SHEFFIELD EAGLES coach Craig Lingard was left to try and make the most of an unexpected blank weekend as he sets his sights on sealing a second victory from just two Championship games so far this year at home to Barrow on Saturday.
The South Yorkshire side were due to visit Halifax last Sunday, but the match was shelved after the Panthers’ shock liquidation.
Sheffield had already had a bye round, so have featured just once in the new-look second tier, winning 11-4 at Whitehaven on Sunday, January 18, while playing two Challenge Cup ties, beating Whitehaven 18-6 at home before losing 34-6 in their third-round clash with Warrington, which was switched to the Wolves’ Halliwell Jones Stadium.
As a keen student of the game’s history, Lingard has found the demise of founder Northern Union members Halifax particularly poignant, and he said: “My thoughts go out to everyone affected, including the supporters.
“Like Featherstone fans, they have found themselves without a team to support, and I really hope things can be salvaged in both those places.”
Lingard added: “There was a little uncertainty regarding training at the start of last week, and while there was obviously already a question mark against the match at Halifax, we had to go into Tuesday’s session as if it would still go ahead.
“After learning the game was definitely off, we altered the sessions for the remainder of the week, and while it was disappointing not to play, we were able to focus on some things we wouldn’t have been able to ordinarily.
“We’re very much a new group this season, we have two new halves, and with (fullback) Matty Marsh missing much of last season, it’s pretty much a new spine, so we’ve been working on bedding that in and on our combinations.
“Defensively we have looked okay, but our attack is still developing, so being able to concentrate on building connections has been useful.”