce the hosts lead to just two points. However, with five minutes left to the final whistle, a high tackle by the visitors, on their 10 metre line, put Halifax in a good scoring position. From the resultant play they crashed over to extend their lead to eight points. Yet the scoring was not yet over, as Brambani twisted himself over with a minute left, then goaling the conversion. With no time left for any further play, Halifax had won the tie. 30-28, with the visitors securing the losing bonus point. With two defeats in consecutive games, the Eagles were in the relegation zone in tenth place.

The next weekend was the third round of the Challenge Cup. The Eagles were at home to Dewsbury Rams the following Sunday. A solid defensive effort from the hosts acted as the base for their first home league victory of the season. Misi Tualapapa was the first to score after 14 minutes had elapsed. He stole the ball off a Rams player to score in the corner, before he was set up by QLT to notch his second six minutes later. Brambani failed on his first attempt, but managed to convert the second. Dewsbury knocked on as they crossed the whitewash on 27 mites, but Menzie Yere responded charging over from a Gareth Owen pass. 

Brambani added the two, to give the hosts a 16-0 half time lead.

Pat Walker sent Michael Knowles over for his first shortly after the restart, before

Gareth Owen jinked through, after 52 minutes of the game had elapsed. Brambani’s conversions extended the lead to 28-0. Then a moment of fortune ensured the Eagles next, as a Walker kick hit the crossbar and bounced into Matt Garside’s hands, who then touched down. Brambani’s subsequent conversion increased the lead further to 34 points. On the hour the Rams scored their first points of the tie, increasing their points total further three minutes later, reducing the Eagles’ advantage to 24 points. Yet Sheffield were not finished. With 13 minutes to go, Knowles charged down a Rams kick, to run in and ground the ball. He then applied a perfectly weighted grubber for Scott Turner to pounce on. Brambani succeeded with both conversions to ensure a 46-10 win, a result and a performance that pleased Mark Aston. After the defeat the Rams immediately took their coach home as they said they were unhappy with Owlerton’s changing facilities for away teams. Yet it was more likely because their coach was scathing of their performance in the post match interviews.

A week later Sheffield travelled to Keighley Cougars. They opened the scoring after Will Hope had gone close, as Pat Walker sent Duane Straugheir over on four minutes, but Brambani missed with the kick. Keighley hit back nine minutes later to take the lead 6-4. With 17 minutes gone on the clock, Straugheir broke through the line and gifted QLT his first of the afternoon. Four minutes later Walker offloaded to Michael Knowles, who juggled, regathered and notched the next. Brambani added the goal to give the visitors a 14-6 interval lead. 

Sheffield sealed the game, scoring four tries in the opening 13 minutes after the restart. Scott Turner was the first to touchdown and then Menzie Yere powered over from 40 metres. Brambani converted Yere’s try. Keighley responded on 47 minutes, after a Turner fumble, to reduce the arrears to 24-12. Any comeback was thwarted, as Matt Garside sent QLT under the sticks for his second, before a Yere offload found its way to Walker, who jinked through the line to score. Brambani kicked both goals to put the Eagles 36-12 ahead. Keighley pulled a try back on 65 minutes, but Sheffield responded, with Garside barging over the line with ten minutes to go. A late Keighley score did not change the outcome of the game, another win for the visitors 42-24. Mark Aston revealed after the game that he had some stern words with his players in the dressing room at half-time, but was pleased with the response after the interval. By the end of March, the Eagles had moved up the table to sixth position.

After a week off for Challenge Cup duty, the Eagles had a long trip up to Workington Town. Workington kicked off on the full to give Sheffield a immediate penalty. A further penalty moved the visitors into a good scoring position, with Dominic Brambani stepping inside into space for a very easy six pointer after only two minutes. But in the ensuing arm wrestle, the hosts had two tries disallowed for infringements. They finally managed to cross the whitewash without incident, on 19 minutes, to level the scores. The arm wrestle continued until a Town error gave Pat Walker the ball after 26 minutes. Two tackles later, Matt Garside raced through a gap, Brambani’s boot giving them the lead 12-6, which it remained as until the restart.

Just minutes into the second half, Workington looked as though they were about to score, but a professional foul, holding down, by Gareth Owen, saw him go into the sinbin and Town secure a penalty. The hosts thought they had scored from their next move, but were denied the try for a forward pass. Town continued to pile on the pressure, managing finally to get their next try with 58 minutes played, reducing the visitors’ lead to just two points. But a couple of penalties for Sheffield, led to them moving into the hosts 10 metre area. Duane Straugheir then barged and twisted his way across the whitewash to restore the lead to eight points. Undaunted Town stormed back to score an unconverted try with 14 minutes left, but try as they might, they couldn’t not break down the visitors defence to win the game. It was left for Sheffield to do that, Garside going on a long looping run for the try that sealed the match, with Brambani’s conversion bringing the final score to 24-14.

