SHEFFIELD EAGLES coach Craig Lingard is looking forward to seeing how a three-way fight for the two key halfback berths unfolds this season.
Cory Aston, now at Doncaster, Morgan Smith, who switched to Oldham in July, Danny Craven, who has joined Midlands Hurricanes, Jenson Windley, on loan from Castleford, and versatile Jack Bussey all played as pivots last year, when injuries and squad changes led to 42 players appearing over the 28 games overall as the Eagles ended up third-bottom of the second tier.
Ahead of his second season at the helm, Lingard, keen to play Bussey as a loose-forward, has brought in three halves – Jordan Lilley (pictured) from Bradford, Lennie Ellis from Hull KR and Kai Morgan from Salford – as part of a squad overhaul.
Former Leeds man Lilley, 29, was a regular in the Bulls side who finished third in the old-style Championship and made the play-off semi-finals last year. Ellis, 20, who played once for Rovers back in 2023, featured for London Broncos and Goole while Morgan, 21, chalked up 15 appearances for the beleaguered Red Devils.
A product of the renowned Halifax community club Siddal, Morgan came through the Leeds system before signing for Salford ahead of 2024, when he played twice for them and also had outings with Rochdale, Swinton and Halifax.
“I’ve heard good things about the direction the club are going in and I want to play a part in helping us achieve a high finish next season,” he said.
Lingard added: “Kai is an exciting prospect who played a lot of Super League games in 2025, and we want to further develop him as a player across this season.
“He will add plenty of competition in the halves alongside Jordan Lilley and Lennie Ellis, and it will be an exciting fight between those three players to see who our starting halfbacks will be.”
Sheffield start their campaign at Whitehaven on Sunday having lost the chance of a pre-season run-out at Batley, one of Lingard’s former clubs, due to the cold snap.