2021 - Coping with Covid on the Road

Mark Aston managed to retain the services of the majority of those who were in the 2020 squad. However Zac McComb joined Halifax and both Lewis Taylor and Rory Dixon also left the club. Corey Makelim had already returned to Australia in the middle of the Covid pandemic, whilst Menzie Yere hung up his boots, but continued to occasionally play for Hillsborough Hawks

Of the remaining players, all signed one year extensions to their contracts. The team also saw the return of James Glover and Matt James after a year out with injury. James continued as Captain and Anthony Thackeray his vice Captain.

Aston brought in a number of new players, once again a mixture of young players looking to prove a point and older heads with experience:

• Tyler Dickinson(Batley)
• Jordan Bull (Castleford)
• Jack Render (Featherstone)
• Chris Ball (London Academy)
• Bobby Tyson-Wilson (West Hull)
• Harry Tyson-Wilson (unattached)
• Ryan Johnson (Hull Academy)
• Travis Corion (Huddersfield)
• Mike Adlard(Unattached)
• Max Clarke (London Broncos)

During the season the club signed Chris Ball from London Broncos, Jordan Bull from Lock Lane, Evan Hodgson from Newcastle, and Olly Butterworth.

Butterworth was a serving paratrooper who had been a Great Britain bobsleigh international. Having played rugby union he had competed for the Infantry team in the Army Rugby League's Lawson Cup competition.

Jack Render left the club in June by mutual conset. At the end of that month both Rory Dixon and Mike Adlard left due to lack of match opportunities.

Commenting on the Eagles new recruits Mark Aston was thrilled about the youthful vibe they had brought to the club:

As the new season approached the country was still under a variety of Covid restrictions which impacted on the holding of outdoor sports events. Even though Sheffield had been hoping to be able to move into their new stadium, there had been little development in the building of the facilities at the Olympic Legacy Park(OLP) due to the lockdown restrictions in the previous season. The current stadium on the site was now unsuitable due to the lack of facilities as well as not meeting Covid-19 related requirements.

The intention was to stream matches played behind closed doors via OurLeague to lessen the impact of the move. More positive news arrived in February when it was announced that the Stadium was set to open twelve months later. Welcoming the news Mark Aston commented that:

Players returned to training Oct 2020 but as winter approached the RFL decided to suspend training for Championship and League 1 clubs as Covid-19 cases rise around the country. With the season initially due to start in February, the club were concerned about the impact it would have on its preparedness for the new season.

The club also organised a series of catch-up calls with supporters and coach Mark Aston, Matt James and James Glover appeared on the video chat, with others participating in subsequent calls. Fans were asked to email in their questions and a handful were selected to take part with a small selection of supporters invited to join the chat.

The club’s sponsors, despite the suspension of the 2020 Championship season, decided to stay with the Eagles which of a major financial significance given the continued enforced exile in Doncaster.

The RFL had announced that the initial games in the new Championship season would have to be played behind closed doors until such time as the Government decided that outdoor sports would be open to the public. Consequently it was decided that the eagles would once more play their home fixtures at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium.

Players haven’t been training for some time now so it’s disappointing. We understand the decision but we’re conscious that the season is due to start at the end of February and we need the players to have contact, tackle technique and all those sorts of things to make them match-ready when the season starts.

The Rugby Football League (RFL) decided that the Summer Bash would not be played, due to restrictions imposed surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom which limited or prohibited the attendance of spectators. 

Following an RFL meeting with both the Championship and League 1 clubs, it was agreed that golden point extra time would be suspended for this season, following concerns over the welfare of players and staff. The RFL also issued guidance on clubs travelling to France to play Toulouse. While UK COVID-19 quarantine rules required travellers to isolate for five days on return from France, the RFL stated that it was permissible for the part-time clubs in the Championship to postpone fixtures against Toulouse. The postponement did not apply to London Broncos as the club's players were full-time.]

London were due to travel to Toulouse for a match on 17 April but declined to do so. The RFL therefore awarded the two competition points to Toulouse with the score recorded as 24–0. The match did not count towards the number of games played by London towards qualification for the play-offs. The RFL also referred London to the off-field compliance board for failing to fulfil a fixture. At a subsequent meeting the compliance board deducted 2 points from London for beaching the operational rules by failing to fulfil the match. 

Toulouse's game against Bradford, scheduled for 19 June 2021 was cancelled on 4 June due to the quarantine rules. There were no free dates in the calendar to accommodate re-scheduling, so the game was not played. 

London's game against Widnes scheduled for 25 July was cancelled on 20 July, after London Broncos reported more than seven players requiring to isolate, the match was postponed then cancelled as the clubs agreed there was no possible date available for re-arranging the fixture.

In August, Featherstone were deducted two competition points (the equivalent of a win) for breaching RFL Operational Rules. In breach of UK government restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic the club hosted an indoor gathering on 27 March at which 12 members of the first team were present. Under RFL COVID-19 protocols all the players involved should have been stood-down and ordered to self-isolate. The club did not comply with the protocols and also failed to assist with the RFL investigation into the incident. 

THE Championship table was to be determined using points percentages in the 2021 season.

The RFL took the decision to allow for the possibility of matches being postponed because of Covid issues. These rules applied to all Super league, Championship and League 1 clubs.

Clubs would be required to have played a minimum of 70 per cent of their scheduled fixtures (16 out of 22 matches) to qualify for the top-six play-offs in September, unless they have accrued enough league points despite having played fewer than 16 matches. Toulouse were exempt from this ruling.

