They may have fallen short of the title and promotion, but the last Counties One Yorkshire game of the season for Keighley ended with a well-deserved 46-14 home victory over Hullensians.

It was very much a game of two halves though, despite a bright start from Keighley, who had the early territorial advantage.

Hard work from the forwards and quick movement from the half backs Nathan Pickles and Fin Meegan gave the ball width and led to a well-taken try for full back Alfie Seeley.

Although Keighley maintained field position, they let the opposition back into the game and only determined, often last ditch, tackling managed to stop the speedy Hullensians wingers from scoring.

Eventually the visitors took advantage of good lineout possession to drive over the line to score wide out, mobile prop Ian Irvin claiming the touchdown.

Centre Sam Furbank added the difficult conversion to give his side the lead.

Gaining confidence, Hullensians moved the ball wide as often as possible, and winger Harrison Holmes was in his element, his speed causing the Keighley defence some problems.

Near the end of the half Holmes broke free and produced a slick pass inside to outside half Josh Abbott who scored wide out, once again Furbank converted to give Hullensians a surprise lead at the break.

Whatever was said at half time by Keighley head coach Dan McGee certainly worked, as his side began to reassert themselves.

They hit back quickly when a half break from centre Sean Kelly gave winger Taylor Prell the chance to weave his way to the line and score.

Hullensians, through hard forward work, overcame the setback to take the play to Keighley but more good work gave Kelly the chance to break out of defence.

He did just that and after some good quick hands, Prell was then able to hand off numerous defenders to score his second try to put Keighley back in front.

The excellent work from the forwards and their commitment to making the ball available quickly gave the Keighley backs chance to express themselves.

That paid off when second row forward Ed Keighley found himself on the end of a slick move to drive his way over the line.

At this stage of the match Keighley were at their very best, with Seeley on the end of a passing move for his second try.

Keighley News: Now centre Sean Kelly is back from a long-term injury, Alfie Seeley has returned to his natural full back role, where he is excelling.Now centre Sean Kelly is back from a long-term injury, Alfie Seeley has returned to his natural full back role, where he is excelling. (Image: John Ashton.)

Keighley were able to utilise their strong bench to maintain the tempo of the game.

A break from athletic second row Jordan Yaxley was continued by outstanding replacement forward Lucas Uren, who broke through the Hullensians defence before linking with support players, one of which was scrum half Nathan Pickles, who scored.

There was no way back for brave Hullensians once Keighley had found their groove, and the home back row combined to give scrum half Pickles his second try.

As the final whistle approached, yet another break from Uren gave Prell the chance to drive forward and slip the ball to Pickles for his hat trick try.

Meegan landed three conversions on the afternoon for Keighley, as they fell just short of a half-century of points.

In the end it was a sound victory that brought Keighley’s impressive league season to an end, as they finished third behind Bradford Salem and Wetherby.

The attention now turns to knockout competition for Keighley, as they face a Papa Johns Community Cup Counties One Championship last-32 clash at Widnes this Saturday, while also travelling to Doncaster RUFC for the Yorkshire Shield final against Salem on May 18.