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Rugby League in
Sheffield Before Sheffield Eagles and then .....
10th June 1914 - A Sheffield
Team was elected to the Northern Combination and was based
at the Ball Inn Ground at Heeley. Unfortunately things went
'pear-shaped' when before the fixtures could be organised,
or even the players signed up, it was announced that a
Serbian student had shot the Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo
on Sunday, 30th June. Within 6 weeks World War! was under
way which blocked their attempt. No further moves were
possible until peace was regained.
BEFORE THE EAGLES
The history of Rugby League in Sheffield
1
and the then progression to Sheffield Eagles - now 23 years Young
(September 2007) and
the fact that 90 years on from that day in February 1914
when a team in the Northern Union could be based in
Sheffield.
Over the years a number of attempts have been made to
establish Rugby League in Sheffield Very little is now
remembered about those attempts but they deserve to be
re-told as a contribution to the tradition that the Eagles
are now building in the City. In tact two of these attempts
took place whilst today’s Rugby League was still known by
its’ old name — the Northern Union (NU).
Rugby Football was late establishing itself in a City which,
from the 1850’s onwards, had been a stronghold of Soccer.
However, shortly after the turn of the Century both
Sheffield and Darnall Rugby Union Clubs were formed. Whilst
Sheffield settled at Abbeydale, Darnall after a spell on the
Old Wellington Grounds lost a permanent home and were
forced into a nomadic existence. (The story of rugby league
in Sheffield !!-Ed)
As Rugby Union was established in Sheffield the Northern
Rugby Football League began to cast their eyes
southwards towards a City which seemed to offer much
potential support for their game. An exploratory toe was
dipped
into the Sheffield pool when the Northern Union staged a
promotional match between Yorkshire and the touring
Australians at Bramall Lane on Monday, 25th September, 1911.
Although Yorkshire lost, the attendance of 4,000 was
encouraging.
Eventually they made their first move early in February,
1914. Letters began to appear in the Yorkshire Telegraph and
Star’ calling for an NU team to be established in Sheffield.
Local news coverage was favourable but with the reservation
that as Sheffield was a soccer town building an NU club was
not going to be easy.
It was one of the correspondents who took the next step. The
Sheffield Daily Telegraph on Monday, 23rd February,
1914 carried an article announcing the intention of forming
an NU club and gave a Mr George Edwards (possibly a
pseudonym) of 113 Rushdale Road, Meersbrook, as the contact
address. A certain amount of privacy was being
observed but, on contact, details of a meeting would be
forthcoming.
That meeting was held on Saturday evening, 28th February, at
the Kings Arms Hotel. Despite being semi-private, a
press release was given afterwards, describing an
enthusiastic gathering with representatives from Penistone,
Chapeltown, Barnsley, Chesterfield, Rawmarsh, Deepcar,
Rotherham, Canklow, Woodhouse and Dronfield. After a
good discussion it was agreed to point out to the NU
Committee the demand existed within Sheffield for Northern
Union.
Looker On”, the sports correspondent of the Sheffield Daily
Telegraph’ stated that in a city where no one knew
anything about NU football, if Sheffield were an ordinary
side they would not be a paying proposition. The Sheffield
letter came before the NU Committee on 10th March and it was
agreed that a deputation would be received. Once a
reply had reached Sheffield a further meeting was organised,
on 21st March, to elect the delegation.
Very little was seen in the Press of NU activity for nearly
5 weeks, but much was going on ‘behind the scenes’. The
silence was broken by an article in the Sheffield
DailyTelegraph’ of 30th April which described how, after
meetings with
the NU Committee on Easter Tuesday in Huddersfield and the
following Saturday in Halifax, with a report back that
same evening in Sheffield — an NU Club had been born. By
then they had been able to agree a tenancy at the Ball Inn
Ground, Heeley. As the ground was well served by three tram
routes and close to Heeley station they considered
themselves to be very fortunate indeed.
The Ball Inn Ground =
O
The Club established its headquarters at the Kings Arms
Hotel and appointed Mr G. E. Frankline at its Secretary.
Signing players was to begin almost immediately. Things lay
dormant press wise until after the Northern Rugby League
AGM on 10th June when the new Sheffield Club were elected
into the Northern Combination; mainly a reserve team league, but with 3 other junior clubs added on to it, which
they felt was more appropriate than the full League.
Once into the Combination plans had to be laid in earnest
and apparently Sheffield were hoping to arrange all their
home matches on days when Sheffield United were away.
However before the fixtures could be organised, or even the
players signed up, it was announced that a Serbian student
had shot the Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo on Sunday,
30th June. Within 6 weeks World War! was under way which
blocked their attempt. No further moves were possible until
peace was regained.
