Cougars 60, Chorley Lynx 18 - Cougars got back to winning ways thanks to a powerful second half performance that completely overwhelmed the young Chorley side.

After four consecutive defeats they were led superbly by Jason Ramshaw and Graeme Hallas who stepped up to grab the game by the scruff of the neck after a poor first half.

At times the Cougars looked awful, at others they showed they had the quality to outclass the Lynx.

Coach Steve Deakin must have been tearing his hair out in the first half and certainly he would have had some interesting thoughts to share with his troops at the break.

Ironically it was Chorley's second try - the score was worryingly close at 22-12 - which seemed to shock the Cougars into action. At last they started to show the class they have available by running in seven tries in 25 minutes to secure a conclusive victory.

It was a real Jekyll and Hyde performance, but despite looking woeful at times during the first half Keighley managed to run in four tries.

Danny Seal gave the side a new sense of purpose when he was introduced from the bench and has proved a massive hit with the Cougar fans with his determined running and tackle breaking style which has the ability to force a gap in any defence.

Ramshaw was the brains behind most of the scores, and created the opener for James Rushforth with a sweet short pass on the halfway line in the 14th minute.

A great break and pass from Karl Smith enabled Gareth Hooson to race in for the second, and Matt Walkers pass enabled Hallas to put Craig Murdock racing in.

The champagne moment came in the 36th minute when Ian Hughes shrugged and barged his way through five tacklers as he ran down the left wing. He had the sense to run under the posts leaving Jason Lee an easy chance for his third conversion.

Chorley came up with a try of their own just before half time when Paul Wilcock intercepting Murdock's attempted pass to Lee and raced 98 metres upfield. Stuart Fisher landed the conversion to make it 22-6 at the break.

Jim Leatham handed Chorley the next try when he sloppy pass was collected on half way by Phil Harrison, who went 30metres before sending Wilcock over. Fisher converting.

For a moment the Chorley side was brimming with confidence and it looked as if they could give the Keighley outfit a real run for their money.

Cougars had allowed their pace to drop but the prospect of a poor showing against the Lynx was enough to inject some fight into their game.

Once the Cougar onslaught began they showed no mercy. The addition of Phil Stephenson and James Walker reinforced the huge difference in size between the two teams, and it was to prove a critical factor.

The seven try rampagestarted in the 52nd minute, Hallas and Smith combining on the blind side to send Hooson over.

Ramshaw set up the next three tries with passes to Paul Harrison, Danny Seal and David Best, the last pass superbly round the defender giving Best his debut try.

Karl Smith rounded off a great afternoon by providing Hooson with his third try, which, to give the little winger due credit, took some scoring. He mesmerised the defence with his swift change of direction on his race to the line.

James Walker added the fourth of his five goals before the Cougars scored the try of the game.

Best put Murdoch into a lovely gap, he raced clear before sending Ian Hughes over.

Murdock completed his hat-trick after taking another good pass from James Walker. Alan Boothroyd missed the easy conversion.

Chorley had the final say with a carbon copy of their first try. It again came in the dying seconds and was again off an interception on their own line. This time it was Stuart Dickinson who raced upfield for a deserved consolation try, converted by Ian Talbot.

The Cougars have tons of talent and must be one of the biggest teams in the league.

Deakin's problem has been fitting the personnel to the gameplan, finding the right combinations to return to their early season form.

In the second half he appeared to change the game-plan to fit the personnel available and it worked a treat.

This coming weekend the team will face a real test when they take on Oldham at 5pm on Sunday, they will have to be firing on all cylinders throughout the 80 minutes if they are to get a result -- but it will also be an opportunity for the young players to really show their ability.

Cougars: Rushforth; Hooson, Smith, Hallas, Lee; M Walker, Murdock; Slicker, Ramshaw, Boothroyd, Harrison, Hughes, Leatham. Subs (all used): Seal, Best, Stephenson, Walker.

Chorley Lynx: Brown; Warhurst, Geritas, Dickinson, Wilcock; Ramsdale, Fisher; Prest, Ashton, Verrelli, Precott, Vincent, Talbot. Subs (all used) Hindle, harrison, Jones, Maiden.