HALFBACK Cory Aston has left Sheffield – less than six weeks after his father Mark Aston ended a long association with the South Yorkshire club.

Former Eagles player and coach Mark, 57, stepped down from his commercial role in mid-August, ending the possibility of him becoming director of rugby.

He had been serving a coaching suspension after a tribunal ruled that during the 2024 season, he breached RFL rules around a player returning to action after a head injury.

The plan had been for him to become director of rugby after the suspension ended, with Craig Lingard having been appointed coach in December.

Mark Aston played for Sheffield in two spells, from 1986 to 1994, then from 1995 to 2003, during which time he was instrumental in forming the current version of the club following the original’s controversial merger with Huddersfield in late 1999.

He had two spells as coach, between 2000 and 2005 and then from 2007 until July 2024, when he was stood down by the club pending the RFL’s investigation into the medical compliance issue, and also had a stint as chief executive.

Cory Aston, 30, had two permanent stints as a player, coming through the old Sheffield Academy to feature in the first team from 2013 to 2016, then returning in 2023 after having had a loan stint from Castleford in 2018. He has also had spells at Leeds (although he didn’t make a first-team appearance for them), London Broncos and Halifax.

Having made 189 Sheffield appearances in all, he is leaving the club along with fellow halfback Danny Craven, centre Kris Welham, who is retiring, winger Matty Dawson-Jones and forwards Eddie Battye, Titus Gwaze, Evan Hodgson and Oliver Roberts.