The second part of the story begins in April 1922 with a
dissatisfied local Rugby Union Club — Darnall — then playing
at a ground on Heeley Bank Road. Nothing had gone right for
them and, on 11th March they decided that instead of staying
with the Rugby Union they would throw in their lot with the
Northern Union (the forerunner of today’s Rugby Football
League). They were, in fact, the last Rugby Union Club of any
standing to take that route. That decision was the product
of a number of factors. Firstly, as the season drew to a
close Darnall’s membership felt it had been a rather
unsatisfactory one. Not only had they lost two players,
Leo
Fullerton — a stand off — to Huddersfield in February and
Charles Cripps — a centre — to Bramley in April, but they
also had problems in meeting the teams running costs.
Besides the cost problem, the members seemed to have lost
interest — especially in away games — and the Club had to
cancel its last two matches of the season.
Darnall were accepted into Honorary Membership of the
Northern Union at a Committee
Meeting on Thursday, 27th April, 1922. Besides membership,
the meeting agreed firstly, to
ask the other Northern Union members to refrain from signing
Darnall players and secondly,
to use its influence in securing a place for the Club in the
Yorkshire Senior Competition — the
YS.C. (a County Second Grade League). Having achieved
membership, the Darnal Club met
again on Tuesday, 2nd May, and decided not only to apply for
a place in the YS.C. but also to
change their name to Sheffield N.U. F.C. A further
adjustment became necessary on 14th June
when the Northern Union became the Rugby Football League.
The name ‘Sheffield N.U.F.C.’
could have led to some confusion however and so on 20th June
they adopted the suffix of
‘Hornets’. At the A.G.M. of the YS.C. held in Leeds on 27th June they
were accepted into membership
as the ‘Sheffield Hornets’. Altogether the Yorkshire Senior
Competition for 1922/23 would
have 15 members, 9 of whom were the ‘A’ teams of Rugby
League Clubs namely:
Featherstone Rovers, Halifax, Hull, Hull KR, Hunslet,
Keighley, Leeds, Wakefield Trinity and
York, plus five other junior clubs besides the Hornets:
Castleford, Elland, Normanton,
Sharlston and Wyke.
The stage was not set for the Hornets and they began to
organise. A public meeting to
determine support was held in late July and bolstered by its
outcome they announced on 7th
August that agreement had been reached to use the Old
Wellington Ground at Darnall for the
coming season. Admission would be 6d (21/2p) with a season
ticket costing 5/6d (271/2p). Team
preparation would be critical and the club stated its
intention of securing the services of
Edgar
Wrigley the famous New Zealand International Centre.
{Edgar Wrigley held a special place in New
Zealand rugby for nearly 90 years. He played as a second
five eighths in the official test against the 1905
Australian touring side. Wrigley, who scored a try in the
14-3 win, was only 19 years 79 days and so became the
youngest man to appear for the All Blacks in a test. He
retained that distinction until 1994 when Jonah Lomu, at 19
years 45 days, played in the first test against France at
Lancaster Park. Wrigley's appearance against Australia was
his only match for the national side. But he may have made a
more meaningful impact as an All Black had he not been
sidetracked to become one of the pioneers of the league code
in this country. For in 1907, still only 21, he was lured to
the "All Golds" side which made a historic tour of Britain
and later of Australia. In all he played in eight
internationals for the New Zealand league team, which later
became known as the Kiwis. Following his tour with the "All
Golds" Wrigley returned to Britain for a fulltime
professional career with the Huddersfield and Hunslet clubs
as a player and with Hull and Bradford Northern as a coach.
All of Wrigley's representative rugby was for Wairarapa, for
whom his brothers, Harry and Tom, also played. Between 1903
and 1907 he played 18 games for Wairarapa. Before playing in
his one test in 1905 Wrigley had played for a combined
Wellington-Wairarapa selection against the Australian
tourists, scoring three tries from the wing in a 23-7 win.
He was also in a couple of Wellington provincial selections,
virtually from all the unions in the lower North Island,
which played and won 3-0 against the Originals before their
departure for Britain and against the All Black side which
toured Australia in 1907.
Profile by Lindsay Knight for
the
New Zealand Rugby Museum.}
All of a sudden the start of season 1922-23 was upon
Sheffield Hornets. In those days Rugby Union
and Rugby League playing styles had not diverged to the
extend we see today, so the problems facing
a squad of ex-Rugby Union players were not as great as might
be imagined. However, their new
opponents were used to playing regular, competitive rugby, a
pressure that the old Darnall Club had
never had to withstand.
It had been hoped to begin with a game against Leeds ‘A’ at
Darnall on 26th August, 1922 but due
to lack of preparation those arrangements had to be
cancelled. Practice matches were a prime
necessity and prospective players were asked to turn up at
the Kings Head Hotel on Tuesday, 5th
September for the first of these. Enough players turned out
to provide two teams so another match
was arranged for Thursday, at which there was a good
attendance.
Their first Yorkshire Senior Competition (Y.S.C.) match took
place on 9th September at the home
of Hull KR, with Edgar Wrigley as Captain. Suddenly they
understood the task they had taken on as
they lost by 33 points to 5. One week later they welcomed
Sharlston to Darnall where a small
attendance saw them put up a much improved display, though
they were defeated by six points to nil.
At least some respite came with a home win in a friendly
with Goole (District League Champions the
previous season).
