Sheffield Eagles miss out on Play-Offs progression after defeat to Barrow Raiders

Sheffield Eagles came up short in their Betfred Championship Playoff Eliminator against Barrow Raiders, finishing on the wrong end of a 26-10 scoreline, and losing out on the chance to progress to the next stage of the competition.

Greg Eden made his return to the Eagles squad, slotting back into fullback, allowing Kai Morgan to move to his natural position in the halves. An injury in the pre-match warm-up left Jordan Abdull sidelined, with Lennie Ellis coming in to replace him. Connor Bower also returned.

The fixture began very much in the Raiders’ favour, with a penalty goal allowing them to go ahead early in the proceedings.

The Eagles had multiple chances to score, but Barrow held firm with a dominant defensive effort; soon after their first points, the home side extended their lead with a try from Andrew Bullman.

Ten minutes after the Raiders had scored, it was the Eagles' turn to get themselves onto the scoresheet next, with a dummy and an offload from Connor Bower putting Billy Walkley right through to keep Sheffield in the game.

Both sides made more close efforts, but despite their best efforts, we went into the break with no further changes to the scoreline.

The second half began much like the first, with Barrow being the first to open the scoring, after a dash over the line from Greg Richards.

Greg Eden had a scoring chance next, but it was ruled out due to an obstruction, keeping the Eagles scoreless so far in the half.

Almost instantly after that disallowed try, the Raiders scored yet again, with an impressive effort from Joe Bullock.

But it was the Eagles' turn to finally come up with another response, and with a Kieran Gill interception, the game remained in contention.

However, the scoreline seemed to be too steep a climb for the Eagles, and with a try from Ryan King in the final minutes of the fixture, Sheffield’s season came to a close, and they missed out on the chance to progress further in the playoffs.

Barrow Raiders: Cresswell, Bulman, Teare, Costello, Broadbent, Bishop, Johnston, Bullock, Wood, Singleton, Emslie, Robson, King

Interchanges (all used): Walker, Richards, Stack, Makin

Tries: Bullman (17’), Richards (50’), Bullock (58’), King (73’)

Penalties: Johnston (1/1)

Sheffield Eagles: Eden, Brown, Oakes, Gill, Walkley, Morgan, Ellis, Matongo, Johnson, Reilly, Bower, Hodson, Griffin

Interchanges (all used): Bussey, Butterworth, Bowes, Peachey

Tries: Walkley (27’), Gill (62’)