IF there was one game that deserved to be played on television this afternoon then it has to be Featherstone Rovers’ home win over Sheffield Eagles.
The Eagles were down to ten men at one stage with Rovers also down to 12 as the feisty affair boiled over with 15 minutes to go.
Sheffield’s Vila Halafihi was sent to the sinbin first for an incident with Featherstone’s Jack Bussey before Cory Aston flopped on a Rovers player.
Riley Dean was sinbinned for running in before former Featherstone forward Jesse Sene-Lefao was the fourth to receive his marching orders for dissent as referee Tom Grant struggled to keep control.
Following the game, Long reflected on an “insane” game: “It was insane, it’s a great win and I can’t fault the lads’ effort but we are just making it really difficult for ourselves,” the Rovers boss told League Express.
“There were too many yardage errors, ill-discipline with and without the ball but they battled on until the end and got a couple of tries.
“Sheffield are a very good team, they came here to knock us off our perch. They are well-coached and throw the ball around so we had to scramble and work hard. We can definitely make it easier for ourselves!”
Long admitted that his side went away from what they know, but believes that a couple of incidents could have been straightened out earlier by the referee.
“I didn’t have a clue what was going on! We can only look after ourselves and not get suckered into playing a different style. I don’t know, it’s nothing to do with me.
“Obviously Cory Aston flops on and you can’t run in anymore, it caused a ruckus and Riley Dean got penalised for that.
“There were a couple of instances that could have got flattened out earlier, the late tackle on Thomas (Lacans) when he got taken out. It was a clear penalty and it spiralled out of control.
“That rolled over into the lads’ performances on both sides. At the end of the day I am happy for the win.”