Match Report | Sheffield Eagles 10-30 Featherstone Rovers
31/08/2025
Sheffield Eagles’s penultimate home game of the 2025 campaign ended in a 10-30 defeat at home to Featherstone Rovers this afternoon in the Betfred Championship.
Head Coach Craig Lingard made four changes for the Featherstone clash, handing Will Oakes his first start for the club at centre, while Billy Walkley, Blake Broadbent, and Connor Bower also came into the starting lineup as the Eagles looked to end August on a high.
Wanting to bounce back from defeat last time out against Widnes Vikings, their Head Coach Paul Cooke made three changes to his starting thirteen for the trip to South Yorkshire.
The Eagles started strong as they forced pressure on the Featherstone line and Blake Broadbent thought he’d opened the scoring after only six minutes after making a great line break towards the try line, but the finish was ruled out by the referee following an obstruction.
The visitors went down the other end minutes later, and after appeals were waved away for another obstruction, Calum Turner was able to hand his side the lead after getting underneath the sticks to score.
Featherstone went back-to-back, as nice link-up play down the left edge between James Glover and Connor Jones, saw winger Derrell Olpherts go over for a second try in a matter of minutes for the visitors.
It didn’t take the Eagles long to respond after as Walkley went over for his second try for the club after twenty-five minutes, grounding the ball in the left corner after Craven’s kick through on the last tackle.
Following a series of penalties given the way of the Eagles, Sheffield thought they’d profited just after the half-hour mark as Matty Dawson-Jones dived over in the right corner to score, but the pass out wide was deemed forward, with the Eagles being denied for the second time in the opening forty minutes.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, Featherstone edged themselves further ahead as a kick through the Eagles defensive line bounced kindly for second-row forward Clay Webb to score in-goal, extending their lead to 4-18.
Down the other end, Sheffield looked to force an opening to get back into the contest shortly after with a number of attacks towards the Featherstone try line, but we were unable to capitalise on the chances created.
Some strong defence by the Eagles on the hour-mark saw former Sheffield man James Glover held up as Featherstone looked for a fourth score of the afternoon, but that soon came through forward King Vuniyayawa as he went over from close-range in the 62nd minute.
The visitors went further ahead with six minutes to go as Clay Webb went over for his second try of the afternoon after he supported a line-break down the left made by Caleb Aekins to secure the win, but the last say in the game went to the Eagles as Ryan Millar went over for his second try of the season in the last couple of minutes to score as the Eagles made advantage of the red card shown to Ben Reynolds.
The Eagles are back on the road in our final away game of the season next weekend when we travel to the South Leeds Stadium to take on bottom-of-the-table Hunslet (3pm KO).
Sheffield Eagles: Marsh, Dawson-Jones, Welham, Oakes, Walkley, Johnson, Craven, Green, Bowes, Broadbent, Gwaze, Bower, Reilly
Interchanges (all used): Battye, Matongo, Butterworth, Millar
18th Man: Billy
Tries: Walkley (25’), Millar (79’)
Goals: Craven 1/2
Bradford Bulls: Aekins, Gale, O’Connor, Glover, Olpherts, Reynolds, Turner, Beckett, Jones, Wilde, Day, Webb, Addy
Interchanges (all used): Akauola, Williams, Viniyayawa, Stevens, Wynne
18th Man: Akauola
Tries: Turner (13’), Olpherts (16’), Webb (55’, 74’), Viniyayawa (61’)
Goals: Reynolds 5/5
Referee: T. Jones
Attendance: 901
