Millar excited to make 100th appearance

03/06/2021

Since making his debut in 2015, Eagles winger Ryan Millar has been the epitome of an ‘edge of your seat’ player.

Millar scored five times in his first two matches - including a hat-trick against Super League side Hull Kingston Rovers - as he broke into Mark Aston’s plans from the club’s successful Academy and Reserves setup.

Fast forward to 2021, and after the frustration of a cancelled season last year, Millar will finally get to the century mark against Halifax on Sunday and he’s motivated to help the Eagles get back to winning ways.

“It’s really exciting,” he beamed.

“It’s a milestone that I’ve wanted to get ticked off for a while, not just my 100th game but my 100th for the Eagles.

“It’s felt like a long time coming with last year getting cut short!

“It’s a huge game as we’re in a bit of a rut.

“We are a bit fragile at the moment but as we showed in the first two games, we can really play and beat the best teams in the league.

“I’m excited for this week, my 100th game and I want to make as big an impact as possible to help the boys.

“Every bit of enthusiasm and energy I can bring is a step in the right direction for us and that’s what we need at the moment.”

Millar looked back on those first two matches in Red and Gold, now six years ago, with fondness although he admitted that his memory of the Broncos game is not up to scratch.

However, the hat-trick against the Robins is certainly something that sticks in his mind - more so due to not having much time to process his selection in the team when he was first told.

“The memories from that are quite hazy, it was all a bit of a blur,” he said about the Broncos match.

“I can remember going into the dressing room before the game and Q (Quentin Laulu-Togagae) put his arm around me and told me not to worry too much.

“That settled my nerves but I still panicked through most of the game!

“I remember more from the game against Hull KR.

“For that, I don’t think I was supposed to be playing as I was going to be 18th or 19th man.

“I turned up to the stadium and Tubbs told me that something had happened and I was in the team.

“I didn’t have time to worry or overthink it so I went out there and really enjoyed that game.

“It was at Bramall Lane too, which is a great stadium. The scale of the match and how well I’d played didn’t really sink in till a little after."

Millar also reminisced about his early days at the Eagles and his progression through the ranks, to get to where he is today.

With a new stadium on the way, he mentioned how good it’d be for the club and the sport if a similar Reserves/Academy structure could be created once the club is settled in a permanent home.

“That was a great setup and I really enjoyed my time in the Academy and Reserves,” he added.

“We have some players that came through that and are now in the first team, the likes of Paddy, Greg and Beans, as well as some others currently playing in the league.

“It would be great to get that set-up back as it’s brilliant to have young, hungry players coming through the system.”

By Dan Fowler, photo by Alex Coleman