The regulations surrounding postponements of games were that Clubs would be permitted to withdraw from a fixture if they have seven or more of their top 25 players unavailable, either because of a positive Covid test or following test and trace analysis, or if they were prevented from playing or travelling to play as a result of government restrictions. The fixture would only be rearranged if both clubs had the same available match slot.

Win points percentage was calculated via the following formula: the number of league points of a club divided by the number of matches played by that club, multiplied by 50. If four or more clubs had not played the minimum match requirement (70 per cent of scheduled fixtures), the RFL Board had the discretion to determine an alternative minimum figure.

The RFL Board have also approved changes to the permitted movement between clubs during the 2021 season, again in response to Covid. Dual registration was not permitted, but the minimum length of a loan period between clubs had been halved from four weeks to two, with strict criteria regarding testing procedures.

Players would be permitted to move between teams at the same club (e.g. Academy to first team) and from professional to international environments.

Each of these was subject to lateral flow testing prior to entering the new environment and repeat lateral flow testing where necessary (in addition to the wider requirements under the Covid protocols).

The only permitted movement between the community game and professional clubs was new signings and Scholarship players.

Meanwhile, the deadline for clubs to advise players in the last year of their contracts of their intention with regard to contract offers was put back from April 30 to May 31, to reflect the later start of the season. But players were still able to speak to other clubs from May 1, as had been the situation previously.

Championship clubs had 22 rounds scheduled to take place between April and September, playing each other home and away. Up until the middle of May all games were to be played behind closed doors.

Normally the Challenge Cup was contested between the clubs of the professional Super League, Championship, League 1 and a number of invited amateur teams. However in 2021, due to the Covid pandemic, the Challenge Cup did not include the amateur teams. Toulouse Olympique chose not to play in the cup competitions. 

When the details of the competition were announced in December 2020, it was envisaged that the first round, would feature the League 1 clubs; and Dewsbury Rams, Newcastle Thunder, Oldham and Whitehaven from the Championship. 

The rest of the Championship clubs would enter at round two, with the Super League clubs entering in round four.

It was also announced, that the early rounds of the competition would also form the early rounds of the 1895 Cup. The highest four teams from the Championship and League 1, would become the semi-finalists of the 1895 Cup, with the final to be played on the same day as the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley. 

The first round draw was due to be held on the week commencing 4 January 2021. However, due to the UK lockdown, this was delayed. A further meeting of the clubs was held on 13 January 2021, to discuss alternative schedules for both the cup competitions and the league fixtures, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Several contingency plans were announced, which mostly affected the involvement of the League 1 clubs in the Challenge Cup.]

The meeting decided to delay the start of League 1 until May but let the League 1 clubs decide individually whether to enter the cup or not. However, this would involve them playing one or two fixtures in March, and then face a two-month gap, until the start of the league games, during which they may not be able to take advantage of the British government's furlough scheme.

After further discussion around this agreed option, the majority of the League 1 clubs decided not to participate in the competition. Barrow, Keighley and West Wales Raiders, decided to enter, and played in a 16-team round 1 with the

13 participating Championship clubs. Round 1 was scheduled for the weekend of 20–21 March. 

After the announcement, at least two League 1 clubs, Rochdale and Hunslet, expressed disappointment and claimed that a selection process had taken place rather than all clubs withdrawing. 

It was also agreed that any club unable to fulfil a tie in the first two rounds would forfeit the fixture to their opponents. Ties unable to be played due to a team having seven or more players out due to COVID-19 restrictions, would be rearranged and take precedence over league fixtures.

The Eagles were drawn against fellow Championship club, York City Knights. The game was played at the Keepmoat Stadium behind closed doors but could be watched streamed live on OurLeague. Mark Aston handed out debuts to Ryan Johnson and Tyler Dickinson, whilst James Glover and Matt James were brought back into the side for their first game since sustaining injuries at the 2019 Summer Bash.

York opened the scoring on four minutes to lead 6-0. The Eagles missed an opportunity to potentially level the scores as both Johnson and Rob Worrincy went for the same kick from Izaac Farrell and knocked on. Minutes later The visitors fumbled an Anthony Thackeray bomb. From the next play Greg Burns burrowed over from dummy-half, with Izaak Farrell kicking the extras . tying the game at six-apiece Sheffield had the better territory for a time, after, but York’s defence was resolute, and they got their reward with two tries in the space of three minutes in the latter stages of the first half. On the half-time hooter, the Knights goaled a penalty awarded against Sheffield were penalised for an illegal throw. The Eagles were three scores behind, 6-20 at the interval.

After the restart, York picked up a Glover knock-on, looking about to score but Oliver Davies managed to make up the ground to deny the chance 20metres out. Sheffield held York out on that occasion and we’re trying to get back in the game themselves - with Ryan Millar and Glover combining down the left flank. They showed glimpses of quality, but a low offload was hard to take for Millar who fumbled. A few missed chances in the York final third proved costly for the Eagles as they scored again on the hour, but they were not able to convert. With ten minutes to go, for York went close before being held up. At the other end, Izaak Farrell put through a grubber for Millar to chase but the kick proved too strong York threatened the Eagles line on a number of occasions in the closing stages but were denied by knock ons before they scored in the final minute, which with the conversion took them into the next round, 30-6.

As holders of the 1895 Cup, the Eagles saw their reign end with this defeat as they had been knocked out in the first round.

