AFTER five wins from six matches, Keighley are having to revise their pre-season targets upwards in Counties One Yorkshire.

A bonus-point 39-0 win at home to struggling West Leeds kept Keighley in third place, breathing down the necks of the top two, Goole and Hullensians.

And Keighley’s forwards’ coach James Cunliffe admitted: “Possibly we have over-achieved from where we set out at the start of the season.

“But if we play like we did against West Leeds, there is nothing to say that we cannot win every game from here on in, and we are certainly looking at a top four or five position rather than just the top half.

“We are comfortably there at the minute, we are scoring points and we have the best defence in the league. It is going well.”

Having said all of that, however, the win over dogged West Leeds, who defended well at times, owed more to grit than glamour.

This was despite Keighley scoring six tries via winger Alan Ebbrell (2), centre Sean Kelly, No.8 Tom Whyte, replacement Adam Kemp and prop Sam Booker.

Cunliffe admitted: “The game lacked a bit of fluency. The referee managed it well but the ball didn’t stick as well for us as it could have done, and certainly not as well as in training on Thursday.

“But 39-0 against a good West Leeds team? I will take that any day.

“I don’t think that their league position (now played six, lost six and second from bottom) reflects how well they are playing.

“They are just having a bad spell, but we must have had 70 or 80 per cent possession and you can’t play rugby without the ball. That was the difference.”

Cunliffe added: “I thought that our low numbers (forwards) were outstanding to a man.

“Sam Booker carried well and scrummaged well and his fellow front rows Dec Hampson and John Gibson too, and when you bring on a fresh prop like Craig Spencer and you still go forward in the scrum, then I am happy with that.

“Also, a young lad like Max Wild punching above his weight at flanker was good to see, and our togetherness on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and keeping that core of 21 or 22 lads together is the main thing.

“We haven’t lost many players to injuries, while in the backs Leon Hobson-Sheriff has stepped up at scrum-half after George Marshall’s retirement.

“On top of that, Alex Brown is getting better every game at fly-half and centre Adam Horsfall has also stepped up in his role of captain.

“And then we have the lads from Wharfedale in Ben Parkinson, Tom Whyte, Ollie Snowden, who is currently in Australia, and Jake Parkinson, who are a good quartet.”

Keighley scored after 27 seconds of their previous home match against Old Rishworthians, and they were quick out of the blocks again, crossing the line after two minutes against West Leeds.

Keighley kicked off, the visitors let the ball bounce and they were tackled into touch, giving the hosts a chance they did not squander, Kelly picking up a scruffy pass to go over.

Brown, who missed the conversion attempt, added a penalty in the 12th minute before a Booker carry from deep gave full-back Alfie Seeley the chance to cut through the middle, only for the attack to end with a West Leeds penalty.

A 50-22 by Brown put the home side on the front foot again and Kelly was held up over the line, before Whyte got on the end of a pushover try in the 31st minute, Brown converting for 15-0.

Excellent teamwork put Kemp over five minutes into the second half but the game then drifted for 15 minutes until another 50-22 by Brown gave Keighley the opportunity to switch play from left to right for Ebbrell to score the bonus-point try.

Brown nailed the difficult conversion and Keighley finished strongly with a 70th-minute pushover try for Booker and, in stoppage time, a second Ebbrell try after Ben Parkinson switched wings to give him the scoring pass, with Brown converting.

This coming Saturday, Keighley are at Beverley, who are three places and eight points below the Utleymen.

Cunliffe said: “It will be a test and we will be on the grass on Tuesday and Thursday in preparation, where the ball bounces a bit differently.

“They usually have a devastating back three who will cut you to bits if you don’t chase the ball well so we will see what happens.

“We used to play better away from home when we struggled with our artificial pitch six years ago, but now we are used to it and have adapted to it we can play equally well at home.

“But playing Old Rishworthians away in December, or Leeds Corinthians away last December, is a completely different surface to what train on or play at home, although Russ (Gibson) does a great job with our top pitch for training.”