The last Championship game of April was a home fixture against South Yorkshire rivals Doncaster, who were third in the league. It was a game of two halves. Without Menzie Yere, who was sidelined with a knee injury, Sheffield were the first to score on three minutes, Duane Straugheir the scorer of the six-pointer. Doncaster replied on 10 minutes to level the scores. On 20 minutes QLT created the Eagles second with a run from his own half, before passing inside to Dominic Brambani to finish, the hosts retaking the lead. That lead was short lived as Doncaster hit back with another six points. Straugheir’s second was created by a wide searching pass from Pat Walker, enabling the Eagles to move back into the lead. Then just after the half hour, Doncaster had a player sin-binned for obstruction. Sheffieled capitalised on this with two tries from Matt Garside to lead 28-12 at the break.

On the restart the momentum changed with Doncaster taking control. Tries on 45, 48, 58 and 61 minutes helped them to take a 36-28 lead. Lelauloto Togalolo temporarily stopped the one-way traffic, latching onto a Walker chip kick, to score on 68 minutes, with Brambani adding the kick. However Doncaster finished the scoring, to take the game 42-34, the hosts only receiving the losing bonus point. Mark Aston was unhappy about the way his side had capitulated in the second half.

The following weekend the Eagles were in action in the Fifth round of the Challenge Cup. April also the inclusion of Scott Turner in the Rugby League Monthly’s Team of the Month, for his record of scoring in every game of the league season up until the end of March.

The first fixture in May was a trip to promoted North Wales Crusaders. The Eagles opened their account after six minutes. A Crusaders knock on resulted in a scrum , from the back of which QLT scored, shrugging off a tackle attempt on his way over the line. Despite strong forward play from the hosts, they did not make any progress. Three tries in seven minutes towards the end of the half let Sheffield take control of the game. With 29 minutes played, Scott Turner was on the end of a perfectly weighted pass from Pat Walker to touchdown, before Misi Tualapapa darted through a gap and sprinted from the defensive line to score. Turner”s second was a steal from which he dived over the line. Dominic Brambani converted three out of the four to give the visitors a 22-0 advantage at the interval.

Crusaders were the first to score on the resumption, touching down on 42 minutes securing a six-pointer. Then normal service was resumed minutes later, when Turner completed his hat trick, after getting on the end of a Walker pin point cross field kick. The Eagles were now playing expansive rugby, which helped QLT secure his second. Brambani released him with a one handed offload on halfway and the full back sprinted past his opposite number to score between the posts on 56 minutes. Four minutes later the hosts spilled the ball on their own line. Gareth Owen was quickest to react and pounced on the ball in-goal. On the next set, Menzie Yere powered through a tiring defence to unselfishly pass the ball to Walker who scored. With ten minutes left , Sheffield did not take their foot off the gas. Brambani was again at the heart of the action when he sent QLT over for his hat-trick. Yere then finished off proceedings with a combination of quick feet and brute force for a well deserved try. With Brambani kicking eight out of ten attempts, Sheffield had won, 56-6.

The next fixture was a home tie against Featherstone Rovers. The visitors started the game brightly and hit the front after six minutes, capitalising on a dropped ball by Scott Turner, taking a 6-0 lead. That lead lasted for ten minutes before QLT bamboozled the Rovers defence with sparkling footwork to capitalise on Menzie Yere’s offload. With Dominic Brambani adding the extras. the scores were tied. Gareth Owen notched from acting half on 27 minutes, throwing a dummy both ways before jinking over. They then had a try disallowed for a high hit by Yere, which Featherstone took advantage of, reducing the lead on 31 minutes to 12-10. Two tries in the last five minutes gave the hosts the advantage. Firstly Jordan Burke pounced on a Michael Knowles grubber on the last tackle, then Brambani collected his own chip kick and offloaded to QLT for his second. With Brambabi missing one of his two conversions, the Eagles went in at the interval 22-10 ahead and in a good position to progress further.

Yet the second half was a different kettle of fish. Featherstone scored their first try on 52 minutes and by the time of their last on 75 minutes they were 36-22 ahead. Sheffield’s indiscipline resulted in them giving away nine penalties in the half, which had a major hand in the turnaround. After the game Mark Aston was highly critical of some of the decisions of the officials, but mainly of his players, threatening changes in his future line ups.

The following week, the Eagles travelled to Batley Bulldogs. It was a messy game played in the soaring heat. Batley scored first, taking advantage of a Misi Tualapapa knock on after 9 minutes, but failed to convert. They held their 4-0 lead until the 16thminute, when Tualapapa made amends for his error, catching a Dominic Brambani kick to go in at the corner. The resultant conversion was missed but the score was tied. Midway through the half, a ball steal gave Batley a penalty which their kicker dispatched to take a two point lead. On 33 minutes Peter Aspinall was held up on the line and, in the resultant move, quick hands saw the ball go to Scott Turner who went over on the left hand side, Brambani adding the extras. to take a 10-6 lead into the interval.

