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More stories will be added on a weekly basis, so keep coming back to see what's new. Very soon the search function will be added allowing you to easily search the entire site for stories, players, games or any other reference.

Learn more about Sheffield Eagles through the stories we've researched and focused on. If you'd like to share your memories and stories with the project then get in touch. 



The Sheffield Eagles Heritage Project was contacted by long time Sheffield Eagles Fan Dean Palmer to let us know he has a digital version of a VHS tape of the first ever Sheffield Eagles game. We're delighted to be able to share it, but also make sure it as archived for the future. 

Sheffield Eagles v Rochdale Hornets The Heritage Project has produced previous stories about the first Sheffield Eagles game and was able to share digitised versions of the match programme, photos from the game and people's memories. We're delighted now to be able to share a full video, including commentary of that first ever game. Dean's parents were both at that first game and had a VHS copy of the game that was digitised. Dean's parents helped run the Eagles Colts team in the late 1980s with Dean playing for them and the original Hillsborough Hawks team.
Commentary on the game was by Martyn Sadler now the editor of the League Express - at the time he was a lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University. 
As you can imagine the picture quality isn't what we're used to today - it's transferred from an almost 40 year old VHS tape. It does capture the occasion though and the historic first appearance of the Sheffield Eagles.

[Video: Sheffield Eagles v Rochdale Hornets, 2nd September 1984]
 

Share Your Memories Were you at the first game? What are your memories of it?
We're also keen to track down the players from that first game as we'd like to organise an event with them later in the year. If you were a player in that first game or you are a relative of them then please get in touch.
You can contact the Heritage Project ,HERE,. 

Author Richard King

Below you can find full footage (including commentary) of the first ever Sheffield Eagles game on 2nd September 1984 against Rochdale Hornets.

Footage of the first ever Sheffield Eagles game discovered



A DVD transfer from an original VHS tape that has then been digitised.

A Short History - From the Beginning Long term fan, statistician and Club historian Nigel Borham provided the Heritage Project with a box full of DVDs, programmes and documents that he has collected over the years. It's going to be a long process of recording, digitising and scanning everything in there but one discovery was multiple copies of a DVD titled "The Eagles Fly". They were transfers from the original VHS tapes. Two of the copies were scratched and couldn't be properly digitised. The third after careful cleaning and the use of some additional software was able to converted.
Not much is known about it - it has a narration from Eddie Hemmings, an interview with Gary Hetherington and match footage from the first 10 years - including the Eagles' second ever game against Fulham - finishing at the dawn of the Super League era. 
 


Sheffield Eagles - A Short History 
[Video: A Short History  - From the Beginning]

Share Your Memories Do you know anything else about the video? Do you have a copy of the original tape? Do you have any memories of the games shown? If you do get in touch ,HERE,.

Author Richard King

A 20 minute documentary from 1996 covering the first 10 years of the Sheffield Eagles. It includes interviews and match footage highlighting the challenges and achievements of the first 10 years.

The Eagles Fly



For nearly 9 years the club was forced to play at seven temporary venues both in and outside of Sheffield.

The Nomad Years Many of the venues that the Club played at between 2013 and 2022 didn't necessarily have facilities best suited for rugby league, with the RFL providing the club with special dispensation to compete in the Championship on several occasions. Playing in front of dwindling home support, the club was threatened with the very real prospect of folding during much of this time. Once again though the club, with the help of its die-hard supporters, defied the odds and survived.

2014 Owlerton and Keepmoat
For the 2014 season the Eagles returned to the ground where it all began 30 years earlier. However, the romanticism surrounding the club’s return to its roots quickly faded as the team - who had enjoyed such strong home form at Don Valley and Bramall Lane over the previous two years- struggled at home for much of the season. The poor form owed much to the fact that the pitch at Owlerton was extremely narrow. Mats even had to be placed in the corners of the in-goal areas to prevent players from injuring themselves on the speedway track when scoring a try. The narrowness of the pitch meant that the players were unable to play the expansive brand of rugby league that Mark Aston had drilled into them over previous seasons. Opposition teams also complained about the lack of proper changing facilities at the stadium and the view of the pitch was also obstructed by the surrounding speedway and dog track. Although the corporate and catering facilities at the stadium were excellent, overall, the ground was not a suitable venue for rugby league. In a taste of things to come, the Eagles also played at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster for their playoff match against Batley Bulldogs.
[Image: Eagles at Owlerton Stadium 2014]

2015 Keepmoat, Castle Park and Bramall Lane
Unable to secure a home ground in Sheffield, the Eagles were forced to play the majority of the 2015 season at the Keepmoat in Doncaster. Games against Workington and Whitehaven, however, were played at Castle Park - the home of Doncaster Knights RUFC. Despite being exiled from Sheffield the Eagles fared much better at “home”, playing the expansive brand of rugby that they had been unable to play the previous season. The views and facilities at the Keepmoat were excellent, but travelling took its toll and crowds began to drop off. During the “Super 8s” campaign the club played at Bramall Lane for games against Hull KR and Wakefield, with over 1700 attending the Eagles’ victory against the latter.

