SHEFFIELD EAGLES coach Craig Lingard wants his players to use the disappointment of Sunday’s last-minute loss at Oldham as a catalyst to making a mark in the play-offs.
His side fell victim to Australian halfback Josh Drinkwater’s field-goal, with the 31-30 setback ending a run of six straight wins.
The boss pointed to his team’s failure to deal with the restart after Connor Bower levelled a topsy-turvy game through a penalty-goal.
But Lingard was pleased with the way they fought back from being 16-0 down after 15 minutes to lead by four points at half-time.
“Oldham started really well, and won the contact and impact on both sides of the ball, with our defensive intent a bit off,” he reflected.
“We got rolled too easily, we didn’t offer much decent shape, we made a few sloppy errors, and we were punished.
“But we got through the other side and started to build into the game, and it’s just really disappointing we couldn’t get the victory.”
Lingard admitted: “We’ve found it hard to get over the top of teams in the top six, and it’s obviously something we need to address.
“There are some very good sides in this division, but we know the quality we have, and how close and connected we are as a group.
“There’s no reason we can’t be competitive in the play-offs, and it’s important we use the Oldham defeat as a catalyst to do better.”
Sheffield went into the game without winger Billy Walkley and centre/backrower Josh Hodson through injury and lost halfback Kai Morgan to a head assessment half an hour in.
“We had some adversity, but it’s next man up,” added Lingard.