On the restart, Batley tried to catch the visitors out with a short kick off, but a strong Eagles rearguard stood their ground in what was to be a feature of the second half. The game winning try came on 46 minutes. Peter Green broke from Eddie Battye’s offload to put the visitors in striking distance of the try line. in thee next play Peter Aspinall drove in under the sticks, to give Brambani the simple task of adding the extras. Sheffield led 16-6 with over 24 minutes of the half left. After being held up on the line, Batley scored 5 minutes later to reduce the visitors’ advantage to just six points. On the hour they had a try disallowed for a forward pass, and soon after Misi Tualapapa had a chance to establish daylight between the sides as he had the Bulldogs line at this mercy, but he fumbled the ball. Batley dominated territory for the closing stages, yet could not pierce the Eagles line. Mark Aston was happy with the defensive effort his team had put in, in their 16-12 victory, but was critical of their lack of creating attacking opportunities. 

At the end of May Sheffield played unbeaten league leaders Leigh Centurions at Owlerton. The visitors were 12-0 ahead after only six minutes. Lelauloto Togaloa put the Eagles back into the game after 12 minutes from a short pass from Dominic Brambani, who added the extras. Play was then delayed as the medical staff dealt with a collapsed spectator who was eventually taken to hospital. Two tries and two penalties followed to give Leigh a commanding lead at half-time, 26-6. The Centurions dominated the second half running in a further five tries, before Sheffield managed to score a consolation try, With 77 minutes gone, Misi Tualapapa crossed the Leigh line, with Pat Walker converting, but the game belonged to Leigh, 54-12. The Eagles dropped to seventh place, 3 points above the relegation zone. With only one Championship win out of five at Owlerton, Mark Aston was not a happy coach.

June started with another defeat, this time at Whitehaven. Sheffield started brightly, scoring in the third minute, as Lelauloto Tagaloa finished off a flowing left to right move for a 4-0 lead. However it was the hosts who scored next after 14 minutes to take the lead and then extend it to 12-4 six minutes later. Menzie Yere led the Eagles fightback scoring two tries in ten minutes, the first after 25 minutes had elapsed. He tore the defence apart and then did the same for his next which, with Domonic Brambani converting both efforts, gave the visitors a 16-12 lead at the break.

The hosts came out fighting on the restart. Two tries and a penalty gave them a 24-16 lead. It was not until games was down to the last nine minutes that Sheffield managed to reduce the lead. Scott Turner scored and Michael Knowles converted, but they could not manage to overcome the remaining two points deficit, losing 24-22, but gaining a losing bonus point. 

Next saw Workington Town visiting Owlerton. A solo break out of nothing set up an early try for Scott Turner, which was converted by Pat Walker, the first of his six goals. Town however came back with two converted tries to lead 12-6 mid way through the half. Yet a break by QLT sent in Misi Tualapapa and, with Turner getting on the end of a Walker chip to the corner, the hosts went in at half time 18-12 ahead. QLT put the Eagles in control after the restart, with his pace decisive, as he scored two tries in three minutes. However, with Tualapapa sent to the sin bin for dissent , the 30-12 lead came under increasing pressure from Town. They drew level with five minutes to play. Walker was held on the line, but from the resultant play the ball Dominic Brambani put over the drop goal. Workington put the restart kick dead and from the final set of the game, Andrew Henderson forced his way over from dummy half. Walker completed his 100% kicking record to give the Eagles their first double of the season, 37-30 and only their second league win at home.

The following weekend Sheffield travelled to Dewsbury Rams. Dewsbury had the early pressure and took an early lead after 11 minutes, 4-0. The wet conditions were not conducive to flowing rugby, the game being littered with handling errors. It took until 20 minutes had elapsed, before the visitors were on the scoreboard. They were awarded their first penalty which put them deep into the Rams territory. Dominic Brambani danced across the defensive line and then sent an accurate looping pass to Misi Tualapapa, who skipped around a defender to score. Pat Walker goaled the conversion to give Sheffield a narrow 6-4 advantage. On 33 minutes an Eagles grubber was initially collected by a Rams defender who then lost it to a Menzie Yere steal. Yere passed to Scott Turner who dived over to ensure that the Eagles extended their lead, 10-4. That is how it remained until the break.

Dewsbury dominated play after the restart, bringing them a converted try on 51 minutes, followed by a penalty which put them the lead once more, 12-10. It took over ten minutes before the visitors reclaimed the initiative. After a fracas on the pitch, which saw Mitch Stringer and a Dewsbury player put on report for fighting, with 66 minutes gone, a Walker chip on the last tackle failed to be collected by Dewsbury, but Tualapapa caught the ball unopposed to restore the visitors lead 14-12. Dominic Brambani turned the screw with a 40/20 which resulted in Yere scoring early in the tackle count, swan diving over the line. Walker gave the Eagles some breathing space with his conversion, creating an eight point lead. As the game approached the final five minutes, the Rams fumbled the ball on their line. With Walker scooping up the loose ball, he scored a touchdown, adding the extras for good measure. This 28-12 victory meant that Sheffield had the second double of their season. They were now fifth in the league, seven points above the drop zone.

