I was man of match in one of biggest Wembley upsets, now I want a repeat after my club had to move cities to survive
MARK ASTON is ready to use memories of Wembley 1998 to inspire Sheffield Eagles to another huge Challenge Cup shock over Wigan.
He was man of the match in the biggest upset in the competition’s history when the South Yorkshire side won 17-8 in the final 26 years ago.
And the Eagles boss is formulating a plan to stun the current World Club champions on Friday night.
While the players are different, the same methods will allow them to dare to dream.
Aston said, tongue-in-cheek: “I don’t mention 1998 very, very, very often.
“That Wigan team in 1998 – with Jason Robinson, Andy Farrell, Denis Betts, Henry Paul and Kris Radlinski – was unbelievable.
“But it was our year and things are possible, aren’t they? The one thing we all do is dream and you dream big.
“Our boss, John Kear, planted the seed in the first session of pre-season, ‘We’re going to Wembley and we’re going to win it.’
“And no-one was going to beat us at the final. I don’t give a monkey’s who we played that day, it was 1998, the year of the Eagles as Johnny Lawless kept shouting in the tunnel.
“The actions of the players – the commitment and attitude to defend – proved what is possible. Those core values, team first, work ethic and enjoyment, can be called upon tomorrow.
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“I’ll be dreaming tonight and I’m sure my players will. It was our year then, hopefully Wigan have already had their year by winning the World Club Challenge.
“Yes, 1998 was special and the romance is great but this is business for us. We can go with no fear and enjoy ourselves.”
To say Sheffield have had a bumpy history since their formation 40 years ago is an understatement – their sponsors went bust leading up to their first game!
An ill-fated merger with Huddersfield in 1999 killed the hopes of the sport conquering the South Yorkshire city – but Aston never gave up, despite dark days.
As coach, he has made them a stable Championship outfit and as director of rugby, he is spearheading the Eagles’ plan to move to a new 5,000-capacity stadium at the Meadowhead area in the south of the city.
Being shared with Sheffield FC, the world’s oldest football club, it will have football and rugby league facilities as well as a cricket pavilion, multi-use artificial sports pitches, a football museum and an indoor community sports hall.
That will give them the chance to grow in a community that was ripe for the picking in 1998 – but one the sport missed out on.
An emotional Aston added: “Bringing Sheffield back up has been tough and there have been dark days.
“The merger was heartbreaking for a lot of people. A lot of work went in to achieve what we did in 1998 – the club should’ve kicked on. We didn’t, we stood still.
“I look back sometimes and think, ‘Where would we be if we were in Super League now?’ I think we’d be a strong team, we’d have got the fans – Sheffield is a sporting city.
“What went on was really disappointing but when the club was first formed, the firm that was going to be our main sponsor went bust leading up to the first game.
“We had to totally rebuild it from nothing. Our stadium got taken from us in 2013 when Don Valley was knocked down.
“Then we were here, there and everywhere before settling at Olympic Legacy Park. It’s been the hardest job of everyone connected with the club’s lives but it’s déjà vu for me.
“I remember we couldn’t play at Owlerton any more in 1989. We had to play at Chesterfield, Bramall Lane, Hillsborough, Barnsley, Doncaster, Castleford.
“But I made a commitment to the fans, ‘We’ll get you back to Sheffield,’ and if you dream the dream, it can become reality. We’ve a good, strong foundation now and we’ve resilience in abundance.”