Over the next few weeks the Hornets’ weaknesses were cruelly
exposed and both Hunslet and Hull
scored over 50 points against them. Wakefield Trinity went
one better and ran up 70 points (11 goals
and 16 tries) during a visit to Darnall on 7th October.
Crisis point had been reached and, on Thursday,
26th October, a deputation form the Hornets attended on RL
Council meeting to request financial
assistance and some help in obtaining players. A
sub-committee was appointed to look into the
matter.
Back in Sheffield the Hornets went through an even greater
upheaval. Practically the entire Hornets
team was reorganised — Wrigley was dismissed and six players
were recruited from Humberside.
Their next match was at home to Featherstone Rovers and they
expected a deputation from the
Rugby League to attend to examine the Club situation, as
well as considering the question of player’s
expenses. Although Hornets lost, the score of 9-6 was a big
improvement. After that match they had
plenty of time to take stock, during November, as no YSC
fixtures were scheduled.
Support from the Rugby League was soon forthcoming, most
noticeably in the form of Leo Fullerton
who, being unable to secure a first team place with
Huddersfield was allowed to return to his old club.
Confidence began to return to the club and in an optimistic
letter to the Sheffield Daily Telegraph on
28th November a correspondent promised a team “that would
give the visitors a game”.
At the start of December they announced the signing of
Alf
Francis, the former Hull International
Three-quarter, and he scored a try on his debut at
Featherstone Rovers. Certainly there was a big
improvement, but not enough to win a YSC match. The club was
knocked out of the RL Cup in a
qualifying round during January, by Wyke, so even a Cup run
was ruled out by the end of January. At
the start of February 1923 the club record read: played 17,
points for 91; lost 17, points against 434.
Help on the field was needed quickly. After that defeat the
Committee took dramatic action and went
looking for some new players of “proven ability”.
After such a disastrous start to their career in the
Yorkshire Senior Competition (YS.C.)
Sheffield Hornets morale must have been at a very low ebb by
February 1923. Yet it was
precisely at that point that some improvements was
forthcoming, at least they stopped losing
every match! By now the whole team had been changed and at
the start of February they
announced the signing of Major Holland, the former
Huddersfield and Bramley Full-back and
a noted goal kicker. However, like Wrigley and Francis
before him, his involvement proved
short-lived.
On 17th February they achieved a draw in wretched weather
with Keighley and gained their
first ever YS.C. league point. At the start of March they
gained a second point when they held
Wyke to a draw. Although they remained bottom of the
Yorkshire Senior Competition they at
least had 2 points to their credit. The competition was at
this time reduced to 14 members
when on 13th March, Normanton resigned due to financial
problems.
For the Club to run-in to the end of the season proved to be
their most successful period.
The arrival of a Centre, Bradshaw, from Hull K.R. marked the
start of their revival. First to
become a victim of the Hornets were Pontefract who lost by
25 points to 2 at Darnall on 17th
march. One week later the Hornets travelled to Sharlston and
won again! Suddenly nothing
seemed beyond them and when they met Hull, the competition
leaders, at Darnall on Easter
Sunday, 31st March they held them to a draw.
News got round the City that the Hornets were worth watching
and for their last home match
against Hunslet on Easter Monday a fine crowd of over 2,000
turned up. Although they lost by
eight points to two it renewed optimism for the future. So by
the end of the season they were
able to finish with the following record:
Played 26, Won 2, Drawn 3, Lost 21, Points For: 185, Points
Against: 531
One necessity for establishing the game in the City was to
attract schoolboy attention. As
a start in that direction, a match between the Hunslet Carr
and lnnes Road (Wakefield)
Schools was held at Darnall on the afternoon of Thursday,
5th April. Admission was free and
an invitation was especially extended to any school teachers
that might be interested. A high-powered headquarters delegation including John Wilson, the
Rugby League Secretary, who
acted as Referee, J. H. Dannatt (Hull) soon to become
Chairman of the Rugby Lague Council,
along with two other members of that Council, J. F Whittaker
(Batley) and E. Osbourne
(Warrington)
The boys put on a good display with Hunslet running out easy
winners by 28 points to 5. Afterwards club sources reported
that 6 elementary schools within the city intended to take
up the game. Perhaps with time to plan over the summer real
progress could be made during 1923-24?
Over the summer of 1923 the optimism of the previous spring
suffered an important blow. Their ground
at Darnall was lost and the club was forced to make a new
home at the Hyde Park Ground. Despite that
loss, progress was made behind the scenes and an article in
the Sheffield Daily Telegraph on Saturday,
11th August stated the the Club’s affairs were in the hands
of a strong ‘live’ committee.
Sheffield Hornets started out in the new season as part of a
reduced Yorkshire Senior Compeition
(YSC). Besides the Hornets only ten other clubs remained in
membership. Alongside the ‘A’ teams of:
Halifax, Hull, Hull KR, Hunslet, Keighley, Leeds and York.
Only three other junior teams Castleford, Elland
and Wyke remained in membership.
