Hawks snowed under by Cougars in opener

The Keighley Cougars signed off their 2007 season with a victory over the Hunslet Hawks to kill off the Leeds team play-off aspirations. Fittingly, their return to South Leeds Stadium on Friday, signalled the start of the 2008 season.

Whilst Hunslet honour their heritage this year, celebrating their all four cups feat a century ago, their more recent history has been less kind. When new coach, former Great Britain centre, Graham Hallas commenced his duties, he only had three contracted players signed on, and the club's very existence was under threat.

Whilst that threat has now been banished, Hallas' fledgling Hawks side were the targets in the Cougars sights. Cougar coach Barry Eaton, had tasked his team with hunting them down, to show no mercy and to attack the try line, time and again.

However, before the game plan could come to fruition, Keighley firstly had to overcome the elements. Playing into the eye of a gale in the first half, necessitated using a running game built on the first receivers' power and thrust. On the odd occasion a kick was put in, it rarely made favourable yardage.

As cold fingers tried to acclimatise, both teams knocked on within the first two minutes. The Cougars then caught Hunslet offside. James Feather took a quick tap penalty before he too succumbed to the knock-on fever.

The next Keighley set saw Jon Presley put in a low hard kick, the pace of which proved too much for Stuart Dunbar with Gavin Duffy bearing down on him. Following the same pattern he knocked-on to return the ball to the visitors.

Andy Shickell crashed over the chalk from the ensuing set, only to be turned and held up by Andy Robinson, Nathan Larvin and Dunbar.

Completion rates and free-flowing rugby proved elusive, particularly for the home side. Time and again the Hawks hit the hard tackling Cougar wall.

When they did break the gain line the final ball often lacked direction or purpose, unlike Cougar captain Feather, who darted from dummy half to cross the try line. Unfortunately play was called back for an earlier infringement.

His opposite number, Mark Moxon then sold an outrageous sweeping dummy to create space, before freeing Karl Gunney. Gunney looked to find his range, making it into the Cougar 20, before George Rayner shot him down.

Hawks stand off Stuart Young bombed the Keighley line, time and again and in spite of the swirling winds Rayner defused them all.

Young set up another home team attack courtesy of his 40-20 kick, but once Dan Townend was tackled by Feather and Chris Redfearn, feathers and fists flew. The upshot being, both Townend and Redfearn went into the sin bin to cool off for ten minutes.

Keighley broke the deadlock after 36 minutes, overcoming the conditions and the Hawk defence.

Sam Gardner and Rayner turned defence into offence before Richard Knight put in a powerful run, to leave Dunbar trailing in his wake. Presley then found Dan Potter. Larvin tried to tackle Potter around the knees but the Cougar centre burst over the tackle, twisted in mid-air to plant the ball on the line for the four points.

Knight's conversion rebounded off the bar and returned into play to give the visitors a slim 4-0 lead at half-time.

The second half commenced to a flurry of snow and flurry of Hawk activity, who put back to back sets in, during which Barry Eaton was adjudged to have impeded a quick play the ball. He was summarily sentenced to ten minutes in the bin. As he collected his track suit top from the bench he was still protesting his innocence.

In spite of being numerically disadvantaged the Cougars increased their lead when Jermaine Wray twisted like a speeding tornado past three tacklers for a 40 metre gain.

This was the prelude to the storm unleashed by Shickell and finished by fellow forward Neil Lowe on 50 minutes. Knight could not improve on it, leaving the score line 8-0.

With the bit between his teeth Shickell once more shredded Hunslet, before Wray ran them ragged. With five men beaten, he unselfishly looked to offload to Presley on his left, only to see Gunney intercept his pass.

The Hawks failed to capitalise on this present, and did not play out the set. They lost the ball which allowed a hack on and chase down by the rejuvenated Eaton, fresh from the bin.

This time Knight converted to effectively end the contest after 68 minutes.

Concerted pressure allowed Knight to crash over in the right hand corner. He tagged on the extras to give Keighley a 20-point cushion.

Although the Hawks hoped to stage a fight back, once more it was Townend's fighting which took centre stage, after he was unceremoniously deposited on the deck by Shickell, Feather and Wayne Sutcliffe.

As Townend saw red off the ball, the touch judge intervened to seal his fate.

Eaton took a quick tap penalty, spreading the ball at pace only to see the final pass grounded.

Substitute Dave Norcross went close, but fittingly it was Eaton who created the last try. He broke the defensive line, before switching the play to the right. Rayner burst on to the ball and breezed to the line, against his former employers.

Knight claimed the extras and with it a final score of 26-0, to give Keighley a winning start to the summer season in a snow storm.