Sheffield first fixture was at home to Bradford Bulls. It didn’t take long for the hosts to break the deadlock-as Aaron Brown got on the end of an Anthony Thackeray kick and had a free run to the line. Izaac Farrell was successful with his first conversion attempt, giving the hosts a 6 points lead after only four minutes of the game. It got better for the Eagles, who were playing expansively, when Josh Guzdek strolled over after 10 minutes, but . Farrell hit the post. The Thackeray-Brown combination proved lethal again on 24 minutes, the half-back chipping over the top for the loose forward to collect and score. Farrell added the extras this time, creating a 16-0 lead. As half-time approached, James Glover got in on the act with a powerful effort from close range. Farrell, for a second time, hit the woodwork.

With three minutes left to the interval, Rob Worrincy and Ryan Millar combined on the right flank and almost coughed up possession after making 40 metres but the former was first to the loose ball. The following play saw the Eagles spread play to the opposite flank, where Joel Farrell was the recipient, doing enough to beat his opposite number. Izaac Farrell again r missed the conversation. With ten seconds remaining in the first half, and 24 points up, it may have been easier for the hosts to wind down the clock and take a couple of tackles. Instead they went in at half-time 28 points to the good as Thackeray, from inside his own half, chipped over the Bulls defence for Glover who had enough pace to complete his double. Izaac Farrell’s conversion effort strayed wide. 

Leading by 28 unanswered points, the Eagles started to turn the screw. Just eight minutes after the restart, Thackeray made a clean break and Oliver Davies was following him. He received the pass and set up Izaac Farrell to jink his way past a Bull and over the try-line. He turned four points into six with the conversion. A bit of scrappy play from both sides allowed Bradford to get some sort of foothold for a short time. Two tries in as many minutes put Bradford four scores behind with just over 20 minutes to go. The Bulls were showing newfound spirit and kept knocking on the door for a third try but a pass intercepted by Thackeray knocked the wind out of their sails. He never looked like being caught. Farrell again was unable to convert but Sheffield were breathing easier at 38-12. Minutes later Izaac Farrell and Glover combined to send Thackeray over on 66 minutes, with the former adding the extras. With seven minutes to play, an altercation that ended in punching, saw Joel Farrell and a Bulls player in the sinbin for the last ten minutes of the game, but that did not detract the Eagles from scoring the final try of the afternoon. With 78 minutes played, Worrincy was fed down the right flank by Brown and he in-turn sent Millar on his way to dot down by the sticks. Glover took over the kicking duties and had the easiest one of the day. 50-12 to Sheffield and the first points of the season.

A fortnight later Sheffield travelled to York City Knights. York started but it was the visitors who opened the scoring six minutes in through Anthony Thackeray. His short ball was met by Oliver Davies who broke the York line before his pass went to ground - Thackeray picked up the pieces, following a York error, to finish the move that he started. Izaac Farrell converted from out-wide Sheffield were looking to take control of proceedings and were rewarded with three goal-line drop-outs after clever kicks from both Thackeray and Farrell. York came close to levelling the scores when Ryan Millar made a try saving tackle.

The Knights finally scored just before the half hour, with the conversion levelling the scores six points each. Yet Sheffield responded in kind and after two more dropouts, the visitors regained their lead on 34 minutes through Thackeray. Aaron Brown fed the scrumhalf who spotted a slim gap in the Knights’ defence and powered through. Izaak Farrell once again kicked the goal. The Eagles extended their advantage just before the half-time hooter as Dickinson muscled his way through three York defenders to dot down next to the sticks. Farrell gave Sheffield a two-score lead at the interval with a third successful conversion.

Moments into the second half and there was bad news for the Eagles as Paddy Burns received lengthy medical attention before leaving the pitch on a stretcher. He did not return to the action. York reacted well after the break in play, securing their second try of the afternoon on 44 minutes but .missed the conversion attempt. Sheffield posted their only points of the second half following a high tackle on Joel Farrell. Izaac maintained his 100% record with the boot, putting the visitors 10-20 up with over half an hour to go. The Eagles continued to display their defensive strength during the second period and that laid the foundation to try and put the game to bed at the other end. Mike Adlard’s swift break almost worked but he was unable to couldn’t beat the last York defender before knocking on at the play-the-ball. With five minutes left on the clock, a York try set up a nervy finish for the Eagles as they looked to hold on. The try went unconverted leaving six points between the sides. Yet Sheffield’s solid defence held out. A second victory, 20-14 and second place in the Championship.

The following weekend and the Eagles were playing at Newcastle Thunder’s ground. Newcastle opened the scoring in the first quarter for an early 6-0 advantage. The hostsdefence was proving to be a tough to break down, but the Eagles managed it after 28 minutes. Anthony Thackeray’s deft grubber got away from Joel Farrell, but James Glover was there to pounce and touch down. Izaac Farrell levelled matters at 6-apiece. Joel got his own score on the stroke of half-time following good work from Tyler Dickinson. Dickinson piggybacked a few Thunder defenders to their own 10m before offloading, the ball was moved, and Farrell muscled his way over. Izaac Farrell converted to give the visitors a 12-6 interval lead.

It took just five minutes in the second half for the scoreboard to tick over, but it was Newcastle who scored. An error under the high ball from Eagles full-back Mike Adlard was capitalised on with Thunder adding another six points to their tally and squaring the scores. With the final quarter looming, Jack Render was eying his first try in Eagles colours but an acrobatic effort in the corner was chalked off by the touch judge. On the hour, Thunder took the lead 18-12.