Besides their YSC fixtures, they announced plans for matches
with Huddersfield and at least four
Lancashire clubs — Oldham and Salford being amongst them. A
trial match for any local talent was
arranged at Hyde Park on Thursday, 16th August. Anyone who
could not get there was asked to contact
the Secretary, Mr E. Taylor at 70 Cottingham Road. Several
new men were recruited and a successful club
practice match was held on the following Saturday.
Due to returfing, their opening match on 1st September,
1923, was away at Castleford who proved to
be too strong beating the Hornets by 25 points to 5. The
following Saturday they left Yorkshire for the first
time when they travelled to Oldham where they were drubbed
by 43 points to 7. Despite that setback their
start was much better than the previous year and, by the end
of September, they had secured a home
victory over Hunslet and an away draw at Elland. In fact,
their form in that win over Hunslet led some
observers to conclude that before long the Hornets would
become popular if such success could be
maintained. Whatever its rewards on the field the Senior Competition was
not particularly rewarding off it and, by
mid-October, both the Hornets and Elland were facing severe
financial problems. Although Sheffield had
achieved a good victory over Halifax it was not enough to
pay the bills. Even so they were able to find
enough reserves to secure as new centre, J. Fawcett, from
Castleford. The first warning signs came on 3rd November with the
cancellation of their match with Leeds. When
the draw for the fourth qualifying round of the Rugby League
Cup was made on 6th November neither
Elland nor Sheffield Hornets were included as both were said
to have ceased their membership of the
Yorkshire Senior Competition.
Hornets’ difficulties became public on 10th November when
the club announced a temporary
suspension of activities and cancelled their fixture that
day at Wyke. As to the future, all the club could
hope was that Rugby enthusiasts in the city would help
rescue it, as it was understood that certain
financial support from Rugby League headquarters had been
withdrawn. Yet turning round the financial
situation would not be easy, as their gates at the exposed
Hyde Park Ground had only averaged £4
per
match. Some saw a return to the Darnall Ground as the only
solution.
A report on Wednesday, 14th November announced that Hornets
fixture with Keighley the following
Saturday had had to be cancelled but still offered some hope
with news that the directors and officials
were to meet shortly to look into the Club’s affairs. When
no new cash could be found the Club just faded
away, leaving behind a final YSC record of: Played 6, won 3,
drawn 1, lost 2; points for, 60, points against,
71.
After the failure of the Hornets there were few people in
the city prepared to take up the
cause of Rugby League in Sheffield. Following the successful
trial of the ‘electric hare” in
1927, greyhound racing became a boom sport and it was this
boom which gave Rugby
League it’s next opportunity. Such was the interest in
greyhounds that new stadia were
opened in every major town in the country. In Sheffield as
new stadium was opened at
Owlerton in 1932 by the Sheffield Sports Stadium Company,
soon they began to look for other
sports to fill the stadium’s 15,000 capacity — one of the
first to share their hospitality was the
Sheffield Dons Baseball Team.
Finding other sports proved to be rather more difficult, but
certainly Rugby League
appeared to be possible as, by then, a number of other
greyhound stadia sported League
Clubs. The first chance for Rugby League at Owlerton came
with the demise of the Streatham
& Mitcham Club at the end of February 1937. The Rugby League
felt there might be a
possibility of establishing a new Club at Owlerton to take
over the London club’s 12
outstanding fixtures. To check our the possibilities the
League sent it’s Secretary, John Wilson
and James Lewthwaite of Hunslet, a previous Chairman, to
open discussions with Owlerton’s
owners, but nothing materialised at that time.
A couple of months later there was a possibility of
Liverpool Stanley relocating to Sheffield.
Despite having finished fourth in the Northern Rugby League
they were disillusioned with the
public support during the three years at the Stanley Road
greyhound track. Faced with
mounting losses and disorganised through the death of Mr A.
Green, their Manager, the
Liverpool Club were on the lookout for a better base for
their operations.
Feelers were put out with a view to Liverpool using the
Owlerton Stadium. Christopher
Carter, a member of Owlerton’s board, was interviewed by the
Press on Thursday, 27th May
and confirmed that a scheme to relocate Liverpool Stanley
was in the air but, as yet no definite approach had been made. Informal negotiations
continued but, unfortunately for
Sheffield, they were reported as having broken down, for
various reasons, after only a
fortnight.
After a few more traumas Liverpool Stanley decided to stay
where they were — at least for
a few years. They eventually moved, not just once but many
times via Knotty Ash and Huyton
before settling at their present home in Runcorn.
Over 60 years were to pass before another attempt was made
to establish professional
Rugby in the form of the Eagles. A whole new era began on
18th April 1984 when the Eagles
were accepted into membership of the Rugby League.
And now The Eagles.....
FOUNDATION
After
failing to become the coach at York R.L.F.C. in 1982, Gary
Hetherington, then Huddersfield Captain and Chairman of the
Players Union, decided to strike out and form his own club.
He
selected Sheffield because it was a sporting city without a
Rugby League team but with a large population and even
larger catchment area, yet close to the heartland of the
game.