However their next three games witnessed them in freefall towards relegation once again. The first was at Owlerton against the Keighley Cougars. A try up after only 29 seconds, the hosts soon fell away as the visitors put on a highly professional performance to take all three points. QLT was the scorer, following an offload from Menzie Yere, that saw him race 60 metres to score, Pat Walker adding the conversion. On 20 minutes the Cougars brought the scores level, followed by a penalty in front of the posts to give them the lead. An interception led to their next score, extending the lead to eight points. Sheffield fought back through Duane Straugheir, who took a pass from Andrew Henderson to then twist around his tacklers to touch down, yet the Eagles still trailed by 14-10 at half time.

On the restart, the first quarter of an hour saw both sides struggle to control the game. However sloppy play from Sheffield led them to fall even further behind, as Keighley gradually built up a 28-10 lead with two tries and a further penalty. With only the chance of securing a losing bonus point left, the hosts managed to pull the deficit back to 12 points as Michael Knowles latched onto a Dominic Brambani chip kick, with nine minutes left, to touchdown. Walker converted, but with four minutes left, a Keighley drop goal denied the hosts the bonus point. Losing 29-16, Once again Mark Aston expressed his anger at the way his side had approached the tie.

The Last weekend in June saw another Owlerton defeat, this time at the hands of title chasing Halifax. Injury hit Halifax dominated from the start. They were 16-0 ahead at the interval and by the time the Eagles managed to secure their first points of the game they had extended their lead to 22. On 55 minutes QLT took an offload from Mitch Stringer, then ran 60 metres to score in the corner and put the hosts on the scoreboard. However Halifax continued their dominance, adding a further two tries, before a Dominic Brambani managed to find a way through the visitors defence to score a try and add his conversion. The game had been over since half-time, but Sheffield, who were 32-10 behind, managed to score on the hooter, through Menzie Yere, but Brambani failed with the conversion. The Eagles were defeated once more at home, 32-14 and their lacklustre performance yet again brought strong words from their coach.

The first fixture in July was a trip to league leaders Leigh Centurions, who so far had not been beaten in the Championship. However, despite losing, the Eagles ran them close with their second half performance. Leigh were ahead after only three minute, but Sheffield levelled the scores at 6 apiece on 12 minutes. A loose ball gave Scott Turner an opportunity, his quick reaction enabling him to score. Dominic Brambani converted. After 20 minutes had elapsed, Matt Garside was put on report for a late tackle, then Leigh went on a scoring spree. Four tries in 17 minutes led to the sides going in at half time, the hosts ahead 26-6.

The second half was a completely different affair. On 50 minutes, Eddie Battye offloaded on his own line to Scott Turner who blazed down the wing to get his second of the game, which Brambani goaled. Five minutes later, James Davey picked his way clear to touchdown, Brambani’s kick reducing the lead to 26-18. On 63 minutes, a high kick from Brambani was grounded by Turner for his hat trick, Brambani reducing the Centurions lead to only two points. The Eagles continued to put pressure on the hosts but they held out. In the last minute, however, Leigh managed a breakaway which sealed the game for them, 32-24, Sheffield securing the losing bonus point. This third defeat in a row resulted in the Eagles falling to ninth spot hovering above relegation by reason of their superior points difference.

North Wales Crusaders were Sheffield’s next opponents at Owlerton. It was Kyle Briggs debut in an Eagles shirt. The hosts hit the front after only five minutes. Michael Knowles made a break, Pat Walker then went close before Andrew Henderson sent Menzie Yere crashing over from short distance. Dominic Brambani converted. Six minutes later, an interception by Walker created an opportunity for him to kick ahead. The ball was caught by Scott Turner who raced through to touchdown, but Brambani’s conversion this time was wide. Brambani then had a try ruled out for crossing. Crusaders started to dominate possession in the latter part of the half, but were unable to breach Sheffield’s defence. Against the flow of the game, two minutes before the interval, a Brambani kick was picked up by Misi Tualapapa who scored, but once again the scrum half was unable to convert.

Leading 14-0 at halftime the Eagles were looking to kick on, but five minutes into the half it was the Crusaders who managed to put points on the board. Pushing for another try, the Crusaders ended up offloading into the arms of Lelauloto Togaloa, who sprinted 80 metres to touchdown under the posts, Brambani this time adding the extras. With 57 minutes gone on the clock the hosts led 20-4. 

Six minutes later that lead was extended further to 22. QLT received an offload from Duane Straugheir, before throwing a dummy and jinking through using his pace to get over the line. Brambani once again missed. North Wales fought on and managed to secure the losing bonus point, with two late tries in the dying minutes of the game. Sheffield had won once more at home, beating the visitors 24-16, the third team they had done the double over. Yet although they had managed to move up to eighth, this was due to their superior points difference compared to the teams immediately below them, Keighley and Workington, the latter in a relegation place. 