The Eagles almost responded in quick time, but Izaac Farrell fumbled a Thackeray kick over the try-line. Newcastle had to play the final ten minutes of the contest with 12 men as one of their players was given a yellow card for a professional foul on Aaron Brown. The loose forward looked certain to score from a Thackeray grubber but was pulled back by the Thunder centre. Both Brown and Thackeray fashioned chances for the Eagles, with the former knocking on as he tried to spin out of a tackle while the latter made a break but wasn’t supported. The man advantage was exploited five minutes from time as Render went over in the corner. Izaac’s conversion attempt hit the woodwork and the deficit stayed at two points. Time was running out, so the Eagles tried to act quickly. Straight from the restart, they threw the ball to the blind-side but knocked on. Thunder kept the ball central and dealt the killer blow barging over. With the conversion they sealed the win, 24-16, with Sheffield dropping to 4th in the league table.

The first game in May was a home tie against London Broncos. James Glover scored the opener for the Eagles as he linked up with Ryan Millar to break through the Broncos defence. Izaac Farrell converted for a 6-0 lead. The Broncos responded with an unconverted score before Sheffield extended their advantage with a Farrell try on 26 minutes. Frankie Mariano powered through the visitors’ attempted tackle and Izaac Farrell was on his shoulder to finish the move. The half-back also converted. London had the final say of the first period as an intercepted a pass from Josh Guzdek saw the Broncos player go the length of the field. But they again misfired with the conversion attempt. Sheffield went in at the break 12-6 ahead.

Just after the hour mark, London claimed their first lead of the game with a converted touchdown. A penalty goal from Izaac Farrell in the very next set, after London had been penalised despite having possession, tied things up at 14-apiece. Yet the Broncos were again over the whitewash with seven minutes remaining, but their conversion attempt went wide. Instinctive work from Glover set up a crucial Eagles try in the final stages of the contest. A low pass was kicked on by the centre who regathered before feeding Brown to go over under the sticks with two minutes left Izaak Farrell converted for a two-point buffer but there was to be a final twist in the tale. But the drama was not over there, as the Broncos launched one more attack. When Brad Knowles brought the London player to the ground with a tackle close to the line, scuffles broke out between the pair, with the Broncos player being the initial aggressor on the floor but the referee wrongly penalised the reaction from Knowles. London scored with the kick the draw the game 20-20.

The next visitors to the Keepmoat were Batley Bulldogs. The hosts struggled to cope with early pressure from Batley and went behind after 13 minutes, but the visitors failed to convert. The Eagles made a good response and led for a short few moments after Rob Worrincy received a Greg Burns’ pass before he burrowed over from close range to score his 199th career try. Izaac Farrell notched the extra two to give Sheffield the lead, 6-4. Batley regained their lead three minutes after Worrincy’s score, following a loose pass to ground from Anthony Thackeray. The conversion gave the Bulldogs a four point half-time lead. Before the half was completed, Sheffield came close to regaining the lead after good work from James Glover, who put Ryan Millar away down the Eagles’ left edge but the usual ever-reliable support play from Thackeray only resulted in a knock-on.

Behind 6-10 at the break, a minute into the restart Sheffield had recaptured the lead through a Worrincy converted score made it two for the night and a career 200 tries. The Eagles worked the ball right through Farrell, Brown and finally Thackeray whose long pass was collected by Worrincy before he shimmed past the Bulldogs defence to slide over in the corner. Sheffield’s lead was extended before the hour mark when Jordan Bull scored on his Eagles debut. He touched down a cute grubber kick from Izaac Farrell, whose conversion made it 18-10 to the hosts. Batley hit back on 62 minutes with a six pointer and then six minutes later crashed over to take the lead 20-18. Two further tries in the last ten minutes ensured victory for the Bulldogs, 30-18, with the Eagles dropping to 5th in the Championship.

The following week, Sheffield were due to travel to Halifax. But two Sheffield players had tested positive for Covid-19, and a further five players have been identified as close contacts. That took the Eagles to the minimum number of seven players being ruled out for Covid-related reasons which permitted the postponement of a fixture under the RFL’s Covid-19 policy. The fixture was rearranged for a later date. This was the first Betfred Championship fixture to be postponed since the competition had resumed and the first Rugby League fixture of any form to be postponed as a result of positive Covid-19 tests in 2021.

The next game was a home fixture at home to Featherstone Rovers. It was the first game to which home supporters were allowed into the ground to watch. They had to social distance from other supporters outside their bubble. Away supporters were barred from attending. The unbeaten visitors made a perfect start touching down in the sixth and ninth minutes to take an 8-0 lead. They scored again on 14 minutes with a try and conversion to extend their lead to 14 points. The Eagles hit back through Brad Knowles after the forward received a penalty due to a Featherstone player’s overzealous attention. The stand-in second-rower barged over before Izaac Farrell’s conversion narrowed Featherstone’s lead to eight. Five minutes later Rovers crossed the whitewash again through a converted effort. The Eagles weren’t going down with a fight, though, as Bobby Tyson-Wilson powered past the Rovers defence for a converted score on the half hour. However with further two further tries in the last six minutes of the half, Featherstone were ahead 32-12 at the break.

The second half was delayed for 55 minutes due to a medical emergency in the tunnel area. On the eventual restart Featherstone were first to score under the posts with 46 minutes played. Two further converted tries in the 57th and 65th minutes put the visitors on 50 points, before Sheffield , managed to reply. With nine minutes left, Izaac Farrell created a yard space for a solo try, which he converted to make it three-from-three. The 18-50 defeat saw the Eagles drop to 9th in the Championship table.

