Sheffield Eagles romp to victory over Batley Bulldogs

SHEFFIELD EAGLES 50 BATLEY BULLDOGS 18
DAN FOWLER, Steel City Stadium, Sunday

SHEFFIELD got back to winning ways with a hammering of Batley as Craig Lingard bested his old side for only a second league success as Eagles boss.

After racing into a 22-0 lead inside the first 15 minutes, Sheffield had all but wrapped up the victory despite a couple of Batley responses later in the half.

Ryan Millar bagged a first-half brace for the Eagles before Cory Aston matched his total in the second.

It didn’t take long for Sheffield to open the scoring – inside a minute to be exact, as they spread the ball to the right flank for Millar to scoot over.

Aston hit the post with the conversion attempt, one of only two he’d miss all night of his team’s nine tries.

The Eagles outfit looked a different one to previous weeks, with some ferocious defence giving their attack a platform to flourish.

After a six-again was won by Tyler Dickinson, courtesy of some fast-flowing rucks, Morgan Smith put on a sumptuous sidestep to bypass the Batley defence.

Things went from bad to worse for the Bulldogs when they conceded tries in back-to-back sets as the clock ticked over a quarter of an hour.

Makeshift centre AJ Wallace powered through the Bulldogs rearguard to extend the hosts’ lead, before Matty Marsh laid a try on a plate for Millar who completed his brace.

Batley got on the scoresheet themselves in the 23rd minute, Joe Burton finishing off a nicely-worked move to the left flank. Josh Woods struck the conversion as clean as you like from the touchline.

But the Eagles’ pace and strength in their carries would continue to haunt the Bulldogs defence. A penalty going the hosts’ way soon ended in another six points, this time a massive Kris Welham fend helped the centre to the touchline.

The Bulldogs had found their footing in attack, though. Their second try of the evening came just after the half-hour, a nicely-timed Jayden Myers offload found its way to Jack Render who acrobatically finished.

Woods’ conversion, from the other touchline to his prior effort, went through the sticks for the final points of the half as Batley stared at a 16-point deficit at 28-12.

The second half could be summed up by the first carry, Masi Matongo making 40 metres off his own goal-line to put Sheffield on the front foot.

However, the Eagles’ next points would stem from their own line. Batley were knocking on the door when a cross-field kick batted back into play ended in the hands of Welham – a customary fend later, he was able to offload to Aston for his first of two scores.

Batley did stop the bleeding momentarily but their former hooker Reiss Butterworth put paid to that in the final quarter, notching via a foray from the ruck.

The final five minutes brought with it three tries – two for the hosts and one for Batley. The cross-field kick which didn’t work earlier in the game did eventually come up trumps for the visitors, Ollie Greensmith getting on the end of this one.

Two Batley errors deep in their own half were pounced upon as Sheffield raised the bat with a 50-point performance. Tyler Dickinson marked his 200th career appearance with a four-pointer before Aston completed his double.

GAMESTAR: There are quite a few nominees but Ryan Millar made plenty of post-contact metres whilst getting on the scoresheet twice.

GAMEBREAKER: Cory Aston’s first try – going from one end to the other – knocked the stuffing out of Batley.

MATCHFACTS
EAGLES
1 Matty Marsh
21 Ryan Millar
3 Kris Welham
35 AJ Wallace
5 Matty Dawson-Jones
6 Cory Aston
7 Morgan Smith
8 Eddie Battye
9 Corey Johnson
10 Tyler Dickinson
24 Oliver Roberts
18 Jack Bussey
13 Titus Gwaze
Subs (all used)
14 Reiss Butterworth
16 Blake Broadbent
22 Masi Matongo
27 Jack Mallinson

Tries: Millar (1, 17), Smith (8), Wallace (15), Welham (27), Aston (47, 80), Butterworth (67), Dickinson (77)
Goals: Aston 7/9

BULLDOGS
1 Robbie Butterworth
19 Jack Render
28 Jayden Myers
3 Ollie Greensmith
2 Joe Burton
6 Ben White
7 Josh Woods
8 Adam Gledhill
23 Jonah Parsons
10 Luke Cooper
15 Nyle Flynn
4 Joe Arundel
14 Brandon Moore
Subs (all used)
9 Alistair Leak
16 Michael Ward
22 Luca Atkinson
27 Isaac Shaw