It was the
intention to enter the 2nd Division in 1983-84 season and a
major sponsor was in place. Furthermore the Hetheringtons
believed they had a deal to share Sheffield United's Bramall
Lane Ground. United cancelled this option and so the Eagles
application went back a year until 2nd September 1984 when
they played their first ever league game and beat Rochdale
Hornets 29-10 at Owlerton Stadium, their home for the next
five years.
Meanwhile,
a second major set-back had seen the collapse of their
sponsor's business, but Gary and Kath (now the first ever
woman member of the Rugby League Council) pressed ahead with
the new season, although by December the club was within a
whisker of folding because of their precarious financial
position
FIRST FIVE
SEASONS
On the
pitch after that first victory, Eagles found the going hard.
With no money available they had to rely on their contacts
for old players and new prospects. The first ever signing
was a Castleford 18 year old called Daryl Powell, who gave
the club 11 years wonderful service, 10 as captain, and
gained 28 GB Caps and 3 England Caps as well. It was the
Hetheringtons eye for talent amongst the amateurs that was
Eagles making on the pitch in the early years. Until very
recently Eagles had never put out a side in which less than
half the players were home grown.
Progress
came slowly, 17th position in the first season, 12th in
1985-86, then they began to soar in 1986-87 season with 17
wins finishing 6th, going one better to 5th in 1987-88. In
their 5th season they grabbed the third promotion spot and
then celebrated success by winning the 2nd Division
Premiership title at Old Trafford, beating much fancied
Swinton by 43-18, Powell scoring a hat-trick.
FIRST
DIVISION 1989-91
That
Premiership win made the Rugby League world take notice but
it was assumed by most pundits that they would very quickly
take the drop back to Division 2. A massive blow was struck
to their ambitions when, following the Hillsborough tragedy,
their Owlerton ground was declared closed to Rugby League.
There followed the most amazing odyssey which would have
broken the spirit of most clubs. Home matches were played on
seven different grounds, including Hillsorough and Bramall
Lane, where on 8th October Eagles came of age when they
outplayed Widnes, the new World Club Champions, and won
31-6. They just survived that season, but the second season
in the top division saw them relegated, but not before they
had beaten St Helens and Widnes, drawn with Wigan and
completely humiliated Hull K.R. by 62-16.
SECOND
DIVISION 1991-2
A quick
return was forecast for the Eagles in the new eight team 2nd
Division and they did not disappoint. They won the League
and won the Premiership with another glorious display at Old
Trafford, this time over Oldham. Powell again scored a
hat-trick.
RETURN TO DIVISION ONE 1992-5
The 1992-3
season started gloriously with 11 League and Cup wins before
Christmas. Unfortunately, Eagles appearance in the Yorkshire
Cup Final led to an unexpected defeat by Wakefield Trinity,
possibly because of an overcrowded schedule, which included
scoring 4 tries against the visiting Australian World Cup
Squad at the Don Valley Stadium. The second half of the
season was less successful causing Hetherington to resign as
coach and appoint Australian, Bill Gardner of Brisbane
Broncos, instead.
An unhappy
first part of 1993-4 season saw Gardner depart in December
and Hetherington resume control. The team then produced
consistent quality football and finished the season in 6th
place, beating Warrington in the play-offs before succumbing
to Wigan, whom they had beaten 10-5 in a league match at Don
Valley Stadium.
In the
1994-5 season, the Eagles had an indifferent start but again
returned to winning ways after Christmas and ended the
season in the top eight. The creation of Super League always
assumed the inclusion of a South Yorkshire side but for a
considerable period there were moves to create a merger
between Eagles and Doncaster R.L.F.C. The lack of enthusiasm
for these proposals amongst the Dons fans finally killed of
the plans and Eagles remained as a single independent club
destined for Super League in the Summer of 1996.
1995-96
CENTENARY SEASON
Eagles had
a difficult period in the first part of the Centenary
Season. Registering only one win out of nine matches, this
was however, seen as a period of re-building and preparing
for the Super League. After the World Cup however, Eagles
were a rejuvenated team and won their next nine matches,
beating all the teams in the division, bar Wigan, and
setting a new club record for consecutive wins. Twice Team
of the Month during this period, Eagles finished in 5th
place, their best position to date.
1st SUPER
LEAGUE SEASON 1996
Eagles had
the honour to kick -off the new European League by playing
the first ever Super League match against Paris St Germain
at the Charlety Stadium, Paris on 29th March 1996. Eagles
finished the season in 7th place, proving to be virtually
unbeatable in Sheffield, only Wigan won here, but
unsuccessful in away matches. Some of the home matches were
played at Sheffield United's ground at Brammal Lane and one
home game against St Helens was imaginatively switched to
Cardiff Arms Park to encourage Rugby League development in
South Wales.
In
November a bombshell hit the club when Gary Hetherington
announced he was to take up the post of Chief Executive at
Leeds R.L.F.C. However, he was quickly replaced by Terry
Sharman as Chief Executive and Phil Larder, then in New
Zealand as coach of Great Britain Oceania Tour Party, as the
new Head Coach.