The final fixture in May was yet another home tie, this time against Whitehaven. Anthony Thackeray was welcomed back into the squad alongside Connor Bower, Ryan Millar and Greg Burns as Mark Aston rung the changes following defeat to Featherstone. Yet An Izaac Farrell error from kick off gave Whitehaven a chance to score from their first set, and they did just that to take a six points lead. Greg Burns and Brad Knowles responded for the Eagles with a try each in the 9th and 12thminutes to go 12-6 up following Farrell’s two conversions. Two scores in quick succession just after the half hour for the visitors put them back in the driving seat as half-time approached. Before the break they also he notched a drop goal with seconds of the first half remaining to increase their lead to 19-12.

An error-ridden start to the second half did not work in Sheffield’s favour as they looked to get back into the game with some expansive play. It was almost too expansive at times as they were put into touch on several occasions and such turnovers were always going to come back and bite where it hurts. Whitehaven were the first to score after 57 minutes and at 25-12 look set for victory. Yet Sheffield got back into the game as their playmakers took over. Both Izaac Farrell and Thackeray scored tries late on, with the stand-off converting both as the hosts cut the deficit to a lone point. A ball steal with seconds to go gave the hosts one last chance. As the full-time hooter was sounding, Thackeray put boot to ball, which sailed through the sticks. A remarkable game, a dramatic ending and neither side really happy with the end result, 25-25.

As the Season entered into June, the Eagles received a boost, when it was announced that the group leading the development of the stadium, Scarborough Group International (SGI) had secured a £2.7 million loan to support the project. The news was welcomed by the Eagles Board.

The first match of the month was the previously postponed tie away at Halifax. It was another poor performance by the Eagles as the hosts rattled a 20 points lead by the 27thminute of the game, through four tries and two conversions. Sheffield managed to score their first points five minutes before the break. A short ball from James Davey was met by Broadbent who dived over. Izaac Farrell was on target to convert, but Halifax were still in front, 20-6. The Panthers restored their comfortable lead after the break scoring five minutes into the half to go ahead 26-6. Two further scores by the hosts in the 53rd and 55th minutes extended the lead to 30 points. Just after the hour mark, Ryan Millar scored on his 100th Eagles appearance. Good ball movement from the Eagles found the winger, who provided the acrobatics. Farrell converted from the touchline. Sheffield’s day went from bad to worse when Scott Wheeldon was sent off for a late shot. Halifax made use of the man advantage, adding two further tries in the 74th and 76th minutes to take the game 46-12. The continuing slump in Sheffield’s form saw them drop to 10th in the league.

The next fixture was an away trip to Oldham. Sheffield entered the fixture with a record of six games without a win, whilst their opponents were firmly in the relegation zone with only two wins in the season at that stage. James Glover and Rob Worrincy got the scoreboard ticking in favour of the visitors, both scoring unconverted tries inside the first 22 minutes. Oldham replied three minutes later but failed with the conversion. Glover scored his second try of the match with five minutes to go in the first period. He raced away after picking up the pieces from an Oldham kick. Izaac Farrell added the extras for a 4-14 advantage. That lead was cut by two points on the stroke of half-time as Oldham scored with a penalty goal.

Behind 6-14 at the interval the hosts Oldham came out of the blocks firing in the second half, and they took advantage through a 53rd minute try and conversion that took them within two points of the Eagles. However, Sheffield responded with three tries in six minutes all but securing the spoils. Aaron Brown’s quick feet saw him get to the whitewash before a Worrincy double-salvo helped the travelling Eagles support breathe a little easier for a few minutes at least. Farrell converted all three tries and the visitors found themselves 12-32 up. Oldham responded after 66 minutes of play to narrow the gap to 14 minutes. A minute later and the game swung to the hosts advantage. A red card to Sheffield’s forward Tyler Dickinson for a late tackle had the Roughyeds smelling blood. Scoring in the 71st and 77thminutes they reduced the arrears to just four points, but the visitors managed to hold on to stop the rot, taking the game 32-28, and more vitally the match points. The victory pushed the club up to 8th in the division.

Yet the next fixture saw another defeat as the Eagles were away at Widnes Vikings. Widnes opened the scoring on 16 minutes taking a six point lead. Sheffield replied with a try of their own. It came out of nothing as a Widnes error in attack put the ball into Ryan Millar’s hands, who sprinted 90m to the try-line. Izaac Farrell levelled matters on the half hour with a conversion. Widnes scored again six minutes later to have a slender advantage at half-time, 12-6. Five minutes after the restart James Glover got his first try as nice work to the flank opened up a space for the centre to exploit. Izaac Farrell hit the post with the conversion. But three quick-fire tries for the Vikings before the hour took the game away from Sheffield. Glover completed his brace ten minutes from time as he got on the end of an Anthony Thackeray cross-field kick. He converted his own try. Widnes were a man light for the last play of the game after sending off for a tackle off the ball. Another Thackeray kick to a corner was helped on by Glover, whose offload ended with Travis Corion and the winger did well to finish. Glover’s conversion attempt went wide. The 30-20 defeat saw the Eagles drop to 9th.

The last match in June was a home fixture, which was played at Wakefield’s Mobile Rocket Stadium due to pitch maintenance at the Keepmoat. Their opponents were top of the table Toulouse Olympique. Mark Aston selected a youthful outfit to take on the table-toppers. Max Clarke was handed his Eagles debut.

The French side made a good start and scored after three minutes. With the conversion they were six points ahead, and they doubled their lead around 10 minutes later. A further three tries on the 26th, 31st and 37thminutes gave them a 26-0 lead at the interval. Their onslaught continued in the second half, with a further five tries and four conversions to increase their lead to 54 points with three minutes to play. Despite the domination from Toulouse, it was the Eagles who had the final say. Ryan Millar broke through the Olympique defence and Oliver Davies was in support to touch down, Harry Tyson-Wilson converted from in front. The heavy 54-6 defeat once more had Sheffield down to 10th in the league table.

