KEIGHLEY Cougars made it 10 wins from 10 as the season reached its halfway point with a 56-12 victory away at basement side Cornwall.

The hosts put in a spirited display in the first ever meeting between the two clubs, but Rhys Lovegrove’s side responded to maintain their 100 per cent record.

It appeared the long journey had taken its toll in the opening stages of the contest as the side got off to a slow start.

However, an early penalty for a high tackle allowed Dane Chisholm to find the first score. The mercurial half-back stepped through two attempted tackles close to the line, diving over to the left of the uprights.

Cornwall grew into the game, but after Luke Collins was sin-binned for a late shot on Kyle Kesik, Keighley would turn the screw. The resulting penalty saw the ball shifted wide, where Alix Stephenson was on hand to fight over in the corner.

This appeared to open the floodgates as from the restart, Josh Lynam drew in three defenders to the tackle allowing Lewis Young to step through the gap and race to dive over beneath the crossbar.

Cougars extended their lead further when Charlie Graham was the quickest in a foot race to the line after Jack Miller put a chip over the top on the last tackle. It was the ninth consecutive game in which Graham had scored a try, breaking Nick Pinkney’s 28-year-old club record.

Cornwall were then reduced to 12-men for the remainder of the game, Liam Whitton being dismissed for contact with the head of Aaron Levy after leading into the tackle with his elbow raised.

And ill-discipline allowed Keighley in again, Graham breaking a tackle and touching down for his second as the half-time hooter sounded from a penalty.

The man disadvantage galvanised the hosts, and they began the second half brightly with a try. Former Keighley man Nathan Conroy’s grubber bounced back into his arms, and the half-back offloaded inside to the supporting Nathan Cullen, who in turn found the line for a try on his debut.

The game would ebb and flow for a period before Chisholm would again unlock the opposition defence, weaving through to find his way over for a second try. The conversion that followed from Miller saw the captain register his 500th point for the club.

A break from Young minutes later saw Keighley in once again. Harvey Spence eventually exploited a gap in the line to score his first try in Cougars colours.

The restart went out on the full, and from the penalty on halfway, top try-scorer Mo Agoro raced home in the corner after Jake Webster drew in the defender.

Alix Stephenson then somehow failed to score as he rounded the posts. His blushes were spared after the visitors won the ball back immediately and Toby Everett crashed his way over for his first try for the club.

With Cornwall now tiring, a third try in quick succession followed from the restart as Cougars went the length of the field, Agoro finding himself over in the corner once again for his 16th try of the season.

The final say though went to Cornwall. Aaron Jones-Bishop raced to the line after taking advantage of a dropped ball.