DRAW ENDS IN BUST-UP
DARTS PREMIER LEAGUE
CORY ASTON has waited so long for a Super League chance he is not prepared to let it slip through his fingers.
Half-back Aston joined Leeds in 2017 and Castleford 12 months later, having made his debut for Championship Sheffield in 2013.
A host of loan and dualregistration spells took his first team appearances to over 100 before he made his top-flight bow for the Tigers last month.
Aston, 24, now has four Super League appearances under his belt and wants to hold down his place ahead of tonight’s Challenge Cup trip to Hull.
He said: “My first three games were inside 10 days over the Easter weekend and that was a bit of a shock for my body with the speed and physicality of it.
“We’ve been really down on troops, but I’ve enjoyed it and it’s something I’ve waited a long time for. I think I’ve done alright.
“The key areas I wanted to focus on were my defence and making sure my kicking game was good, and I think they’ve been my two strongest points.
“Daryl Powell has given me a lot of confidence because it’s been a long process for me to get here after two and a half years at Super League clubs.
“There were some pretty low points when I was down on confidence and wondered if I’d ever get this opportunity.
“I just want to build on the back of the games so far.”
Aston also has the opportunity to write his own chapter into the family’s considerable Challenge Cup history.
Dad Mark was man of the match when Sheffield Eagles produced one of the biggest shocks in the competition’s history when they stunned Wigan in the 1998 final.
Cory, just three at the time, was later pictured on his shoulders on the Wembley pitch after the game.
He added: “Every time the cup comes around and I’m playing people bring it up, and it was a proud moment for my family.
“Dad definitely doesn’t stop talking about it – I think the password for his phone is still 1998.
“It was a big day for our whole family because of what Sheffield Eagles meant to us so I never mind talking about it.” DARYL GURNEY and Gerwyn Price had to be separated by security guards on a fiery night 15 of the Premier League.
Tempers flared following the 7-7 draw in Sheffield as the two men exchanged heated words on stage. They had to be pulled apart after Gurney celebrated aggressively having levelled the contest. Welsh ace Price (below) said after the match that he was accused of talking when Gurney was throwing. The stalemate did little to boost either man’s chances of reaching the play-offs, leaving Gurney in fifth position and Price in sixth heading into the final night of the regular season in Leeds next week. 8pm CARETAKER coach Simon Grix’s bid to steer Halifax into the quarter-finals will be missing his on-field services and those of his brother Scott.
Player-boss Grix – who missed out on three Challenge Cup finals with Warrington – has a groin injury, while Scott (above) cannot play under the terms of his loan from Huddersfield.
But Fax will still start as favourites against Championship rivals the Rams, with Grix expecting there to be little between the sides. He said: “Dewsbury are a big side and with this bad weather thrown into the mix, I do think it’s likely to be a tight contest.”
Suljovic (Aut) 8-4, G Price (Wal) drew with D Gurney (NIrl) 7-7, M van Gerwen (Hol) bt P Wright (Sco) 8-1