At the start of July, the Eagles travelled to Dewsbury Rams. Dewsbury struck first in the tie taking a six points lead 11 minutes. The next set saw the Rams extend their lead after a handling error from Ryan Millar. Things looked to be going from bad to worse for the Eagles when Izaac Farrell was sent to the sinbin for a high tackle on 17 minutes. However, just moments later, the Eagles got on the scoresheet through Travis Corion as he benefitted from an Anthony Thackeray lob to the corner. James Glover, who went off injured later in the half, missed the conversion attempt. Dewsbury responded just after the half hour leaving Sheffield with a small mountain to climb going into the second period., as they were behind 4-18.

They started to scale that mountain with the hour mark approaching as Thackeray put on a show-and-go and managed to cross the whitewash. Izaac Farrell added the extras. The very next set saw Sheffield cut the Rams’ lead to two points as Thackeray made another break, this time passing to Aaron Brown who slid over. Izaac Farrell kicked the conversion from the touchline, and it was a two point game - 18-16 to the hosts, with a 19 minutes of play left. Yet it took until the 79th minute before they finally levelled the scores. A Dewsbury player was penalised for being overzealous towards Joel Farrell, who decided to give a bit back. Both had a seat in the sinbin, where they watched Izaac Farrell level matters with a penalty goal as the seconds ticked towards full-time. Brad Knowles fumbled on his own 30 metre line which handed Dewsbury one last chance to win the game. But the Rams had a drop-goal attempt charged down before the hooter sounded. A hard-fought draw, 18-18, and a valuable point for the visitors.

Swinton Lions were the Eagles next opponents at Heywood Park. The hosts opened the scoring after six minutes, as back-to-back penalties took Swinton up the pitch. They went over on the right edge, but the score was left unconverted. Sheffield replied and took the lead eight minutes later through Ryan Millar.

Expansive play set the winger away before he stepped inside Lions full-back. Izaac Farrell converted to edge the visitors in front. After an error from the Swinton kick off, the hosts regained their lead with a converted try after 16 minutes. The Eagles entered a frustrating period after Swinton went in front, over-complicating their work with offloads and passes which went to ground but they led at the break thanks to two scores from Olly Davies. He showed his pace to burst through a gap in the Swinton defence before touching down for his first.

Izaac Farrell converted that score, which was added to again by Davies as halftime approached. The backrower was in support of an Anthony Thackeray break to stretch the Eagles’ lead to eight points at the interval, 18-10

Sheffield were the first scorers of the second half courtesy of Ryan Millar adding his second try of the match. Izaac Farrell’s pinpoint kick bounced nicely for Millar on the left wing who was on hand to ground the ball. The stand-off couldn’t convert but soon added an extra two from a penalty to give Sheffield a three-score lead on the hour. With less than 15 minutes remaining, Millar completed his hat-trick in style. Josh Guzdek found the winger with a cut-out ball before Millar danced around his opposite number. Farrell converted for the last points of the contest from an Eagles perspective. Swinton replied late on with a perfectly timed cut-out pass of their own on 72 minutes , followed by a late, late score as the hooter sounded. A 30-22 victory gave the Eagles some welcome breathing space as they moved one lace up in the league table, further away from the relegation zone. 

July ended with a home tie against Halifax, once again at Wakefield Trinity’s ground. The Eagles opened the scoring after 13 minutes through Ryan Millar, the winger finishing off a slick move after the ball was worked to the left edge. Izaac Farrell converted. Halifax touched down five minutes later to level the score. They added their second score on 29 minutes to take the lead. Sheffield replied with points of their own and after a spell of pressure, due to a Panthers knock-on and goal-line drop-out, the hosts pulled level through Anthony Thackeray’s converted try. The scrumhalf dummied to pass before diving over the Halifax line. Halifax edged in front before the half-time hooter sounded to lead, 16-12.

The second forty minutes lived up to the first-half entertainment and Sheffield started the half in a similar style, scoring first through Millar. After originally collecting Thackeray’s cross-field kick, a Halifax fumble allowed a walk-in score for the Eagles winger. Isaac Farrell converted as the Eagles regained their lead after 47 minutes. Halifax then regained the advantage in a topsy-turvy contest, scoring under the sticks, the conversion restoring them a four-point lead after 55 minutes. Just after the hour mark, Sheffield edged in front for the final time in the game - Millar was involved yet again, firstly, gathering a tough kick before sprinting 80 metres downfield. Millar’s work allowed a platform for Sheffield to attack the Panthers line and after working the ball right, Aaron Brown slid over to score, with Farrell’s conversion putting the Eagles in front. Yet the visitors responded with two quick tries to give them a 34-24 lead with ten minutes left on the clock. Millar completed his hat-trick seven minutes from time to give the Eagles hope but it was Halifax who scored next to seal the victory, 40-28.

The following two fixture against York City Knights at home and Bradford Bulls away were postponed due to another Covid outbreak amongst the Eagles squad. As no alternative dates could be arranged, neither game was played in accordance with the RFL Covid regulations.

The next fixture for the Eagles was a home tie against Oldham on the 15th of August. It was a quiet opening period at the Keepmoat, Sheffield kept out the Oldham attack after back-to-back penalties before Ryan Millar was denied a score for offside. It was the visitors who opened the scoring after 19 minutes, taking a six point lead. Sheffield responded immediately through Matt James as the Eagles captain showed his power to barge over the line from close range. Josh Guzdek was handed the kicking duties following Izaac Farrell’s absence and converted his first goal of the day. Sheffield continued their good work and scored again five minutes later. This time Oliver Davies was the benefactor of some smart Eagles play down the right side and he went in underneath the posts. Guzdek converted. Scott Wheeldon was next over the line but solid defence from the desperate visitors meant he was held up over the whitewash. Oldham added a score just before the half-time hooter to level matters.at the break, 12 apiece.

