We should have enough to win this game, but that will only happen if we put in a good performance. Sheffield have previously shown themselves to be very competitive, even though Aston has moved to one side they still have a good coach in Lingard who always got Batley to overachieve.
We have to go forwards before we go sideways on our pitch. If we do we should be fine, we will never have a better chance to win the 1895 cup, but if you don’t perform your out.

Great 2nd half performance but Meadows poor again, Mr Catch and Pass.
Once again why was half the terracing roped off again? No explanation from club, it makes my p**s boil.

Yeha the taping off the terrace is starting to cause a problem and infuriate fans. Last thing you need is making your loyal fan base unhappy. 


Anyway on the game. Sloppy first 30mins. That mason try with 8 seconds to go was absolutely crucial. Could have been a very different game otherwise. Bench was superb for us. Thought Michael was M.O.M, what a singing he's been. Hallas did what we needed someone to do when he came on, just run hard and straight and bring some energy. Thought Lilley made a difference too. 

It wasn’t pretty in the first half, in fact, we were well off the pace. We were very much second best across the park, Sheffield looked the more organised and polished side early on. Credit to them: they’re a well-coached outfit and came with a game plan that unsettled us from the off. We struggled to get into any rhythm, with unforced errors and poor discipline stalling any momentum.

Still, even with the misfires, we managed to nick a crucial score late in the half, keeping us within two points at the break. That lifeline gave us just enough of a spark and whatever was said in the sheds clearly hit home.

Because we came out flying in the second half. Two quick-fire tries right after the restart flipped the contest on its head and suddenly, we were the team setting the tempo. Intensity lifted, our line speed sharpened, and we began winning the physical battle.

Defensively, we stood tall for the majority of the contest. Sheffield's only points in the second 40 came off the back of individual lapses close to our own line, but overall, we were solid and aggressive without the ball.

The bench played a huge role in turning the tide. The fresh legs brought energy, physicality, and most importantly, momentum. Every interchange seemed to raise the standard, and their impact can’t be understated.

But the undoubted highlight of the game goes to Franklin Pele. The big man lit up the left edge with a barnstorming, mazy run that left 4 Sheffield defenders in his wake. Poor Jack Walker looked like he saw a freight train coming and had about as much luck stopping it. “Frank the Tank” was in full flow and it was glorious.

We head into the bye week with almost 90 points in two games and confidence building. The tough stuff is still to come with a stacked period of league and cup fixtures looming.

Next week is the draw I think 13th? Something like that? No idea why they couldn't have done it with the CC draw, it's as if the 1895 cup is merely a forgotten sideshow or something. 


It's refreshing to have a coaching team and a squad that can fix things at half-time. So many times in the last 5 years we've been ahead at halftime and end up losing. 


Anyway, as the post-match interviews mentioned, we weren't being direct enough and were allowing Sheffield to get men in the tackle and limit the ruck. As soon as we started to control the ruck ourselves, Sheffield fell off and space opened up. Sheffield also were much better with their starting 13 on (ie the first 30minutes) as soon as they started to use their bench they had a drop in performance. 


Some nice moves and tries though. Also some nice multi-pass moves that didn't get a try...

Also, this bye week is coming at a very useful time for us. At least 4 or 5 full training sessions for the coaches to work with.