SHEFFIELD EAGLES 28 HUNSLET 26
DAN FOWLER, MEPS International Home of Football Stadium, Sunday

SHEFFIELD scraped past a valiant Hunslet, who were unlucky not to claim a point as a missed Aiden Doolan conversion two minutes from time proved to be the difference.

Despite the late miss, Doolan was without doubt the star of the show for either side. The on-loan Castleford hooker scored two tries and his quick feet were a constant pain for the Eagles’ defence to handle.

For Sheffield, their go-forward came from the likes of Martyn Reilly and Harry Bowes, while they were a much dangerous proposition when Reiss Butterworth entered the fray.

Sheffield broke the deadlock in the eighth minute with an off-the-cuff effort to say the least.

A dummy-half kick from Greg Eden was collected by Joe Brown, who found Ryan Millar and it was his no-look offload that created room for Connor Bower to provide another kick that eventually found Brown to touch down. Jordan Abdull converted.

After winning a goal-line dropout, Sheffield soon surrendered possession as neither Reilly or Eden put their name on the restart and the former fumbled on halfway. From the ensuing set, Hunslet made the most of their newfound territory as Lee Gaskell’s kick was caught by Jayden Hatton, who dotted down. Doolan added the conversion to level the scores.

Sheffield regained their lead on 22 minutes when Bower got through some weak Hunslet defending, with Abdull again knocking over the conversion.

A quick Hunslet double then turned the game on its head as the Leeds-based club went into the break ahead.

For the first, Myles Harrop’s quick feet got the better of opposite number Brown before the visitors’ momentum brought another score, when a delayed pass from Gaskell helped Harrison Gilmore to the line. Doolan kicked one from two to put Hunslet four points in front at the interval.

Sheffield went one better than their counterparts in the opening stages of the second half as they registered three tries in the space of eight minutes. 

A sharp ball from dummy-half found Alex Foster to dive over from close range before Eden connected with Billy Walkley, who strolled over in the corner. The purple patch was rounded off by a calamitous error from Hunslet winger Mo Agoro, who had got on the end of an Abdull grubber before spilling the ball with nobody around, which allowed Eden to touch down for probably the easiest score of his career.

Abdull converted two from three to put Sheffield 12 points in front after 52 minutes. 

Hunslet refused to go down without a fight, however. In the final quarter, with the Eagles defenders tiring, Doolan started to take the game into his own hands.

His first effort came from a nifty dash out of dummy-half, capitalising on some lazy marker defence before going around Eden. 

He converted that particular effort, but rather cruelly he’d go on to miss the final effort of the game after he had completed his brace with two minutes remaining.

The beauty of the Championship was on show for all to see.

Hunslet will feel hard done by that they’ve not gone away from Derbyshire with at least a point.

GAMESTAR: Aiden Doolan was in terrific form for Hunslet and he is certainly one to watch.

GAMEBREAKER: Doolan’s missed conversion two minutes from time was a painful end to a memorable afternoon for the hooker, and the Hunslet side in general.

MATCHFACTS

EAGLES
28 Greg Eden
21 Ryan Millar
2 Joe Brown
4 Kieran Gill
5 Billy Walkley
9 Corey Johnson
27 Jordan Abdull
22 Masi Matongo
17 Harry Bowes
10 Martyn Reilly
11 Connor Bower
23 Alex Foster
15 George Griffin
Subs
8 Conor Fitzsimmons (not used)
13 Jack Bussey
14 Reiss Butterworth
20 Lewis Peachey

Tries: Brown (8), Bower (22), Foster (44), Walkley (48), Eden (52)
Goals: Abdull 4/5

HUNSLET
18 Jimmy Watson
5 Mo Agoro
29 Jayden Hatton
3 Myles Harrop
27 Charlie Graham
6 Lee Gaskell
13 Eddie Battye
17 Kevin Larroyer
37 Aiden Doolan
36 Sam Grice
11 Harrison Gilmore
20 Liam Carr
35 Jordan Baldwinson
Subs (all used)
8 Harvey Hallas
14 Cam Berry
26 Ethan O’Hanlon
28 Anthony Walker

Tries: Hatton (15), Harrop (31), Gilmore (35), Doolan (67, 78)
Goals: Doolan 3/5

SCORING SEQUENCE: 6-0, 6-6, 12-6, 12-10, 12-16; 18-16, 22-16, 28-16, 28-22, 28-26

Rugby Leaguer & League Express Men of the Match
Eagles: Martyn Reilly; Hunslet: Aiden Doolan

Penalty count: 6-5
Half-time: 12-16
Referee: Freddie Lincoln
Attendance: 571