Match Report | Sheffield Eagles 12-30 Bradford Bulls
08/09/2024
Sheffield Eagles were defeated 12-30 this afternoon by Bradford Bulls in the Betfred Championship.
In the Eagles’ penultimate home game of the 2024 campaign, they headed into this fixture hoping to return to winning ways after falling to a 32-12 defeat in the south of France last weekend against Toulouse Olympique.
Bradford meanwhile, were hoping to secure a third successive league victory in a row after securing wins against Doncaster and Dewsbury Rams over the last fortnight.
The Eagles were handed boosts ahead of kick off with the return of Titus Gwaze, who came back in to start at loose-forward.
Cory Aston and Matty Marsh continued to partner themselves in the halves, whilst Ben Jones-Bishop retained his place at full back after scoring his twelfth try of the season last weekend.
The Eagles nearly made a dream start in South Yorkshire as our kick off landed back into the hands of James Glover. After a promising set by Sheffield, the ball was worked left and Aston was narrowly held up over the line by strong defence by the visitors.
It was Bradford who edged themselves ahead early on at Olympic Legacy Park as the boot of Jordan Lilley got proceedings underway in the seventh minute with a penalty from in front to hand them a 0-2 lead.
Bradford went 0-8 ahead in the 20th minute as Sam Hallas made a dart for the line from close-range and the loose forward was able to ground the ball to the right of the sticks.
The visitors’ lead soon became 0-12 just before the half-hour mark as an Eagles attack was ended by an interception by winger Jayden Okonbur, who collected the ball from a pass wide and the Bradford man raced away 100m to score out wide.
Alex Foster’s fourth try of the season pulled the Eagles back into the game as they came to within a one-score lead heading into the break. A kick on the last was parried backwards, and Kris Welham’s quick-thinking saw the experienced centre offload to ball inside to Foster, who got the ball down to score.
The boot of Lilley got the scoreboard back ticking early on in the second half as his penalty thirty metres out took the score to 6-14, before Wakefield loanee Romain Franco raced away under the sticks in the 61st minute to extend their lead even further after a break out wide by Keven Appo to take the game to 6-20.
Marsh scored his 17th try of the season with seven minutes to go as he was able to ground the ball after following through his own kick past the Bradford full back, with Aston’s conversion pulling the game back to 12-20 giving the home side some late hope.
But a late brace by Bradford winger Jorge Taufua ended that hope as the visitors rounded off a 12-30 victory for the Bulls, defeating the Eagles for the second time this season.
The Eagles are now back in league action next Sunday in another all-important clash in the Betfred Championship as we face a trip across to West Yorkshire to take on Featherstone Rovers at the Millenium Stadium (3pm KO).
Sheffield Eagles: Jones-Bishop, Millar, Welham, Glover, Dawson-Jones, Aston, Marsh, Battye, Halafihi, Dickinson, Foster, Sene-Lefao, Gwaze
Interchanges: Broadbent, Clark, Wood, Roberts
18th Man: Hodgson
Tries: Foster (37’), Marsh (73’)
Goals: Aston (2/2)
Sin Bin: Sene-Lefao
Bradford Bulls: Holmes, Okunbor, Myers, Franco, Taufua, Gaskell, Lilley, Lawrence, Ott, Doro, Fulton, Appo, Hallas
Interchanges: Pele, Scurr, Davies, Smith
18th Man: Lehmann
Tries: Hallas (20’), Okunbor (27’), Franco (61’), Taufua (78’, 80’)
Goals: Lilley (4/6)
Sin Bin: Myers
Referee: C.Worsley
Attendance: 1,948
Man of the Match: Titus Gwaze