[Image: Bramall Lane 2015]


2016 Sheffield Hallam University Sports Park
Whilst the club waited patiently for news on the development of a new stadium on the former Don Valley site, the Eagles managed to secure a return to Sheffield for the 2016 campaign. Located a stone’s throw (or more accurately a conversion away!) from Rotherham on Bawtry Road, the venue was made up of two temporary stands behind the posts at one end of the pitch with a third smaller stand for players’ families at the opposite side. There were also corporate facilities in the sports park clubhouse on the touchline. The venue was far from ideal, with very little in terms of facilities for supporters. It was also expensive to operate because the club had to rent the temporary stands, portable toilets, and security staff. 

[Image: Sheffield Hallam University Sports Park 2016]

2017 Belle Vue, Wakefield
Unable to afford the costs of a temporary set up in Sheffield, in 2017 Belle Vue became the home of the Eagles. It was an extremely difficult time for the club off the field. Having narrowly avoided folding at the end of the 2016 season the Eagles were forced to play over 25 miles away in front of dwindling home support in an ageing venue. At some games there were perhaps as little as 100 Eagles supporters, with away supporters sometimes travelling a shorter distance than “home” fans! Despite the problems off field, the team enjoyed a fairly successful season, finishing around mid-table and losing to Toulouse in the Championship Shield final.

[Image: Belle Vue, Wakefield 2017]

2018 & 2019 Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park temporary set up
In 2018 the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park finally opened, and the club made a highly anticipated return to the city. At this stage the OLP was very similar in its setup to Bawtry Road, with a temporary stand on the touchline and limited facilities for Championship rugby league. The facilities were reduced further for the 2019 season, with half of the 500 temporary seats being removed. 

[Image: SOLP 2018 & 2019]

2020 Castle Park and Wakefield
In 2020 the Eagles were once again forced on the road as construction on the main stand at the OLP began. The Eagles faced Toulouse at Castle Park and Halifax in Wakefield before the season was cut short by Covid 19.


[Image: Castle Park, Doncaster 2020]
[Image: Belle Vue, Wakefield 2020]

2021 Keepmoat
As rugby league and a semblance of normal life returned, the Eagles found themselves in the familiar setting of the Keepmoat stadium. It was an unhappy return, with the team finishing the season just one place above the relegation zone.

[Image: Keepmoat, Doncaster 2021]

2022 Keepmoat & Millennium Stadium Featherstone
It was hoped that construction on the main stand at the Olympic Legacy Park would be completed for the beginning of the 2022 season. Continued delays, however, meant that supporters had to wait a few months longer for a permanent home venue. For one final time the Eagles were forced out of the city, once again playing at the Keepmoat before adding the Millennium Stadium in Featherstone to the long list of post-Don Valley venues.

[Image: SOLP - Not Quite Ready 2022]
[Image: Millennium Stadium, Featherstone 2022]
[Image: Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster 2022]

2022 and beyond Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park Community Stadium
You can read more about the return to Sheffield on 23rd May 2022 and the first game at the Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park Community Stadium ,HERE,. 

SHARE YOUR MEMORIES What are your memories and stories of the Eagles nomad years? You can share them with the Heritage Project ,HERE,.

Author Ciaran Rooney

Photos Richard King

The closure of Don Valley Stadium at the end of the 2013 season marked the beginning of a very uncertain time for Sheffield Eagles and its supporters. 

The "No Fans, No Ground!" Nomad Years: 2013-22



After the success of 2012 the Eagles once again reigned supreme in 2013, coming from behind to defeat Batley Bulldogs 19-12 in the Championship Grand Final. It was a season in which the team established themselves as one of if not ,the, best outfits outside of Super League, playing scintillating rugby league throughout the season. A televised Challenge Cup quarter final appearance against London Broncos at Don Valley in front of a crowd that was almost definitely larger than the official figure of 2459 was certainly another highlight of the season. Though successful, it was also a season of frustration and ‘if onlys’, losing the Northern Rail Cup final and narrowly missing out on the league leader’s shield. The victory in Leigh was also a bittersweet moment, with Don Valley Stadium (DVS) officially closing on the same day. This marked the beginning of 9 years of off field turmoil for the club.