The Eagles came out of the traps quickly after the half-time interval and scored first through Millar after 44 minutes. A quick-thinking James Glover broke through the Roughyeds defence before his pass put Millar underneath the sticks. Sheffield would go on to complete back-to-back tries but not before a ten minute stoppage for the injured Tyler Dickinson, who was stretchered off the field of play. James Davey set up the Eagles’ fourth and final try of the afternoon. The hooker spotted a gap in the Oldham defence before weaving through and passing to Guzdek for a walk-in score. The full back’s conversion gave the Eagles a 12-point-lead with just over 20 minutes remaining. Oldham would not go away and replied with a four-pointer to keep the pressure on, after 62 minutes. The visitors were searching for an equaliser in the final quarter, but Sheffield’s defence stood up to the challenge. Harry Tyson-Wilson’s game management excelled in the second half and his drop-goal five minutes from time proved too much for Oldham to recover from. Another vital two match points, courtesy of the 25-18 victory, moved the Eagles up to eighth.

Yet this was the last victory of the season for Sheffield as the final five games brought five straight defeats. The first came with a trip to Batley Bulldogs. The Eagles attacked down the hill in the first half but could only put six points on the board, while Batley scored four tries up the slope. James Davey’s score came just shy of the half-hour mark to cut the deficit to four points, but Batley had the best of the territory and that showed on the scoreboard at the break, Bulldogs ahead 20-6. The hosts extended their advantage to 38-6 after the restart. Sheffield’s only score was an Oliver Davies’ try on the hour stopped the Batley rollercoaster momentarily but that would prove to be the last score for the visitors. Josh Guzdek converted. Aaron Brown was shown a yellow card for a professional foul with ten minutes to go, enough time for Batley to score three more tries. Sheffield beaten 56-12.

Next was a trip to London Broncos. Despite an improved first half performance, the Eagles fell to their second consecutive defeat. London opened the scoring after only four minutes. The hosts came close to a second score minutes later when Rob Worrincy fumbled a high kick but luckily for Sheffield, they knocked on close to the line. It was the Eagles who added the next score on 20 minutes as Johnson was first to react to Harry Tyson-Wilson cute grubber kick. Josh Guzdek’s successful conversion put Sheffield into a temporary lead. London responded five minutes later with a try gift wrapped by Sheffield as Ryan Millar’s pass to James Glover went to ground before the London player walked in but they were again unsuccessful with the attempted conversion. They extended their lead after the half an hour mark. It was Sheffield who had the final say of the first 40 minutes, which proved to be their last score of the day. Tyson-Wilson grubbered through the Broncos defence for a second time and Blake Broadbent touched down. Gudzek’s kick from in front meant the Eagles trailed narrowly at the break, 14-12. Both sides were reduced to 12 men for ten minutes after the interval, as a scuffle broke out between a London player London’s and Joel Farrell. It was the Broncos who reacted positively to the extra space on the pitch. They scored two minutes after the sin-binnings before another one on 50 minutes. With further tries in the 57th, 73rd and 75th minutes, the full-time Londoners managed the contest well and provided a good defence to the Sheffield side who were held up twice in quick succession through Glover and Paddy Burns during that period of the game. A 42-12 defeat saw the Eagles slip further down the table to 10th place.

September started with the visit of Dewsbury Rams to the Keepmoat. Dewsbury started the better of the two sides, winning an early goal-line dropout and showing some defensive steel. They crossed the whitewash for the first score of the afternoon on 7 minutes. Tyler Dickinson responded on 23 minutes with a powerful effort from close range. Izaac Farrell’s conversion levelled matters at 6-6. A great move put the Eagles into the lead as Farrell stepped through the Rams defensive line before passing on to Josh Guzdek, who had Thackeray on his shoulder in support. The scrumhalf did the rest before his halfback partner converted from the tee. The final points of the half also went to Farrell as he opted to take the two with a minute to go, Sheffield leading 14-6.

September started with the visit of Dewsbury Rams to the Keepmoat. Dewsbury started the better of the two sides, winning an early goal-line dropout and showing some defensive steel. They crossed the whitewash for the first score of the afternoon on 7 minutes. Tyler Dickinson responded on 23 minutes with a powerful effort from close range. Izaac Farrell’s conversion levelled matters at 6-6. A great move put the Eagles into the lead as Farrell stepped through the Rams defensive line before passing on to Josh Guzdek, who had Thackeray on his shoulder in support. The scrumhalf did the rest before his halfback partner converted from the tee. The final points of the half also went to Farrell as he opted to take the two with a minute to go, Sheffield leading 14-6.

Sheffield were sluggish as they came out of the blocks for the second half. In similar fashion to the first half, Dewsbury won a goal-line dropout and scored from the following set, reducing the lead to two points. The visitors went ahead just shy of the hour mark, 14-18. With the hosts looking for their first points of the half, Thackeray put in a cross-field kick for a number of Eagles to contest but a Rams player rose highest and streaked to the other end of the pitch. The conversion all but sealed the win, although Sheffield did get the try they were seeking with a minute left in the game. Rob Worrincy profited from a cut-out ball from Guzdekto score in the corner. Farrell converted but it proved mere consolation. The 24-20 win secured Dewsbury’s Championship place, as the hosts dropped to 11th. 

