
SHEFFIELD EAGLES skipper Joel Farrell says he’s proud to take the armband from Anthony Thackeray and keen to help the club get back to challenging at the top end of the table.
The South Yorkshire side’s 2024 season was significantly derailed after the RFL started an investigation that eventually led to stalwart Mark Aston being handed an 18-month ban from any coaching involvement in the sport after being found guilty of breaching the rules around a player returning from a head injury.
Having been third with twelve wins from 17 league games, the Eagles dropped to a final position of seventh, so missing out on the play-offs.
Now Aston is in a new role raising commercial revenue and sponsorship, attending events and acting as a club ambassador, and supporting the club’s foundation, as he appeals his suspension.
He will become director of rugby, either on a successful appeal of his ban, or when the current sanction ends on April 30, 2026.
Craig Lingard has taken charge of the team, and with halfback Thackeray retiring after 18 years in the senior game and six at Sheffield, the former Keighley, Batley and Castleford coach has made Jamaica forward Farrell his captain.
And the 30-year-old son of ex-Sheffield player Anthony Farrell, also a second rower, told League Express: “It means a lot. I’m going into my seventh season here (after signing from Batley), and I’ve had a great mentor in Thacks.
“We were all disappointed with how we fell away last season. There are lessons we can learn from it, and we are a better team than the table showed.
“We have kept a lot of the squad, added a few more players, and we have a great and experienced coach in Craig.
“With more stability now, we want to get back to doing the things which make us a strong side, and show what we are all about.”
Meanwhile Sheffield have signed former Leeds, Hull KR and Hull fullback Jack Walker, 25, on a monthly rolling contract.