Workington Town 8 Cougars 44 - SIMEON HOYLE orchestrated a virtuoso performance as the Cougars took the shine off Billy McGinty's return to rugby league.

The former Wigan and Great Britain player has been coaching in rugby union, but returned to the XIII-a-side game to take charge of Workington in midweek.

He didn't have much time to work his magic on the Cumbrian side, but the team was expected to raise its game as players worked hard to impress the new boss.

For the first 40 minutes they showed real spirit, and were only 10-4 down at the break, but already there were hints that the Cougars would cut loose once Gary Moorby's more mobile side really got into its stride.

They produced a second period of pure magic.

After games when they had dominated the opening period, before sitting back and allowing much of the hard work to be eroded, they showed they are developing the mental toughness to keep control for the full distance.

Hoyle was an inspiration to the team with dynamic runs and telling passes as he took his side's man of the match award, but it was far from a one man show.

Adam Mitchell continues to improve and his kicking was the early difference between the sides, setting the foundation for victory. Successful penalty kicks, particularly from long range, can do much more to lift a team's morale than just the addition of two points.

Mitchell opened the scoring with a penalty after three minutes and also tagged ont he conversion after Jason Ramshaw had supplied the pass to put Andy Robinson in at the corner.

Graham Luthwaite crossed for an unconverted penalty to pull the home side back into the game, but their goal kicker, Craig Fisher was off target with all three first half attempts at goal.

In contrast Mitchell kept up his 100 per cent record with his third kick of the match to secure the six-point half time lead for the Cougars.

That lead was just a launchpad from which they launched the second half assault.

As Workington's heavy brigade wilted, although they refused to lie down, Moorby's men cut loose with rapier-like precision and ran in six second half tries to give the travelling fans an afternoon to remember.

After denying his fans the trademark explosions from close range in early games, Ramshaw showed he had lost none of his appetite for the try line. He is almost unstoppable inside the five metre zone and blasted off the mark for a close range effort to open the scoring six minutes into the second period.

His try opened the flood gates.

Matt Foster sliced through a gaping hole in the Town defence for the first of his two tries with Mitchell adding both conversions.

Dynamic David Foster really brought the travelling fans to their feeet with a 30-yard burst to the corner which alone was worth the long trip north.

Robinson followed up with his second on the opposite side of the field, following a smart pass from Matt Foster and a punishing hand-off - and the Cougar party was really in full swing.

Matt Foster joined the celebrations, racing in from half way for his second try. Workington gained little consolation from Matt Tunstall's try as the clock ticked down.

Hoyle added the final touch to a sparkling second half show, dashing over in the last minute of the game and Mitchell collected his eighth kick of a stuning afternoon.