A season of records 2013 was a season in which many long-held club records were not only broken, but quite frankly obliterated! The Eagles recorded their biggest ever winning margin against Leigh East in the Challenge Cup, defeating the amateur side 112-6. Menzie Yere scored five tries during the match, equalling Daryl Powell’s record that had stood since 1989. Yere was in unstoppable form, smashing the try scoring record that QLT had made the season before. In all, Yere crossed the whitewash a staggering 46 times. All these tries meant lots of conversions, and Dom Brambani certainly obliged. The halfback kicked a record 169 goals and scored a total of 361 points, eclipsing Mark Aston’s previous record tally.

League campaign In the league, the Eagles had an extremely successful campaign, winning 22 of 26 matches and amassing 67 points (after gaining a losing bonus point). When attending home matches at DVS and Bramall Lane there was always an anticipation and expectation of victory. Supporters found themselves discussing not whether we would win but how much we would win by, with the Eagles regularly defeating teams by 20 points or more. Despite being quality all season, it was Featherstone Rovers who once again came out on top of the league table. It was a close- run thing though, with the Eagles having the chance to move a point in front of Rovers in the penultimate game of the season when the two faced off at the Big Fellas’s Stadium. Sadly, it wasn’t to be with Featherstone winning the game 24-40.

Northern Rail Cup 2013 also saw the Eagles enjoy their most successful run in what would be the final season of the Northern Rail Cup. Victories against Barrow, Dewsbury, and Doncaster saw the club reach the final for the first time. The final against Leigh at The Shay in Halifax was a tight and ill-tempered affair for the majority of the 80 minutes. Prop Liam Higgins and Leigh’s Steve Maden were sent off after a brawl on 47 minutes. In the second half, with the Eagles up 24-16, QLT found himself with a two man overlap but elected not to pass to the wing and was tackled just short of the line. It could and should have been a decisive score. After this the momentum of the game changed, with Leigh scoring 27 unanswered points in the last 25 minutes to claim a 43-24 victory.

Grand Final For the third season in a row the Eagles found themselves in the Championship showpiece event. This time though they were in the unusual position of being favourites against a typically plucky Batley Bulldogs side who had defeated Featherstone Rovers to make it to the Leigh Sports Village. It was perhaps this unusual pressure which contributed to an uncharacteristically lacklustre performance for most of the match. Sat in the stands at half time trailing 12-0, supporters were hit with the sickening thought that despite pushing for silverware in three competitions we would somehow finish 2013 with precious little to show for it. The second half continued in the same vein as the first until Scott Turner finally got the Eagles on the board on 55 minutes, touching down in the left corner. Suddenly the players had found their mojo, with Menzie Yere barging over in the same corner 6 minutes later to make it 12-8. On 64 minutes captain Mitch Stringer came up with a superhuman play, ankle tapping Batley’s Ben Black on the Eagles left edge to stop a certain try. Stringer’s effort would prove crucial, with Sheffield drawing level 4 minutes later and then finally taking the lead on the 70 minute mark following a trademark jinking run by QLT. Brambani finally kicked a conversion, and a Patch Walker drop goal sealed an historic victory for the men in red and gold.

Share your memories Do you have any memories of that season? You can share them with the Heritage Project ,here,. 

Author Ciaran Rooney

Sheffield Eagles become the first club to retain the Championship title

2013 - Back to Back Champions



We look back to the first time that Sheffield Eagles played Whitehaven.

The first game against each other Sheffield Eagles and Whitehaven first played each other during the Eagles first season in 1984. It was an away game on 25th November at the Recreation Ground in front of a crowd of 1,715. It saw the Eagles lose 22-19 with three tries from Sam Panapa, two goals from Arnold Hema and a drop goal from Gary Hetherington.  




Share your memories Do you have any memories of games between Sheffield Eagles and Whitehaven that you'd like to share. Share them with us ,HERE,.

Author Richard King

On Sunday 4th June the Sheffield Eagles play their next game of the 2023 season against Whitehaven.

Sheffield Eagles v Whitehaven



As the Eagles have already played Newcastle this season we look back to the second time that Sheffield Eagles played Newcastle Thunder.

The second game against each other Sheffield Eagles and Newcastle Thunder (or Gateshead Thunder as they then were) played  each other for the first time on 30th May 1999 with the Eagles losing 26-18 away. 
The second time they played each other was 29th June that same same season, this time at home at Don Valley Stadium in front of a crowd of 2,319. It was a loss once again for the Eagles (23-6) with the only try coming from Rod Doyle with the conversion from Martin Wood.  




Share your memories Do you have any memories of games between Sheffield Eagles and Newcastle Thunder that you'd like to share. Share them with us ,HERE,.

Author Richard King