2nd SUPER
LEAGUE SEASON 1997
Early in
the season, Paul Thompson, Chairman of Sanderson
Electronics, became the majority shareholder and Eagles plc
became the first Rugby League club to be floated on the
Stock Exchange. On the pitch Eagles season was slow to get
of the ground. Phil Larder was replaced as caoch by John
Kear in May. The season began to turn around when the Eagles
became the first British side in the World Club Championship
to beat an Australian club in Britain, when they defeated
Perth Reds 26-22 at Don Valley Stadium. The season ended
with wins over all the top clubs except Bradford Bulls.
Eagles reached the Premiership semi-final for the second
time in their history before losing a hard fought game at
Wigan by 22-10 points.
3rd SUPER
LEAGUE SEASON 1998
The early
part of Eagles 1998 season was dominated by the club's
progress in the Challenge Cup. Before the first Super League
game in April, Eagles had already won through to Wembley
after magnificent quarter-final and semi-final victories
over Castleford and Salford.
In one of
the most memorable Cup Finals in the post war era, Eagles
overturned the form books to beat Wigan by 17-8 point, with
Mark Aston collecting the Lance Todd Trophy.
However,
the first two months of Super League saw the Eagles register
only two wins before the club settled down in mid-season
when they put together a successful run. From mid June to
mid August Eagles won five games, drew one and lost only
once, the 'on the road' game against Halifax at Northampton.
A tough
end to the season fixture list saw the Eagles matched away
against the top four sides in the competition and they ended
the season in 8th position.
Eagles
ambitions at the beginning of the season had been to get to
Wembley and gain a top five play-off spot. So the 1998
season had been to get to Wembley and gain a top five
play-off spot. So the 1998 season provided Eagles greatest
ever triumph and an anti-climax at the end of the season.
1998 stats
Played 23
- Won 8 - Lost 13 - Drawn 2 Points scored 495 Points Against
541
Average
attendance - 4,595
SUPER
LEAGUE IV SEASON 1999
The Eagles
got off to a satisfactory start to the new season, with 5
wins in 8 matches including a win against Leeds at Don
Valley. In the games they lost they acquitted themselves
very well, with a close 39-30 defeat away at St Helens and a
26-20 defeat at Don Valley against London even though they
were winning 20-8 with 15 minutes left. However things were
to get worse very quickly.
A
controversial defeat away at Castleford (10-6) where the
referee disallowed 3 Eagles tries, set the scene for the
Eagles worst run in the top flight, only winning 2 out of
their next 12 games, with big defeats away at Warrington and
Wigan and at home (Chesterfield) against Bradford.
The season
ended with the Eagles playing the two bottom clubs. In the
first game against Huddersfield they destroyed the
opponents, racking up the biggest score of the season, only
to go away to Hull (with Hull needing a win to stay up), and
be totally outplayed and lose.
At the end
of the season the Eagles were thrown into turmoil when it
was announced that they were to merge with Super League
rivals Huddersfield Giants, to form a new outfit called
Huddersfield and Sheffield Giants. Such was the outcry from
the Eagles fans that Mark Aston, who had been dropped by the
new club, decided to try and start a new club up in the NFP
for the following season. After twice being turned down, and
with only 3 weeks till the start of the season, they got the
go ahead to play in the NFP in the 2000 season. The Eagles
were reborn and that story is slowly unfolding...........
1999 stats
Played 30
- Won 10 - Lost 19 - Drawn 1 - Points for 518 - Points
against 818
Average
attendance - 3,700
AND SO TO
ANOTHER ERA -
The Chairman at the time, Tim Adams,
made the following statement when announcing that Sheffield
Eagles was to disappear.
" WE HAD TO MERGE OR
FACE OBLIVION - (October 1999)"
So a new beginning looked likely:
GROUNDING Sheffield Eagles was always going
to make the flak fly, club directors knew that. With the
dust barely settled on the merger agreement with
Huddersfield, some Sheffield fans already look set to
abandon their Eagles’ allegiance. The immediate reaction of
one staunch season ticket holder was simple: “I won’t be
going to Huddersfield.”
He was not be
alone.
But some will stay loyal, too. Ted Dowd,
a supporter for more than 11 years, a former manager and
last season’s unpaid kitman, admitted: “I’m not happy about
having to go to Huddersfield, and I don’t suppose the
Huddersfield supporters are too happy about having to come
over here, but I’ll continue to support Eagles. I just love
rugby league.”
Councillor Peter Price, a keen
supporter of Sheffield sport, added: “I think it’s a
retrograde step and I suspect it’s been driven by Sky TV. It
is disappointing that a city of half a million cannot
support a club. If Wigan can sustain a club, if Leeds can
sustain a club it’s a pity Sheffield apparently can’t.”
Even Eagles founder, Gary Hetherington,
was saddened that the club he founded 15 years ago had
transformed to a dual-base team. “It’s a shame, but merger
has to be the way forward for some clubs,” he said.
