Featherstone Rovers 32 Sheffield Eagles 14: Rovers bounce back from defeat in Widnes to claim third home win of Championship campaign

Rovers haven't lost to the Eagles for almost three years, however the South Yorkshire side came to Featherstone with renewed confidence.

Sheffield were undefeated before their visit to the LD Nutrition Stadium, claiming four wins from their first four games.

They added 14 new players during the off-season - including former Rovers man Anthony Thackeray - with only six players still at the club from when the sides last met.

The game was surprisingly ill-tempered at times, with the referee brandishing two yellow cards along with one red.

Ryan Carr made a number of changes to his line-up following last weekend's defeat at Widnes Vikings.

Jack Bussey was drafted in for his second debut, while Ben Reynolds made his first appearance after joining on loan from Wakefield Trinity during the week.

Ashton Golding started at full-back with Castleford Tigers' Calum Turner moving to the wing.

James Harrison started at centre, making room for Leeds Rhinos' Cameron Smith in the forward pack.

The home side opened the scoring just before the 10-minute mark but not before suffering an early scare of their own.

Matt James broke through from Thackeray's pass but was stopped just short as Golding scrambled across to bundle him to the ground.

Featherstone then worked their way up the field and, with the help of a penalty, found themselves inches from the whitewash.

Cameron King dropped a short ball off for James Lockwood who crashed through to score.

Rovers punished more indiscipline from Sheffield as they scored off the back of a double penalty.

Sheffield were penalised for interference before being marched back another 10 metres for dissent.

The hosts worked it wide to Turner who stepped inside and powered through the tackles to get the ball down.

The Eagles hit back as Pat Walker lofted a perfectly-weighted kick for Ryan Millar to collect and ground wide on the left.

Rovers soon restored their two-try advantage, however, as Reynolds found Golding who dropped the shoulder and weaved through the line for Featherstone's third.

Sheffield were reduced to 12 men with three minutes of the first half remaining as Blake Broadbent was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle on Josh Hardcastle.

Despite the set-back, the away side reduced the deficit when Joel Farrell twisted out of the tackle to score for the fifth game running this season.

It was 12 against 12 for 10 minutes in the second half as Bussey was sin-binned with 47 minutes on the clock.

Sheffield took advantage of the extra space as Millar slid over for his second, a missed conversion meant Rovers held a two-point lead.

Rovers re-extended their advantage when Watson Boas broke through but was hauled down by Thackeray.

After three more darts for the line, the ball was worked to Bussey who atoned for his sin-binning by holding off the defender and plunging over by the posts.

King has scored in every game he has played in at home this season and almost scored another soon after but dropped the ball under pressure from a number of defenders.

Sheffield were reduced to 11 men with 13 minutes to go when James Davey was sin-binned for a high shot.

Featherstone wasted no time extending their lead as Smith looped a brilliant pass out to Turner who darted over unopposed. The young full-back then converted his own try with a brilliant touchline effort.

The hosts rounded off a professional performance with a break on the right finishing with King finding John Davies who slid over the line to score against his former club.

Featherstone Rovers: Golding, Briscoe, Hardcastle, Harrison, Turner, Reynolds, W. Boas, Wheeldon, King, Bussey, Smith, Davies, Lockwood. Subs: Cooper, Ormondroyd, Maskill, A.Boas.

Sheffield Eagles: Guzdek, Millar, Glover, Crookes, Blackmore, Walker, Thackeray, Knowles, Davey, Matt James, Davies, Farrell, Brown. Subs: G. Burns, Broadbent, P. Burns, Pick.

Referee: Liam Moore