Pre-Match Interview | Jesse Sene-Lefao

14/06/2024

Jesse Sene-Lefao says Sunday afternoon's Betfred Championship clash against Featherstone Rovers is a must-win game for the Eagles as we return to league action following our trip to Wembley Stadium last weekend.

The 34-year-old goes up against his former side this weekend, having spent the 2022 campaign with Featherstone, after spending five years with Castleford Tigers prior to his move to Post Office Road.

After missing the start of the season through injury, the forward has returned to action, and he came off the bench to feature last weekend at Wembley against Wakefield.

Sene-Lefao gave us reflection on the trip to Wembley last weekend when we caught up with him earlier this week.

“Wembley didn’t really go the way we had planned it to, but I was so grateful to take part and be able to play on the Wembley pitch for the club.

“The experience was still amazing despite the result. The whole build-up was just incredible. The coaches and staff did everything possible to give us the best chance of preparing well and to play well out there. Credit to them, as well as everyone else behind the scenes who helped put things into place for us.

“It was one of Tubbs’ best speeches on the Friday night, it was pretty touching and emotional, and it really inspired me to want to go out there and perform my best.

“It was quite a special build-up.”

Now into his second season with the Eagles, Sene-Lefao is looking forward to going up against some of his former teammates this afternoon, but he knows it’s important we go out there and start strongly as we return to league action.

He added “I’m so excited for this weekend’s game, Featherstone are obviously one of the teams in this league who are up and around near the top of the Championship.

“We’ve dropped a few results lately in our last couple of outings, but we need to make sure that we get it right on Sunday and go out there and get the win.

“It’s so important that we try and return to winning ways this weekend, after defeat at Wembley, we need to do what we do best out there and try and get the two points. We need to get back to our standards that we set ourselves at the start of the year and go out there and really compete.

“Everyone knows what you get when you come up against Featherstone. They’re tough, strong, and we need to ensure that we start strongly on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s always a big game, it’s been a while since Sheffield have beaten them, so this weekend will be a goal to try and stop that.

“Where we are in the league, it’s a must-win game for us and we really need to do that off the back of our trip to Wembley last Saturday.”