Sheffield’s next game was away to bottom of the league Barrow Raiders. Although the game was fairly even up until the half hour, after that the Eagles dominated. They were the first to score , following a penalty for ripping. The resultant tap the ball went along the line to Mitch Stringer, whose pass saw Kyle Briggs get his first points for the club as he touched down after seven minutes. Dominic Brambani converting. A minute later, the lead was reduced to two points as Barrow scored from the next set. The visitors stretched their lead again, with 19 minutes gone, the try coming from deep within their own half. Pat Walker fed Michael Knowles who broke the defensive line, his inside pass finding QLT, who touched down. Brambani was successful with boot securing Sheffield a 12-4 lead. Undaunted, three minutes later, Barrow scored again, to bring the lead back to only two points. 

However that was the last time the hosts troubled the scoreboard. With 34 minutes elapsed, Stringer took the ball to the Barrow line, his neat pass finding Walker, who scored with ease. Two minutes later, a 70 yard Barrow dropout from between the posts was caught by QLT who passed to Menzie Yere. He tore down the touchline, feeding to Misi Tualapapa. The winger’s pass released Walker who looked to be about to score, before being tackled. From the play the ball, quick hands right to left enabled Duane Straugheir to cross and score. Brambani’s two conversions gave the Eagles a 24-10 lead at half time.

After the restart Barrow should have scored on 50 minutes but they failed to ground the ball correctly. On their next chance they knocked on. Sheffield had the next opportunity to score, but Eddie Battye was hauled down inches in front of the line. Another chance for the hosts was ruled out for a forward pass, but on 55 minutes QLT did score by the posts, with Brambani stretching the lead to 20 points. Barrow were reduced to 12 men with 12 minutes left on the clock for taking a man off the ball. Sheffield capitalised on this, with both Lelauloto Togaloa and QLT touching down and Brambani converting one out of the two tries. The 40-10 victory helped the Eagles move up to 5th again by virtue of superior points difference, but only 3 points off the relegation zone, yet they still had a game in hand over those teams below them.

Etu Uaisele signed on loan for Sheffield from Featherstone as July ended and went straight into the team to face Batley Bulldogs at Owlerton. The Eagles were chasing the game from the fourth minute as Batley took a 4-0 lead. Three minutes later the gap had been extended to ten points. It wasn not until 26 minutes that the hosts got on the scoresheet, through a Will Hope try, courtesy of a Dominic Brambani break, who added the extras. The first half ended with both sides putting sustained pressure on each other with no real progress. The Bulldogs were 12-6 in front after the first 40 minutes. 

Four minutes into the restart the visitors went a further two points ahead, through a 30 metre penalty. The Eagles managed to reduce the lead on 48 minutes, Menzie Yere bundling through from dummy half, to reduce the arrears to two points. A further penalty a few minutes later, for holding down by Eddie Battye, helped Batley extend their lead to 16-12. Eight minutes later the visitors scored again to extend their lead to eight. Just after the hour, good work at the scrum by QLT sent Yere through for his second, with Brambani’s kick bringing the difference between the two sides down to two points. Yet with only three minutes left, Batley took advantage of some lazy Sheffield defence to ensure that they took the three points, extending the margin of victory with a late penalty, 28-18, the hosts taking the losing bonus point. Mark Aston believed that his side had put on a poor display and Batley wanted the victory more than his side. The defeat dropped the Eagles back into eight spot, four points above the relation zone.

August saw the Eagles unbeaten throughout the month as they secured their position in the Championship for 2015. The month started with a trip to South Yorkshire rivals Doncaster. The hosts were a man down after three minutes for holding down. Sheffield quickly cashed in as Etu Uiasele strolled in a minute later to give Sheffield an early 6-0 lead, with Dominic Brambani being successful with the boot. Doncaster managed to get points on the board following a fifth minute penalty, but as soon they were back up to full strength, they had a player sinbinned for kicking the ball away. Yet that did not deter them for going ahead on 15 minutes, 8-6, which they extended minutes later with a penalty. However, as soon as they were back up to strength, Sheffield scored again on 24th minutes. with a converted Matt Garside try, retaking the lead 12-10. That is how it remained until half-time.

The Eagles made the early running on the restart , yet it was Doncaster that got the points. Two tries in a couple of minutes, had them back in front 22-12 by the 49 minute. Sheffield continued to pile on the pressure, looking dangerous but failing to capitalise, until the hour was up. Kyle Briggs broke the line, sending in QLT, who was in support, to score under the posts. The conversion by Brambani reduced the lead to just four points. Ten minutes later, the visitors were level, when Menzie Yere latched onto a Briggs kick to bulldoze over the line. As the game entered the last 15 minutes, Scott Turner dived over into the corner to give Sheffield a narrow 26-22 lead, which they easily defended to the final whistle. 

