Keighley meeting high standards to leave Demetriou delighted

Jason Demetriou heaped praise on his players after Keighley Cougars blitzed Hunslet Hawks with a comprehensive eight-try victory at a sun-drenched Cougar Park.
By The Newsroom
Published 2nd Apr 2012, 10:45 BST

Demetriou’s men have won two of their opening three league games, are through to the Northern Rail Cup quarter-finals, and are also looking forward to a money-spinning home tie against Super League high-fliers Warrington Wolves in the Challenge Cup.

Cougars player-coach Demetriou said: “We speak often about certain standards, not just individually but also as a team, and striving to achieve those. The players are doing that at the moment.”

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After an uninspiring opening from both sides, Keighley led in the 32nd minute when second-row Ollie Pursglove went over and Craig Moss soon added a second, both tries coming after good play from Demetriou.

Hunslet replied after the break through centre Josh Nathaniel but Keighley cut loose after the restart to confirm an emphatic win.

They claimed second-half tries through Andy Shickell, Jode Sheriffe, Semi Tadulala, Sam Obst, James Haythornthwaite and James Feather to maintain their impressive start to the season.

Shickell and Sheriffe powered over from close range.

Tadulala finished clinically in the left corner and Obst then had too much pace for the Hawks’ defence.

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Haythornthwaite scythed through for a classy effort and Featherstone completed the rout with another well-worked score, while Danny Jones compounded the work by converting all eight tries.

Hunslet coach Barry Eaton, who coached Keighley for several years, admitted his side were second-best but took the positives from their spirited display.

He said: “We’re a bit disappointed, especially after the first half where we did a lot of good things, and at the start of the second where we brought it back to 12-6.

“We just failed to kick on and began to get a bit soft defensively, which they took full advantage of.

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“Credit must go to Keighley, they put us to the sword and we found them hard to deal with because they’ve got some great players in their ranks.

“The boys are still learning though, they’re all quite young, so they will learn from this experience and only get stronger in the coming weeks.”

Keighley Cougars: Moss, Barnett, Haythornthwaite, Lawton, Tadulala, D Jones, Obst, Shickell, Feather, Cherryholme, Pursglove, R Jones, P March. Substitutes: Davey, Demetriou, Korkidas, Sheriffe

Hunslet Hawks: Clayton, Brickwood, Davies, Nathaniel, Tuffor, Ratcliffe, Helliwell, Yates, Haigh, Lowe, Watson, Oakes, March. Substitutes: Blakeway, Henderson, Benjafield, McLocklan

Referee: Ronnie Laughton.