PRE-MATCH INTERVIEW | Cory Aston | Halifax Panthers
05/07/2024
Cory Aston is hoping that the Eagles can secure a league double over the Halifax Panthers this evening as he prepares to go up against his former side.
The 29-year-old spent the 2022 campaign with Halifax in West Yorkshire, before he later re-joined the Eagles on loan, ahead of his permanent return to South Yorkshire.
We caught up with Cory earlier this week to gather his thoughts ahead of this evening's fixture, as well as how he thought the club had got on over the course of the first half of the season.
“I’m really looking forward to playing back at home here on Friday night under the lights, it’s something which me and all the boys love doing.
“Hopefully Halifax bring a decent following across to South Yorkshire, so I’m hoping it’s a good game for everyone attending and it’s a good atmosphere.”
The Eagles currently sit second in the Betfred Championship table, and tonight’s game presents us with a chance to extend our lead and go four points clear ahead of Toulouse and Bradford, who go head-to-head in France tomorrow evening.
Aston has been impressed with the spirit shown by the lads this year as we look to continue our good form heading into the second half of the 2024 campaign.
“The last three weeks have been massive for us; we’ve come up against three top sides in the Championship.
“Coming off the back of Wembley was always going to be tough, not just physically but also mentally, but the staff have done a great job with helping to keep us fresh and keeping the mood in camp positive helping us build up into those recent games we’ve just faced.
“The boys have been absolutely outstanding in defence of late, we might not have been at our best with ball in hand, but in defence we’ve been under a lot of pressure in our recent games, but I felt we as a team did well.
“We’ve put our bodies on the line and stuck in there for one-another, and that shows the amount of resilience we have that we want to keep turning up for each other.
“Credit where credit is due, we’ve shown a never-say-die attitude at certain times in games, and it’s clear to see at times.
“The squad has been the difference this year. We’ve had replacements ready to go and step in if someone is injured, so every single one of us has played a part to the strong start of the season that we have made.
“That’s what has really given us that competitive edge this year, that competitive nature within the team.
“Everyone wants to work towards that same focus of being a top-quality team and wanting to build on that consistency.
“We’ve maybe not come out on top in the last three games we have played in recent years, it just shows the steps in the right direction that we as players and the club are making.
“The opening half of the season has been really promising, we’re sat second and it’s something as a group that we’re really pleased with.
“We’re in a better position than where we have been in recent years in our consistency and how we’ve approached games.
“In previous years we’ve started a season really well, but then we have tended to drop off a bit later in the season, so our main goal this year is to ensure that doesn’t happen and we can continue to challenge each other in training, before taking that into gameday.”
Halifax travel to South Yorkshire this evening looking to build on last weekend’s victory against Whitehaven, and Aston is looking forward to the challenge that awaits this evening at OLP.
“I can’t wait to come up against Halifax, it’s always a tough test and there have always been some tough games between the two sides over the last few years.
“Both Sheffield and Halifax have almost created that little rivalry too over recent years, so it’s a test that we’re really looking forward to.
“I had a year at Halifax, and it was a rocky one for myself, but I made some great memories there and met some great people, but the job on Friday night is to go out there and help the Eagles get the win as we did at their place earlier this year.”