The OLP Stadium reached a significant construction milestone in September. Steelwork erection has begun on the new Community Stadium less than six months after construction had commenced. Around 240 tonnes of steelwork, 2,350 tonnes of concrete and 100,000 blocks were to be used for the project, while more than 10,000 tonnes of material have been moved as part of the earthworks, the equivalent in weight to four Olympic swimming pools. Key figures behind the delivery of the project, including SGI, Legacy Park Ltd, GMI Construction, Whittam Cox Architects, Zerum Planning, Sheffield Eagles RLFC and Darnall FA marked the construction milestone with a steel signing ceremony. Although the signatures are no longer visible since the stadium has been completed, each attendee became a permanent part of the legacy of the building The steelwork was due to be completed in early October and it was planned for the entire project to be handed over by February 2022.

Swinton Lions were the last visitors to the Keepmoat in the 2021Championship season. A quick-fire double for Swinton in the opening stages of the game in the first 10 minutes put the Eagles on the back foot from the outset. Tyler Dickinson responded as Sheffield posted their first points of the afternoon on 15 minutes. The prop forward couldn’t be stopped from close range. Izaac Farrell added the extras. Joel Farrell got his first of the afternoon as the half-hour mark approached. Izaac’s conversion gave the hosts the lead. Rob Worrincy, in his final home game of his distinguished career, did what he has done for the last two decades - get over the whitewash. He was given a cut-out ball from Josh Guzdek and did the rest with ease. Izaac hit the post with the conversion attempt. The hosts went in 16-10 ahead at the break. After the restart, debutant Olly Butterworth beat two men as he scored from 80 metres out. Izaac Farrell converted for a 12-point buffer. But Swinton’s try on 52 minutes stopped the Eagles in their tracks and following the conversion and Izaac Farrell kicking out on the full from the restart, the tide started to turn. A converted try on the hour levelled the scores at 22-22 and there were two more tries in the 69th and 74th minutes for Swinton in the game, as they wrapped up victory. Joel’ Farrell scored a consolation effort with seconds remaining. Yet another defeat, 34-28 and a further fall down the table to 12th. Fortunately for Sheffield, despite Swinton taking the points it did not prevent them from being relegated to Division One, along with Oldham.

The final game of the season was now a dead rubber for the Eagles, but not for their opponents, Featherstone Rovers who they visited on the 19th of September. The game was very much a one sided affair and brought Sheffield’s largest defeat in a number of seasons by a Championship side. A patched up Eagles side. Rovers were on the scoreboard as early as the second minute to lead 4-0. However, the Eagles came close on a couple of occasions from Harry Tyson-Wilson’s teasing kicks and after14 minutes, they found themselves in the lead when one of those kicks found Ryan Johnson who touched down, and Josh Guzdek’s conversion made it 4-6. Sheffield continued to press but after Scott Wheeldon, in his final game, was held up over the line, It was all Featherstone. They scored five tries and four conversions to lead 32-6 at the break. 

They continued were their barrage after the restart, running in nine tries and converting five. In his last game before retirement, Rob Worrincy grabbed a consolation for the Eagles, again from a Tyson- Wilson kick. In a nice touch, Wheeldon took the difficult conversion but was unable to mark his own retirement with a score. Beaten 78-10, whilst Featherstone could look forward to the playoffs, the Eagles were left to prepare for the next Championship season and look forward to playing the home games at the Olympic Legacy Park as their nomad years finally came to an end, with brighter times ahead.

The Eagles did not progress to the playoffs.

Due to the Covid restrictions and its impact on overall attendances at games for 2020 and 2021 no comparative figures are available.

During the season it was decided to rebrand the Include Foundation as the Eagles Foundation to make a stronger association with Sheffield Eagles, although it was to remain an independent charity.

One of the first decisions of the rebranded organisation was to launch Wheelchair Rugby League in Sheffield. The catalyst was that a significant number of the Rugby League World Cup’ Wheelchair rugby tournament were to be held in Sheffield. Fully inclusive sessions started in June and were open to all, with over 25 players registered to play and around 16 players attending weekly The club helped the initiative by agreeing to donate the proceeds from the sale of their new third kit to fund the development of the initiative. Funding was also secure from the RFL as well as Sports England and the Sheffield Disability Network.

By November the Sheffield Eagles Wheelchair Rugby League team made its debut in a Friendly match against Rochdale Hornets. The hosts won the game 42-8. Shaun Orton wrote himself into the Sheffield Eagles history books as he became the first ever try scorer for the team. Shaun Barker was the other try scorer.

In December the Foundation announced the launch of the Sheffield Eagles Women’s Team who would be playing competitive games during 2022.

The Foundation also sought to secure funding for a Heritage Project designed to tell the story of Sheffield Eagles from its birth back in 1984. The project plan was to research archives to centrally gather information about the club, digitise key documents and items from the club’s past such as photographs, programmes, season tickets, videos and build an online database and museum to be made available to all. The project would also collect and share stories from officials, players, supporters, and coaches from throughout the life of the club, ensuring that these stories were preserved for generations to come.

Although finishing in the bottom half of the division, Izaac Farrell was 8th in Championship table for goals scored with 51 goals and 9th in the table for points scored with 118 points.

• Sheffield Eagles Awards 2021 Player of the Year:
• Supporter’s Player of the Year: Tyler Dickinson Players Player of the Year: 
• Website’s Reader Player of the Year: 
• Shooting Star: Ryan Johnson
• Chairman’s Champagne Moment: 

International Appearances: Izaac and Joel Farrell played for Jamaica.