Days after the game it was announced by the RFL that they were investigating Batley, Dewsbury and Doncaster with regard to a breach of the dual registration arrangements. They were charged for using ineligible players in ties held at the end of July. If found guilty the clubs could have faced a fine and/or three points deduction. Mark Aston argued that if Batley were found guilty then the Eagles should be given the three match points as the player involved had proved to be the determining factor in Batley’s victory. Both Batley and Doncaster were found guilty of the breach and had points deducted. 

However they later had them reinstated at the end of the season on appeal, as they had argued that the same had happened in the previous season with no sanctions. This decision saved Batley from relegation, as they had dropped into the relegation zone as a result of the deduction.

The following week Sheffield played hosts to Swinton Lions. Swinton edged the first half going ahead in the fifth minute, but the lead was wiped out as Menzie Yere brushed off a couple of tacklers to ground under the posts after nine minutes. Brambani added the conversion. But they were soon back on the defensive and could not stop the visitors retaking the lead four minutes later. A scuffle followed that led to Peter Green and a Swinton player cooling their heels for ten minutes. Mitch Stringer made some strong runs at the Swinton defence yet was held up. On 27 minutes, however, Kyle Briggs’ pass was caught by QLT who swept over the Swinton line to score, with Brambani levelling the tie with his conversion. With seven minutes to the end of the half, Swinton again took a six point lead, only to see Etu Uaisele get on the end of a looping pass from Brambani that gave him a clear run in. The half back failed with the conversion. Swinton were ahead at the end of the half, 18-16.

The deficit was quickly cleared by two tries, in six minutes, after the restart. Knowles and Yere set up QLT for the first as he ran under the posts. Brambani’s conversion gave the hosts the lead again 22-18. Next Uaisele got his second from a Brambani pass, to extend the lead on 46 minutes. Sheffield turned the screw further seven minutes later, as he got his hat-trick with an interception on the half way line. Swinton put the tie back into the melting pot with two converted tries, but a Knowles drop goal in between those two scores maintained the Eagles lead 31-30, with ten minutes left. Swinton were unable to break through the hosts solid defence in that period and as the hooter sounded, they secured the three points, whilst Swinton managed only the losing bonus.

The next weekend brought yet another home fixture, this time Whitehaven were the visitors. Sheffield led from the very start as Matt Garside scored with less than a minute on the clock. Three minutes later, Kyle Briggs threw a dummy to cross the whitewash to touchdown. With Brambani adding the extras, the hosts were 12-0 in front and retained the lead for the rest of the match. Whitehaven pulled a score back on 11 minutes. The teams traded scores, with Menzie Yere taking advantage of the visitors indecision in grounding a Briggs grubber kick with 14 minutes gone. Brambani added the two. Whitehaven pulled a try back 14 minutes later but failed with their conversion to go 18-10 behind. Sheffield stretched their lead on 29 minutes, as Brambani’s kick bounced back into the hands of Pat Walker for him to score. With Brambani’s conversion the lead stretched to 14 points. Yet with five minutes to the break, the visitors reduced that lead to eight points.

Two minutes into the restart, QLT extended the lead providing support for a Yere break. But Whitehaven were back in the game as they narrowed the lead again after 48 minutes. They then had significant territorial advantage, but they could not convert it into points. With 11 minutes of the match remaining, QLT killed the game off, taking a Briggs offload to score, Brambani completing his 100% conversion rate, giving the Eagles a 36-22 lead. Yet Whitehaven managed to secure a vital bonus point, scoring three minutes before the end. Although happy with the 36-28 win, Mark Aston was concerned about letting the opposition score as many points as they did. Yet the victory did secure the Eagles Championship position for the forthcoming season.

Challenge Cup Final week was the date for the postponed home match against Rochdale Hornets. This was played at the Sheffield Hallam University’s Sports Park, to take advantage of the superior floodlighting for the Wednesday night game. Playing on a wider pitch, the Eagles nilled a team for the first time in the 2014 Championship season. The game also saw the return of Cory Aston to the first team.

A 40/20 from Kyle Briggs gave the Eagles field position and they made it count, as a Briggs grubber kick was pounced on by Duane Straugheir to touchdown with four minutes gone. Pat Walker added the extras. Rochdale tried to get back on equal terms but the hosts defence was too strong and organised. The hosts had their chances, but failed to capitalise. The deadlock was broken with two tries in six minutes from Cory Aston. He sidestepped the cover for his first and took a pass from Peter Green to sweep in for his second. James Davey squeezed over just before the break, which with Walker’s conversions, gave the hosts a 22-0 lead.

A 60 metre break from Lelauloto Tagalola, three minutes into the restart, pushed the Sheffield lead even further ahead with Walker’s conversion. On 59 minutes Menzie Yere powered over at the corner. The Eagles finished with a flourish. Scott Turner just managed to get onto a grubber kick in the corner. Aston finished his hat-trick from a flipped up pass from Eddie Battye. QLT finished a curving break in the final minute with Briggs converting the last two. The 48-0 victory pushed Sheffield back into fifth place with two away games remaining.

