The Eagles were forced to work hard for their victory against a spirited Swinton side at the Leigh Sports Village.  The result was in the balance right up until the final few minutes when Sheffield managed to put a bit of daylight between themselves and their opponents from over the Pennines.  It was a game which saw Eagles centre Menzie Yere mark his 100th appearance for the club with a try.

It was the Lions who had the better of the opening exchanges and they hit the front after 10 minutes through Chaz I'Anson, who threw the dummy 40 metres out from the line and ghosted through to touch down in the left corner.  Ian Mort curled the conversion over from out wide.

Swinton probably thought they deserved a bigger lead for their dominance in the early stages, especially when they failed to capitalise following three consecutive sets on the Sheffield line.  This lack of ruthlessness was punished by the Eagles shortly after with two tries in as many minutes. 

Firstly, the hosts were penalised for a high tackle 30 metres out from their own try line, and Quentin Laulu-Togagae almost added another try to his season tally but was stopped just short, although he managed to offload to Michael Knowles for the big second rower to grab his first of the afternoon.  Swinton were then pinged for offside on the second tackle following the kick off, piggy backing the visitors down the field where Andrew Henderson cleverly scooted away and offloaded off the deck to Joe Hirst to score his eighth try of the season.  Brambani converted both tries to put the Eagles into a 12-6 lead.

Indiscipline began to plague the Lions and it was another high shot that gave Mark Aston's men field position for their next try, capitalising through Knowles on the left flank again for his 4th try in his last two outings.  Regular goal kicker Simon Brown came off the bench before the try but Brambani carried on with the duties and obliged with his third successful conversion.

18-6 looked like it was going to be the scoreline going into the half time break, but Brown flung a pass left 30 metres out from his own try line which was intercepted by Swinton centre Martin Ainscough who strolled over for the try and reduced the arrears.  Conceding tries from interceptions has been an all to familar tale for the Eagles this season, and with Mort's conversion the teams were seperated by just six points.

The second half started with Sheffield having to defend two sets on their own try line, which they did successfully, before going up the other end of the field to increase their advantage.  Swinton knocked the ball on 40 metres from their own posts and were penalised for arguing referee Gareth Hewer's call.  This gave the Eagles the required field position for Brown to send Yere crashing over the try line on a landmark day for the big Papua New Guinean.  Brambani blotted his copybook by pushing the conversion in front of the posts.

Former Warrington winger Kevin Penny then entered the fray with two telling contributions which led to him picking up the man of the match award for the home side.  Firstly he saved a try after Laulu-Togagae had made a break for the Eagles and sent Scott Turner tearing down the wing, but Penny sprinted from the other side of the field to bundle his opposite number over the sideline just short of the line.  The ex Wakefeld speedster then reduced Sheffield's lead, following a loose pass from Brown which was picked up by Ainscough who flung the ball wide to Penny to sprint the full length of the field and finish with a forward roll under the posts.  Mort converted and the Lions were within four.

The home side shot themselves in the foot though, letting the South Yorkshire outfit back into the game with slack handling.  A knock on from the scrum base 10 metres from their own line meant a role reversal at the scrum, and despite spirited defence from the Lions, Henderson sent Straugheir crashing over on the left hand side.  Brambani had to leave the field with an injury so goal kicking duties fell back into the hands of Brown, but he struck his first attempt wide of the posts to leave the lead at eight points.

Swinton were like the proverbial dog with a bone though and simply wouldn't go away.  Tom Armstrong made a break down the left hand side and found his winger Penny who was hauled down by Laulu-Togagae 20 metres out.  The ball came back the way of Armstrong later in the tackle count though and he made no mistake in touching down for a try that his performance warranted.  Mort made it four from four with the boot and Swinton were within two, setting up a granstand finish to the game.

The Eagles made the points safe though late on in proceedings, to the relief of players, staff and fans alike.  Swinton toiled up to the 40 metre line from the kick off where they knocked the ball on at the play the ball, and Misi Taulapapa collected the ball at first receiver and broke the line to sprint over for his 11th try of the season.  Brown converted to make the final score Swinton Lions 24-32 Sheffield Eagles.

Lions: Mort, Dodd, Ainscough, Armstrong, Penny, I'Anson, Watson, Riley, Smith, Morrison, Cunniffe, Clarke, Walker.  Replacements: Mills, Meevin, Hawkyard, Reay.

Eagles: Laulu-Togagae, Turner, Yere, Taulapapa, Morrison, Smith, Brambani, Howieson, Henderson, Stringer, Knowles, Green, Hirst.  Replacements: Brown, Green, Straugheir, Higgins.

Attendance: 506