Talisman Thackeray signs new deal

02/09/2020

Anthony Thackeray will add another year at Sheffield Eagles to his impressive CV after signing a new deal with the club, who fought off significant interest from several Championship sides.

The scrum-half made an instant impact during his debut year in Sheffield, ending the season with silverware and a man-of-the-match performance at Wembley Stadium in the 1895 Cup Final.

Thackeray’s experience is vital to the club’s chances of rising the Championship table and Mark Aston is pleased to keep the playmaker on board.

Aston said: “He is a class act and scores tries,”

“But it’s also his experience and knowledge, helping develop younger players, that is important.

“He has a good reputation and there was a lot of interest in him, so we are glad to get his signature over the line. He loves it at the club and will flourish and deliver like he does week in, week out.”

Thackeray added: “I was speaking to Tubbs pre-lockdown and we had a verbal agreement so it’s great to be staying at Sheffield.”

“My first year here was unbelievable for obvious reasons and we thought, as a group, that we weren’t performing as well at the start of this year.

“Mark brought in some new recruits in 2019, obviously handpicked them and personality-wise he couldn’t have done much better and that’s one of the reasons why we did what we did that year.

"It was probably one of the most enjoyable years I’ve ever had and winning a trophy was the icing on the cake.

“Going into next year we want to be improving and hopefully challenging towards the top end of the table.”

By Dan Fowler, photo by Alex Coleman