Match Report | Salford 24-30 Sheffield Eagles
13/07/2026
Sheffield Eagles made it three consecutive Betfred Championship victories on Sunday afternoon with a hard-fought 30-24 comeback win over Salford at the CorpAcq Stadium.
After a two-week break, Craig Lingard's side returned looking to build on impressive victories over Whitehaven and Dewsbury. The Eagles boss named an unchanged 17 from the previous outing, with the only change coming to the starting line-up. Harry Bowes returned at loose forward, George Griffin moved into the front row, and Blake Broadbent took his place on the interchange bench.
There was also a welcome boost with the return of Conor Fitzsimmons, who was included in the matchday squad for the first time since March. Having recovered from injury, he was named as the Eagles' 18th man.
In warm Manchester conditions, it was the home side who struck first. After earning back-to-back penalties, Salford capitalised as experienced hooker Brad Dwyer darted over from dummy-half to open the scoring.
The Eagles responded almost immediately through Billy Walkley, who crossed out wide for his 21st try of the season. Kai Morgan added the conversion to edge Sheffield in front, but the lead was short-lived as loanee Cameron Bate powered over beneath the posts for Salford. Kieran Dixon converted to restore the hosts' advantage at 10-6 after 21 minutes.
The contest quickly developed into an end-to-end affair, with neither side able to establish control. Sheffield hit back when Jordan Abdull's last-tackle kick was cleverly palmed backwards by Walkley into the path of the supporting half-back, who touched down for his second try in Eagles colours.
Salford regained the lead through Callum Green, who produced an acrobatic one-handed finish in the corner, before the Eagles responded once again as Kieran Gill crossed out wide for his eighth try of the campaign. Green then repeated the feat with another impressive finish before the interval, giving the hosts a narrow 18-16 lead at the break.
With the game finely poised, the opening score of the second half always looked likely to prove crucial. After Alex Foster was denied close to the line following a high tackle, Morgan calmly slotted the resulting penalty to level the scores just four minutes after the restart.
Salford regained the advantage with 30 minutes remaining after keeping the ball alive on the final tackle. Green chipped ahead, and after a series of fortunate bounces, the ball fell perfectly for forward Joe Baldwin to score beneath the posts.
The Eagles refused to go away. Just over 20 minutes from time, Jack Bibby couldn't deal with a kick through, allowing Joe Brown to react quickest and get a fingertip to the loose ball for a vital try. Morgan's conversion tied the scores once more at 24-24.
As the clock ticked down, both sides appeared to be setting themselves up for a drop-goal attempt. Dwyer's effort for Salford drifted well wide, but Sheffield chose a different approach. Rather than settling for a one-pointer, the Eagles kept the ball alive, and Connor Bower—making his 100th appearance for the club—combined brilliantly with former Salford man Kai Morgan, who burst clear to dive beneath the posts and finally give Sheffield the lead for the first time in the match.
Jordan Abdull took over the kicking duties and converted from in front of the posts to make it 30-24.
With just a minute remaining, Abdull attempted a penalty goal from halfway to run down the clock, but the effort drifted wide. Salford, however, had little time left to mount one final attack, and the Eagles held firm to secure a deserved third successive victory in the Betfred Championship.
Sheffield now return to the MEPS International Home of Football Stadium next weekend for the first of three consecutive home fixtures, welcoming Workington Town on Sunday with kick-off scheduled for the earlier time of 1:30pm.
Salford RLFC: Dixon, Green, Spedding, Hartley, Thewlis, Hughes, Abel, Wilde, Dwyer, Bibby, Garmston, Oakley, Costello
Interchanges (all used): Baldwin, Leake, Bate, Stanton
18th Man: Pilling
Tries: Dwyer (9’), Bate (21’), Green (32’, 39’)
Goals: Dixon (2/5)
Sheffield Eagles: Eden, Brown, Oakes, Gill, Walkley, Morgan, Abdull, Griffin, Johnson, Reilly, Bower, Foster, Bowes
Interchanges (all used): Hodson, Bussey, Butterworth, Broadbent
18th Man: Fitzsimmons
Tries: Walkley (12’), Abdull (27’), Walkley (35’), Brown (58’), Morgan (72’)
Goals: Morgan (3/4), Abdull (1/1)
Penalties: Morgan (1/1)
Referee: A. Williams
