Sheffield Eagles 33, Keighley Cougars 6 - Even the momentum of seven wins in a row couldn't help the Cougars beat their Don Valley hoodoo.

Gary Moorby's men fell to their fourth defeat in four visits to the Eagles' vacuous stadium, and their first of the season.

The disjointed defence, unforced errors and inability to execute that had plagued them last season returned as they were totally outclassed by Sheffield in a bad- tempered affair in which four players made trips to the sin-bin.

But Moorby, whose side remain top of National League Division Two, remained upbeat.

"It was a bad day at the office, as Brian Noble would say," said Moorby, whose side were 24-0 down at the break.

"Our completion rate was poor all day, particularly in the first half but I was pleased we didn't collapse like we might have done last year.

"I read them the riot act at half-time and they reacted well. In the second half we created two or three chances but dropped the ball.

"We remain top of the league and I guess, in some ways, it is nice to have lost the pressure of being undefeated."

The tone for the game was set early on as Wayne Flynn and Oliver Wilkes were sent to the sin-bin after just two minutes for the first of four 15-man brawls.

Veteran prop Phil Stephenson was the next to go for a late hit on Mark Aston, and although Gavin Brown missed that penalty, the home side soon got on the scoresheet.

Nick Turnbull crossed in the corner before Tom O'Reilly rounded off a 60-metre move down the left wing.

Gareth Stanley then walked through unopposed from dummy half for a soft score and Tony Weller sneaked in at the corner to round off the first-half scoring.

It was a dour performance by the Cougars, who were guilty of giving the ball away early in the tackle count on far too many occasions.

At 24-0 down, it seemed a repeat of the 60-0 drubbing that blighted Moorby's first game in charge might be on the cards.

But in the second half things marginally improved. Errors were still there, but not as many and, following an Aston drop goal, Jason Ramshaw sneaked over from dummy half for the Cougars' only try of the day. An Andy Raleigh score rounded off the defeat.

You have to lose your first game some time and any betting man would have guessed the Don Valley would have been the venue for it. Elsewhere in the division, Chorley failed to equal a club record of five successive wins as Barrow moved above them into fourth with a 22-16 win.

York also climbed above Chorley with a 33-14 win at Workington, while second-placed Hunslet were held to a 10-10 draw by Swinton.

There was more misery for rock-bottom London Skolars, beaten 50-20 at Gates-head.

l New Zealand prop Anthony Seuseu, 24, released by Super League Halifax, has joined Doncaster until the end of the season