Recap

The Newcastle Eagles kicked off their season with a home game against the City of Leeds on Saturday.

A nervous start by both teams saw very few scores in the first few minutes but the Eagles showed aggression on the offensive boards to create numerous opportunities and this helped them to carve out a 15-9 lead after the first.

A few too many turnovers and some foul trouble meant that the Eagles failed to capitalise on a number of opportunities. A strong finish to the quarter however saw them stretch their lead 32-20.

The second half was a different story with the Eagles coming out more focused and playing like they knew they could and stretching out the lead to 40 points with contribution from all players.

The young Leeds team, to their credit, kept fighting and working hard but in the end the Eagles were too strong and finished the game 73-43 winners.

Next up is a tough away trip against a familiar opponent in West Brom which the Eagles lost to in double overtime last year.