Betfred Championship R7: Featherstone vs Sheffield Preview

01/04/2022

Sheffield Eagles head back to the Millennium Stadium in Featherstone on Sunday, this time as the visitors to the table-topping Rovers. 

The Eagles played their last home game, against Hull FC in the Challenge Cup, at Post Office Road and will do so for two of their next three league fixtures. 

On the field, Sheffield couldn’t spring an upset on Hull as the Super League side triumphed 12-58. 

Also in the Challenge Cup, Featherstone led for 50 minutes against Catalans Dragons in Perpignan but Steve McNamara’s men scored three tries without reply in the last half an hour to turn the tide. 

Featherstone come into the contest with five wins from six matches in the Betfred Championship. The only game they failed to win was against Batley Bulldogs in round six as a Luke Hooley penalty earned the Mount Pleasant outfit a 20-20 draw. 

Last Time Out 

Featherstone showed they could mix it with the big boys as they ran Catalans Dragons close last weekend, coming away from the south of France with a 27-14 loss. 

The Rovers scored two tries in the opening five minutes, courtesy of Brandon Pickersgill and Joey Leilua. Craig Hall tagged on a conversion for an early 0-10 lead.

Fouad Yaha notched a brace for Catalans but both efforts went unconverted, leaving Featherstone two points up at the break. 

Leilua extended the visitors’ lead with the opening score of the second half but Catalans’ top tier talent soon came to the fore.

Sam Kasiano, Tyrone May and Tom Davies all crossed the whitewash before Sam Tomkins added a drop goal with five minutes remaining. 

Sheffield found out how good Jake Connor is. The Hull full-back, alongside the hat-trick scoring Connor Wynne, ran the show for Brett Hodgson’s troops who progressed to the quarter-finals with a 12-58 win.

Connor got the ball rolling with the first try after two minutes, soon followed by Adam Swift. 

Wynne scored two of his three tries before the interval, either side of an Andre Savelio effort. 

Hull led 0-26 at the break and continued their sharp attacking form in the second half, with tries for Josh Griffin, Carlos Tuimavave and Connor before Sheffield got on the board. 

Kris Welham and Tom Holmes provided consolations for the Eagles but Hull finished with a flourish thanks to Mitch Vulikijapani, Wynne and Jordan Lane four-pointers. 

Key Battle: Ryley Jacks | Izaac Farrell

The strength in depth Featherstone possess could easily rival a number of Super League clubs. 

Eye-catching signings have become standard for the Flatcappers, as seen by the likes of Ryley Jacks, Joey Leilua and more recently Mark Kheirallah all signing on the dotted line in West Yorkshire. 

Jacks signed from NRL giants Melbourne Storm, having also played for Gold Coast Titans, and the stand-off has partnered both Morgan Smith and Dane Chisholm in the halves during his short stint. 

Keeping Jacks quiet will certainly be high on Mark Aston’s aims for his side on Sunday. 

He will also be hoping for a big afternoon from Izaac Farrell, who missed the Hull game as a precaution after being taken off injured at Whitehaven the week before.

Alongside the skipper Anthony Thackeray, Farrell has a similar off-the-cuff style which could cause Featherstone’s defence some issues. 

It will be a big test for the Eagles, who currently sit sixth in the Championship table with a game in hand on four of the five teams that are above them. 

By Dan Fowler. photo by Alex Coleman