Keighley 61 Roundhegians 17

With the return of their influential centre Adam Horsfall, Keighley got back to winning ways with a nine-try demolition of Roundhegians.

In what was a feast of running rugby, the hosts went ahead within ten minutes. Horsfall drew a defender before releasing fellow centre Ben Blackwell at pace. Outside half Alex Brown finished the play with a try under the posts and added the conversion.

The visitors replied with a penalty from scrum half Alex Jones and Keighley were forced to weather some pressure from the big Roundhegian forwards.

Their defence remained composed and when Keighley returned to attack, prop Craig Spencer slipped the ball to second row Leigh Sugden from a lineout and he crashed over to score, Brown adding the extras.

There followed a period of constant Roundhegians pressure but they were once again unable to capitalise due to Keighley’s well-organised defence. Instead it was Keighley who extended their lead as No 8 Josh Hannah was put through a gap to score under the posts, Brown converting.

In the second half the hosts ran riot. Their hard-working pack supplied a plentiful supply of possession which allowed the backs to move the ball wide.

Clever play between forwards and backs saw Hannah cross under the posts. With full back Alan Ebbrell joining the line at every opportunity, and close support from the whole team, Keighley overwhelmed Rounhegians with a further five tries.

Ben Blackwell finished the scoring for the hosts when he rounded off an outstanding passage of play with a try under the posts, also adding the conversion.

Although at times totally outplayed, Roundhegians never gave up and their gritty determination was rewarded with tries for back rower Dave Wilson and outside half James Dobson.

After two poor performances, Keighley played a high tempo game in the right areas of the field which allowed them to display their skills and athleticism.

Victory kept them three points clear of third-placed Moortown with two games in hand on the Leeds side, who have just one game left.

It also set them up nicely for Saturday’s away fixture against leaders West Leeds.