Farrell on Bulls victory, Thackeray influence and York rematch

08/04/2021

Following Sheffield Eagles’ 50-12 win over Bradford Bulls, Izaac Farrell spoke to Lewis Coleman to share his views on the convincing victory.

The half-back notched one try and kicked four goals in a professional display to kickstart the league campaign.

Farrell was impressed with Sheffield's discipline in both attack and defence as they quickly took the game away from Bradford.

“It was a good start to the season to put that many points on Bradford”, said Farrell.

“I thought that we stuck to the game plan and we identified places on the pitch where we could expose them.

“You can tell by the scoreline that we did it really well.

“The fact that we kept them to not many points is even better.”

The attack was led by Farrell and the experienced Anthony Thackeray, who were given the platform to dominate by a strong performance from the Eagles forwards.

Farrell has hailed Thackeray’s impact on his development, both on and off the pitch. 

“He (Thackeray) has given me good advice, he’s been pushing me to be better in myself and for the team,” the youngster added. 

“He’s more of a dominant voice but he’s given me the opportunity to have a bit more freedom when I’m playing.

“When you’ve got somebody like Thacks playing next to you it makes it easier. He’s given me much more confidence.

“As soon as I knew the season was over, I thought it’s the right time to get into the best shape I can to give myself the best opportunity to play as many games as possible this year.”

The Eagles now have a week away from the action due to the Challenge Cup but they will return on Sunday April 18th to face York City Knights. 

Farrell is looking forward to a tough encounter at the LNER Community Stadium and he insists Sheffield have belief in themselves to gain a positive result, especially after beating Bradford in style.

“I expect more of the same,” he said.

“They’ve got quite a few new signings but I feel that we know how they play.

“We’ve got a couple of games under our belt now and I feel that we’re getting into our groove.

“I wouldn’t write us off.”

By Lewis Coleman, photo by Alex Coleman