Restraints
The Eagles-Giants gamble is that their joint
resources will match the Super League super powers — Leeds,
Bradford, Wigan and St Helens. With Eagles thought to be
among the lowest wage payers in Super League because of
financial restraints, decline was forecast and possibly the
end of the club. The challenge is to arrest the slump.
Eagles’ chairman Tim Adams explained:
“The
alternative, whilst we would not go into immediate
liquidation, would be a team that would be funded with a
very small resource. It wouldn’t be able to hack it in Super
League. We certainly wouldn’t be running an alliance team or
academy side and pretty shortly after that you’d be looking
at oblivion. We’ve now got the opportunity the financial
resources and a much wider development area to increase our
spectator base.”
Owner Paul Thompson and Adams’ fellow
directors Terry Sharman, Ralph Rimmer and Peter
Sephton have agreed to swap shares in Eagles for part
ownership of the new club. There will be a minimum of three
Eagles directors and three Huddersfield directors on the new
board. The new club will offer to buy shares off the Eagles’
800 or so independent shareholders at their original price.
The new club will not be quoted on the stock exchange as
Eagles has been in the past.
Huddersfield, wooden spoonists in this year’s
(1999 -ed) Super League
,will run a side in the Northern Ford Premiership while the
new club will continue to play in Alliance and Academy
competitions in addition to Super League.
Adams continued:
“I think this is a bright new dawn. We will be running a
competition to name the new club, but I can assure everyone
that there will be a hell of a lot of Sheffield Eagles
players playing for the new Super League club next year.”
All existing
Sheffield Eagles contracts will be honoured.
New chief executive Rimmer said the
new club hoped to play at Sheffield and Huddersfield,
alternating between venues. They hoped to lay on cheap
travel for Sheffield fans for games at the McAlpine Stadium.
With the club sharing with Huddersfield Town FC at The
McAlpine and, hopefully, with the
Blades at Bramall Lane, Super League fixture planners
are being urged to be as sympathetic as possible and slot in
games around the soccer fixture list..
Well it didn't happen...............
Mark Aston, Brian Aston, Ian Swire, Chris Noble, John
Whaling, Ian Anniss, Angie Gregory became the faces of
Sheffield Eagles.
The Eagles are one of the
"newer" clubs in the Northern Ford Premiership. The current
Sheffield Eagles team was conceived following the ill fated
merger of the two Super League clubs Huddersfield Giants and
the original Eagles. The reborn Eagles are slowly climbing
the Premiership ladder, although they currently lie outside
the play-off places. (2002)
The new Eagles were formed only weeks before the start of
the NFP season but still managed to win their first game
away at Lancashire Lynx 33:20 wearing borrowed kit. Despite
zero funding the team finished a creditable 14th place with
nine wins and a draw from their 28 league matches.
The following season saw the
club expand it’s off the field activities with the
establishment of a team of development officers who began
working in the local schools and community and an Eagles
Academy team was launched as the club continued to promote
it’s policy of developing young, local talent. On the field,
the club made progress finishing in an improved 11th
place. In only their second season, the Eagles efforts were
rewarded when they received the coveted “Northern Ford
Premiership Club of the Year” award in 2001.
Last season (2002), the
emphasis on youth was still the policy of the Eagles.
Sheffield’s Board of Directors were unwilling to risk the
future of the club by spending “big” money on ex-Super
League players as many clubs were tempted to do in order to
avoid the drop to National League 2. Instead Mark Aston
attempted to secure one of the vital top nine positions by
developing the talents of his young squad. Unfortunately
with youth comes inexperience and inconsistency and though
the fledgling Eagles gave their all, the team narrowly
missed out losing in the qualifying semi-final to an
experienced Dewsbury team.
As the 2003 season begans, Sheffield Eagles
were excited about the prospect of competing in the
first
ever truly national division of professional rugby league
with ten clubs representing eight counties of Cumbria,
Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Tyne and Wear, North
Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Greater
London. With the added interest of the Arriva Trains Cup and
the TXU Energi Challenge Cup competitions, the club has high
hopes of enjoying it’s most successful season to date both
on and off the field and with Eagles player / coach Mark
Aston enjoying a testimonial year, is hoping to give Eagles
fans something to cheer about.
The 2003 season saw a major
re-organisation of the semi-professional game with the
Eagles starting as one of ten teams in the new National
League Two - with London Skolars joining the professional
game as the 'new boys' in the division. But it was the
Challenge Cup that provided the early season excitement for
the Eagles' fans. The side showed its cup pedigree with a
last-gasp drop goal win over Keighley Cougars in the fourth
round and were rewarded with a tie against Super League Hull
FC. The trip to Hull's new KC stadium ended in defeat but
the Eagles had the consolation of a big pay cheque for their
share of the gate.
Back in the League the side's
blend of experience and young developing players produced
results and the Eagles were always in the top five. A strong
and consistent set of results in the final games of the
season saw the side take the league leaders' trophy -
confirmation of the progress that had been made. But
heartbreak was to follow in the promotion play-offs when the
Eagles - with skipper and player of the season Jon Bruce
injured – lost out to Keighley and Batley. The season also
saw Mark Aston play his last competitive game for the Eagles
after 384 appearances and scoring 2,140 points - a club
record.
