SHEFFIELD EAGLES fullback Matty Marsh says his leadership style is more about actions than words as he sets sights on regular appearances and an improved league placing.
The 30-year-old endured a frustrating 2025 campaign as injury issues restricted him to nine games as Craig Lingard’s side finished in eleventh place in the old-style Championship.
And the alarm bells were perhaps ringing when Marsh was ruled out of the pre-Christmas pre-season match at Keighley.
However, having been named a vice-captain to skipper Joel Farrell by Lingard, he made the starting line as Sheffield won 11-4 at Whitehaven, the first of successive meetings with the clubs clashing again in the second round of the Challenge Cup on Saturday, this time at the Steel City Stadium, where the Eagles won 18-6 to seal a home meeting with Warrington.
The league game marked Marsh’s 200th career appearance (42 for home-city club Hull KR, where he began his career, three for Coventry (dual registration), nine for Newcastle (loan), 107 for York and 39 for Sheffield, who signed him in 2024).
Now he wants plenty more, saying: “Getting to that milestone means a lot, and it’s great being involved again.
“It was tough with the winter conditions and playing against a well-organised team, but I think we set down a bit of a marker, especially with our defence, which is something we need to improve and are working on.”
Marsh and prop George Griffin, signed from Castleford, are the vice-captains to second rower Farrell, and he added: “It’s a big thing for me and Faz is a great bloke to support.
“I might not be the most talkative in the changing room, but I always try to be a leader on the pitch.”
Lingard hailed his players’ workrate in Cumbria, saying: “Very few teams are going to go to Whitehaven and win by a big margin.
“We knew we would have to grind and graft and set a foundation to get the points.”