Cougars 26, Eagles 14 - CHRIS HOGG charged in for two tries to give Cougars their first victory since a player walker-out robbed the club of its star team.

Hogg, who was turning out for Keighley Albion in the National Conference second division only three weeks ago, is now heading for professional stardom of his own.

His rock solid performance at full back and elusive running singled him out as one to watch in the new line-up of young guns. The try which turned the game was set up by another young former Cougar who has returned to the fold.

Robert 'Two Bobs' Roberts had grown in confidence throughout the game and showed real guts and determination to get the ball away. As he was tackled 'Bobs' attempted to put in a grubber kick which was going nowhere, with two defenders hanging off him he got another, crucial, touch of the ball.

As his second kick bobbled over the line Hogg - and the bounce -beat two defenders to touch down. Paul Ashton's goal extended Keighley's lead to 22-10 and the victory this new team has come so close to clinching was finally in the bag.

Within a minute Max Tomlinson had completed the best move of the game. From the kick off they fought their way 60 metres upfield before Nathan Antonik and Roberts combined. The ever-eager Tomlinson was waiting for the final pass and put the icing on a very tasty cake.

Antonik returned from injury and had a major influence on the game, and Phil Stephenson's return - playing with a broken toe - added extra backbone to the pack. But even with Jason Ramshaw again leading with a stunning performance, it was no easy victory.

Both teams had started brightly trading early penalties, Ashton landing the first of his vital five goals before Richard Goddard levelled for the Eagles. After just 10 minutes Ramshaw slipped through a magical grubber kick and Antonik pounced but the celebrations were short lived as referee Steve Ganson ruled Antonik had been offside and disallowed the score.

The visitors grabbed the first try when Chris Judge brushed aside David Best's tackle to stroll over in the 25th minute. It looked like the Sheffield side would take their lead into the break until a classy reverse pass from the impressive Ashton put Carlos Sanchez over. Ashton's conversion gave Cougars a slender 8-6 lead at the break.

Sheffield bounced back after just three minutes of the second period with Hogg's only error leading to an Eagles scrum on the Cougar 20 metre line. The ball spun out quickly to Gareth Hewitt who raced over on the wing to make it 10-8.

The see-saw game continued with Hogg popping up superbly to finish of a great break masterminded by Antonik with James Simeonovich providing the final pass. Hogg had the composure to run under the posts leaving Ashton with an easy conversion he also added a 35 metre penalty as Cougars pushed for victory.

After Hogg's second and Tomlinson's final flourish Sheffield managed a late consolation try, Ian Brown going in at the corner in the last minute.

The victory was a tremendous team effort and a place in the Northern Ford play-offs remains a real possibility. Under the circumstances that would be genuine success and a great credit to the new line-up and particularly the coaching staff.

Cougars: Chris Hogg, Gareth Hodson, Garet Hooson, Karl Smith, Max Tomlinson, Paul Ashton, Nathan Antonick, Phil Stephenson, Jason Ramshaw, Chris Hannah, David Best, James Simeonovich, Carlos Sanchez. Subs (all used): Graig Morphet, Graham Shaw, Rob Roberts, Chris Kirk.

Eagles: Andy Poynter, Paul Wells, Neil Kite, Gareth Hewitt, Ian Thompson, Gavin Brown, Mark Aston, Jon Bruce, Gareth Dobson, Andy Brent, Chris Judge, Chris Chapman, Richard Goddard. Subs: Scott Rhodes, Steve Hill, Jack Howison, Ian Brown.