Report: Barrow Raiders 18-16 Sheffield Eagles

Barrow Raiders defeated Sheffield Eagles 18-16 in Round 16 of the Betfred Championship to record their fourth straight win.

It was far from smooth sailing for a Raiders side beaten by Sheffield in the reverse fixture back in February.

Sheffield posted first points with 10 minutes gone, a Jordan Abdull penalty breaking the deadlock.

Before the midway point of the first half, Ryan King kept up his impressive scoring form, throwing a dummy then crashing over from close range to the right of the posts to make it five tries in his last three games.

Harvey Makin stretched the Raiders’ lead further with 23 minutes gone, powering past three defenders to score under the sticks and make it 12-2, with the aid of Brad Walker’s conversion.

But the two sides would go into the break level after two tries in a matter of minutes saw Sheffield strike back, Billy Walkley and Connor Bower the scorers.

The Eagles hit the front six minutes after half-time as Walkley went over again after a smart Abdull kick to the corner.

With a four-point deficit to overturn, Barrow drew level inside the final 15 minutes. Brad Walker’s high kick was plucked out of the air superbly by Shane Toal, who fed Ellis Robson to his left to power over in the corner.

A missed conversion left the scoreline poised at 16-16, before a high tackle on Jarrad Stack gifted Brad Walker the opportunity to knock over a penalty, 20m from goal, and make it 18-16 with five minutes to go.

Sheffield had their chances towards the end, enjoying tackles inside the Raiders 20, but the hosts held firm to earn a big result which lifts them to second in the Championship table ahead of Sunday’s fixtures.

The Raiders don’t need to wait long for another home game, with Dewsbury Rams set to visit the Speed Competitions Stadium on Saturday 20 June.

That fixture will also form part of the town’s Dave Day celebrations. For full details, click here.

Tickets are available to buy here.

BARROW RAIDERS 18

Tries: King, Makin, Robson

Goals: B.Walker (3)

SHEFFIELD EAGLES 16

Tries: Walkley (2), Bower

Goals: Abdull (2)