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Aston excited for Keepmoat reunion

15/03/2021

Sheffield Eagles Head Coach Mark Aston is excited to see the style of rugby his side will play at the Keepmoat Stadium throughout 2021.

The club have had to move out of the city due to the Olympic Legacy Park being under construction but their temporary home is one filled with happy memories.

In 2015, the Eagles finished in the top four of the Championship after a season of free-flowing rugby league - something Aston is hoping to see from the class of 2021.

“If you can’t play rugby at a facility like the Keepmoat then you’ve got to have a look at yourself,”

“The pitch is firm, big, wide and it’s got everything about it that you want.

“It’s a consistent track and there are no excuses for us.

“There will be challenges against some good teams that are in the division but we’ll be able to play fast rugby and we’ll see if they can answer what we’ll throw at them.

“I am looking forward to it.

“There’s no point being negative about it, we’ll make it home for the last 12 months before we come back to Sheffield, hopefully, forever.”

With construction ongoing at the new stadium, it has been a long time coming for the Eagles but Aston has paid tribute to Sheffield Council for assisting the club through a tough period.

“It’s challenging when you have different partners working on it (the stadium) but I can’t speak highly enough of Sheffield Council,” he added.

“All the team at the Council have been outstanding with us, they’ve worked hard with us in regard to training so that we can use the OLP.

“We have to thank Dan at BXF Gym too, they’ve opened it up to us so we can get our four sessions a week in there.

“We’re all working a lot better now and come 2022, things will be in place and it will become the home of Sheffield Eagles - the only professional club there.”

By Dan Fowler, photo by Alex Coleman