The first of these was an away trip to second placed Featherstone Rovers on August 31st. Sheffield recorded their fifth straight victory as Kyle Briggs dominated the game on his return to The Bigfellas Stadium, but it was the hosts who opened the scoring, taking a 4-0 lead in the ninth minute. Briggs’ responded five minutes later when , after he gave an outrageous dummy, he crossed the line to score. Dominic Brambani’s conversion gave the visitors a two point lead, which they did not relinquish for the rest of the game. On 27 minutes Misi Tualapapa ended a good passing move to increase the advantage to 10-4, after Brambani’s kick. Four minutes later Briggs turned provider to put QLT over. He then romped over again with three minutes to the break. Brambani’s two conversions gave the visitors a 22-4 advantage at half time.

After the break Rovers were the first to score to reduce the lead to 12 points, three minutes into the half. But on the next Eagles set, Duane Straugheir managed to steal the ball and raced over unopposed from 40 metres out, restoring the 18 points lead. Featherstone hit back on 50 minutes. scoring two converted tries in six minutes, to reduce the arrears to 6 points. Yet Briggs had the final say, recording his second and third tries around a single Featherstone effort. On 65 minutes he took an offload from Eddie Battye to plunge over and then supported Menzie Yere’s block busting run to complete his hat-trick on 76 minutes. The final score-line, 40-28, confirmed the Eagles in fifth place, with Featherstone getting the losing bonus point. 

The last match of the regular Championship season was a visit to Rochdale Hornets the first weekend in September. Hornets opened the scoring with two tries in the first ten minutes to take a 10-0 lead. Sheffield then dominated the remainder of the half, with a hat trick of tries from QLT on 22,37 and 40 minutes. coupled with tries From Menzie Yere on 11; Kyle Briggs on 27; Etu Uaisele on 31; and Scott Turner on 33. Dominic Brambani converted 4 out of 7. The Eagles led 36-10 at half time.

In the second half Rochdale scored first on 53 minutes, before the visitors completed their victory with a try from Mitch Stringer on 67 minutes; Menzie Yere got his second on 70; and QLT added two further tries on 75 and 79 minutes. Dominic Brambani converted a further 3 out of 4. The Eagles won the game 5816, confirming their fifth place finish to the season. 

As with the previous season, the top four teams went into the Qualifying Play offs whilst those finishing in the fifth to eighth positions were in the sudden death Elimination Playoffs. The two losers from the Qualifiers would then have to play one of the winners in the Eliminators in the Preliminary semi finals. The winners of those would then play the winners of the Qualifiers in the Qualifying Semi-Finals. The highest ranked Qualifier would play the lowest ranked Preliminary winners.

By virtue of finishing fifth the Eagles played at home against eighth placed Batley Bulldogs. The game was played at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium Defences dominated as they had in the previous season’s Grand Final, with Batley dominating the early stages with precision kicking. Both sides had players held on the line and with two minutes to the break, Batley were awarded a penalty 25 metres out, but it was put wide. 0-0 at half time and that is how it remained until the last fifteen minutes. Sheffield ignored a kickable penalty but failed to progress.., They were then awarded another one minutes later, Dominic Brambani took it to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead. On their next attack, following a 40/20, Sheffield opted to run a penalty in front of the posts switching the play right for QLT to provide the pass for Etu Uaisele to sweep in near the corner. Brambani missed the kick, but the hosts led 6-0 with 10 minutes left on the clock. Any hopes of a Batley comeback were scotched as Mitch Stringer offloaded to QLT, for him to touch down on 73 minutes, Brambani’s kick extending the lead to 12-0. Andrew Henderson was the next to create a chance, that saw Duane Straugheir put in Uaisele for his second with four minutes left. The Eagles had qualified for the Preliminary Semi-Finals, 16-0.

Their opponents were local rivals Doncaster who had finished fourth in the Championship and had home advantage for the tie. A close contest was expected but in the end in turned out to be a one-sided affair. The visitors took the lead after six minutes and they never relinquished control from there. Mitch Stringer tried to go in from dummy half but was held up. He managed to off load to Eddie Battye who without hesitation scored. On 11 minutes, Doncaster dropped the ball and Etu Uaisele punished the hosts when he pounced and ran away unchallenged, to extend Sheffield’s lead to 12. Doncaster pulled a score back five minutes later. However the Eagles restored their stranglehold, Scott Turner bursting clear, passing to Pat Walker, who coasted to the line to extend the lead to 18-6. Just before the half hour mark, Doncaster had a player sent off for lashing out at Michael Knowles with his boot. 

Sheffield made the man advantage count. With 34 minutes gone, Menzie Yere broke through a stretched home defensive line, fending of tacklers, to barge his way over. Good work from Kyle Briggs created space for QLT, his pass giving Matt Garside the simple task of racing to the posts three minutes later. The day went from bad to worse for the hosts as good hands from Cory Aston and QLT gave Turner a glimpse of the line and he took his chance to touchdown. Sheffield went in at the interval, 34-6 in front. 

