REPORT | Sheffield Eagles 48-16 Halifax Panthers
03/08/2026
By WIll Russell
Sheffield Eagles rmade it six victories in a row in the Betfred Championship on Sunday afternoon with a 48-16 win at home to Halifax Panthers.
Craig Lingard named an unchanged starting thirteen for the visit of Halifax following last weekend’s impressive 56-6 win at home to Rochdale.
Corey Johnson was named in that as he lined up to make his 100th career appearance, whilst there was a return on the bench for Masi Matongo, making his return from injury in the absence of Jack Bussey.
On a great run of form, the Eagles were looking to continue their fine form by making it six wins in a row, to continue their push to secure their place in the top ten. They were also hoping to replicate the result in the reverse fixture, when they ran out 28-14 winners back in May.
Fuelled by their red hot run of form, the Eagles flew out the traps in the first half with early pressure forcing Halifax back towards their tryline. Six minutes in, some quick hands from the Sheffield side led to their first opportunity of the game which was dispatched by Billy Walkley, putting the Eagles ahead.
And they didn’t stop there, only four minutes later Alex Foster smashed his way over the line after the Eagles kept it alive on their fifth tackle, sending them two tries ahead in only ten minutes.
Trying to get back into the game, Halifax responded by making their way dangerously close to the Eagles’ tryline, before some excellent defence, first from Walkley, then a combination of Brown and Oakes prevented the visitors from getting back in the game. Determined to increase their advantage, the Eagles flew back up the pitch after a line break by Foster before sending the ball wide to Eden for Sheffield’s third try of the day.
Continuing the first half demolition, Brown added the fourth on the half-hour mark, powering the Eagles into what looked like an unassailable lead.
Despite some attempted fightback by the visitors, Kai Morgan scored against his hometown club after a line break by Brown, adding yet another try to the tally and making it 26-0 to the home side going into half time.
A five star display in the first half, clearly the message at half time was not to hold off, with Oakes and Brown both going over in the first ten minutes of the second half to add another two tries to the tally.
Despite the perfect defence so far, Halifax finally broke down the Eagles wall to score their first of the game five minutes later.
A quick response from the Eagles saw Eden race clear of the Halifax defenders and play in Gill to score the home side’s eighth try of the game, but this didn’t stop the momentum of the game beginning to swing in Halifax’s favour. Back to back tries for the visitors and a penalty allowed them to gain a bit of a foothold in the game, but it was too little too late for the Panthers.
Rounding off the day, Joe Brown crossed the line for his hat-trick, after the ball was shipped wide to the winger off an Eagles scrum five minutes from full time, making it nine tries in the afternoon for the Eagles who continued their frightening form.
That was the final action of the game, with the Eagles running out comfortable 48-16 winners and taking another step towards solidifying their status in the top ten of the league.
A near perfect performance from the home side with Joe Brown grabbing a hat-trick, it was exactly what Corey Johnson would have been hoping for to celebrate his 100th appearance.
Looking to continue their run of form, the Eagles next travel to Oldham at Boundary Park, where they will be looking to do all they can to finish their final four games as strongly as possible. Kick off for next Sunday's game is 3pm.
Sheffield Eagles: Eden, Brown, Oakes, Gill, Walkley, Morgan, Abdull, Fitzsimmons, Johnson, Reilly, Foster, Hodson, Griffin
Interchanges (all used): Bower, Butterworth, Bowes, Matongo
18th Man: Millar
Tries: Walkley (6’), Foster (10’), Eden (18’), Brown (28’, 47’, 76’) Morgan (39’), Oakes (44’), Gill (58’)
Goals: Morgan (5/9)
Halifax Panthers: Will, Tibbs, Mccomb, Carter, Johnson, Soric, Roby, Calcott, O’Brien, Tangata, Davies, Mason, Fairbank
Interchanges (all used): Davies, Morgan, Foster, Gittens
Tries: Johnson (55’), Tangata (66’), Carter (69’)
Goals: Carter (2/3)
Attendance: 783
Player of the Match: Martyn Reilly