VIDEO NASTY
DECIDES SHEFFIELD EAGLES GRAND FINAL FATE
Sheffield Eagles' first major final appearance ended sadly
with a 11-13 defeat by the Keighley Cougars. After finishing
National League 2 in 1st place, the Eagles went into the
Grand Final as favourites, but on the day the Cougars were
the better team. Minus Captain Jon Bruce, the Eagles looked
lost for ideas and at times lacked leadership, particularly
when Player/Coach Mark Aston and veteran Dale Laughton left
the field.
The game was a hard fought match, with no team ever really
having the upper hand. Gavin Brown opened the scoring for
the Eagles with an early penalty, but the Cougars scored the
only Try of the first half off a high ball from Matt Foster,
Eagles' Andy Raleigh having a try disallowed by the video
ref. Keighley's Paul Ashton added the conversion, a penalty
and a drop goal to complete the half's scores, but not
before Gavin Brown had kicked a second penalty.
With Keighley leading 4-9 at the break, nothing was certain
and 8 minutes into the second half, Papua New Guinea
International, Tom O'Reilly crashed through the Cougars
defense to score the only Eagles Try of the match. Brown
converted easily and Peter Reilly added a drop goal in the
68th minute to bring the Eagles up to 11-9, taking them
ahead. All the Eagles had to do now was defend and
consolidate their comeback. But it wasn't to be.
It was a 73rd minute Try from Keighley that clinched the win
- referee Peter Taberner going to the video ref for
assistance. The player's foot appeared to be in touch
although the video ref gave the all clear, but the pass it
was received from was forward (video refs cannot check for
forward passes). The game wasn't wrapped up and although in
7 minutes of Rugby League anything can happen, the Eagles
faithful stood in horror as they watched Mitch Stringer give
away a silly penalty, sending the Sheffield team back into
their own half. The miracle clean break through never came
and Sheffield's hands finally slipped off the trophy.
Although the result was not the right one for the Sheffield
Eagles, the fans and followers of the club should be
congratulated for their conduct on the day! They sang their
hearts out, they graciously applauded Keighley as they
lifted the cup and they helped mould the history of the new
club by being at their first final. It wasn't Wembley, but
that will come again and the Eagles fans know it.
Aston was been able to retain
most of his squad for the 2004 campaign. The signing of
young Barnsley-born prop Mitchell Stringer by Super League
side London Broncos showed testimony to the way the club is
developing talent. The coaching team and the players were
determined to go one better this year and achieve promotion
and thanks to a change in the rules the injustice of the
league leaders having to go into the play-offs has ended and
top place - the club's target - meant automatic promotion.
Sadly it was not to be, and due to a mid-season injury
crisis The Eagles lost valuable points in the table,
eventually finishing the season in third place and dropping
out of the play-offs in the first round to a rampant Hunslet
Hawks.
During the short off-season,
Aston lost five of his top players - Andy Raleigh to Hull
KR, Jordan James to Castleford Tigers, Andy Poynter to
Ipswich Jets (Australia) and Richard Goddard and Jon Bruce
to retirement from the professional game. Despite these
setbacks, The Eagles have recruited a new breed of talented
players, including former Eagles Academy duo Chris Molyneux
and Andy Rice. Blending youth with experience in the shape
of Gavin Brown and Lynton Stott. However 2005 will be
considered as a poor year, with The Eagles slumping to 7th
in the league.
2006 promised to be a year of achievement. Mark Aston made a
sideways step to make way for Gary Wilkinson as Head Coach.
Wilkinson brought with him a wealth of National League 1
talent, including Paul Fletcher, Martin Ostler, Johnny
Woodcock, Paul Pickering and Craig Poucher. Coupled with the
full time signing of 2005 loanees, James Ford and Jon
Presley and the addition of Australian stand-off Brendon
Lindsay, Eagles fans had plenty to cheer about as after a
shakey start, The Eagles put together an unbeaten run of 13
games which saw them finish second in the league and win the
National League 2 play off final at a sold out Haliwell
Jones Stadium and clinch promotion to National League 1.
With Aston back at the helm in 2007, the Eagles main aim was
to remain in National League 1, which they achieved
comfortably, finishing in sixth place - the first team to
remain the NL1 AND reach the play-offs. A clash with Super
League side Hull FC in the Challenge Cup and two home games
broadcast live on Sky Sports were highlights for The Eagles
who soared beyond all expectations. Mark Aston's service to
the club as coach was rewarded with the prestigious National
League 1 Coach Of The Year award.
[1] A brief
adaptation and extension of an article written by Graham
Walker ( A History of Sheffield Hornets) and first published in
1987 in Code 13 #5, pages 21 to 27 and
added to and expanded by Nigel Borham. With thanks also to
"Dr Tony" (Archivist of the
RFL) |