The second half had the visitors take possession from their kick off and a good set of six gave Briggs the opportunity to push the lead even further ahead, one minute into the restart. Three minutes later the Eagles secured their seventh score, as a break from Garside from deep in his own half led to him feeding the ball to QLT for another well taken score. Losing 46-6, Doncaster tried to add a bit of respectability to the scoreline, but twice they spilled the ball over the line. 

Just before the hour they scored a converted try to reduce the lead to 34 points. However normal business was resumed, when Sheffield countered with menace, Yere breaking the defensive line with a powerful run and QLT taking advantage of a two on one situation to stride over the line, with 62 minutes played. Duane Straugheir was the next to score, coasting through a wilting defence for the visitors’ ninth try. Losing 58-12 with only 14 minutes to play, Doncaster managed two consolation scores. With Brambani converting six out of seven attempts, as well as two conversions from Briggs and 1 from Walker, Sheffield progressed to the Qualifying Semi-Final, one step away from potentially their fourth consecutive appearance at the Grand Final.

In their way were second place finishers Featherstone Rovers. But the dream of a fourth appearance was shattered by a dominant first half display by their hosts who scored three tries, two conversions, two penalties and a field goal to lead by. 21 unanswered points after 40 minutes. Yet the Eagles were not done as they stormed out of the blocks at the restart. A Kyle Briggs grubber forced a drop out. In the next set, Peter Green pounced on a near identical kick to touchdown with five minutes of the half gone. With Brambani adding the extras, the visitors had reduced the Rovers advantage to 15 points. Three minutes later, QLT crossed after catching a Briggs chip, Brambani’s conversion reducing the lead to just 9 points. But in the final half hour the visitors could not find their way over the line again, although they dominated play. They were held back time and again by a dominant Rovers defence. Jack Blagborough and Mitch Stringer were both held on the line and Matt Garside was stopped inches short a couple of times. The 21-12 defeat saw the Eagles out of the play-offs, Featherstone progressing to the Grand Final, were they were beaten 36-12 by Leigh Centurions.

The Eagles poor home form was a major determinant on their overall league performance. Having won all their home fixture in 2013, at Owlerton they lost seven out of the 13, with only five victories, many of them close, the sixth coming on the wider pitch at SHU’s Sports Park. when they trounced Rochdale Hornets. Their away form is what saved them from the ignominy of relegation, winning 10 out of the 13 played. The fifth placed finish brought £175,000 of prize money into the club’s coffers. This was also the last season that they made the playoffs until their first full season at Sheffield’s new ground, the Olympic Legacy Park in 2023.

Although they sold a record number of season tickets, the average attendance at Owlerton was 829, compared to 928 at Don Valley/Bramall Lane. This represented a further drop of 10.7% in attendance, at a time when average Championship attendances rose by 6.8% from 1,020 to 1,095.

QLT was second in the league table for tries scored in the Championship, recording 31 and an additional four from the play offs, whilst Scott Turner was fifth equal with 24 with an additional one in the playoffs. Dominic Brambani was second in both the goals and points scored, recording 105 goals and 227 points. Sheffield’s most consistent performer was Misi Tualapa who never dropped his performance levels, whilst the reliable Michael Knowles and Mitch Stringer helped keep things together.

Off the field the one off grant from Sheffield City Council was used to Assist the Eagles community development team to continue their grassroots work at a time when the club faced huge costs in moving operations out of Don Valley. The Include foundation went from strength to strength. 

Youth development was taken over by Andrew Henderson in April The Academy side continued to operate in the Under 20’s Competition. They had a highly successful season winning many games as did the Academy side. After winning their league in 2013, the Sheffield Hallam Eagles continued their progress in 2014. Coached by former Eagles player, Ged Corcoran they once again remained unbeaten . Sheffield were the only professional Rugby League club running four teams during the season.

The club were involved I ongoing discussions throughout the year on the type of facilities that were to replace Don Valley . In October it was announced that the money had been secured for the replacement stadium as part of the overall redevelopment of the area. Included in the £55 million development there was to be a sports research centre, basketball court and a UTC focusing on sports.

The stadium itself would have a pitch which would be 100 metres length and 70 metre with state of the art 4G playing surface. The idea was that it would be available for use by the local community and the new UTC. 

Funded by both private Investment and Government grants the intention was to start opening the new facilities in stages from 2015. A hotel had been integrated into the new stadium stand with 2,500 seats, but would not be compete until 2016.

Although none of the squad appeared in any of the season’s dream teams, nor achieved any accolades from the Annual Awards ceremony, at the Club’s awards night the following players were recognised:

• Sheffield Eagles Awards 2014 Player of the Year: 
• Supporter’s Player of the Year Players Player of the Year: 
• Website’s Reader Player of the Year: 
• Shooting Star: Tom Ashton
• Chairman’s Champagne Moment: 

International Appearances:

Will Hope Ireland