Sean Lengthy’s storied rugby league journey took one other emphatic twist on Monday as he kicked off his aggressive teaching profession by inspiring Featherstone to a 50-0 wipe-out of newly-promoted Keighley within the Betfred Championship.
Barely hovering above freezing, Cougar Park could have appeared a world away from the Tremendous League summers by which Lengthy starred as a participant, driving St Helens to 4 titles and 5 Problem Cups, and reining in his off-field antics lengthy sufficient to snare a prestigious Man of Metal Award.
Since arriving at Featherstone in his first head teaching position final yr, Lengthy has labored to energise a squad left shocked by final yr’s shock play-off semi-final loss to Batley, sweeping them to pre-season wins over Hull KR and Castleford.
And the Rovers resurgence continued below his cost as they ran in 9 tries to flap apart the problem of a staff who had surged to promotion with a 100 per cent document final season, and added the likes of one other former Man of Metal, Luke Gale, to their spines.
“We got here right here in the present day and so they in all probability thought they have been going to beat us, as a result of they’re in a profitable behavior,” Lengthy advised the PA information company. “It was nice for us to return and knock it out of them inside 25 minutes, and it wasn’t something flashy, it was simply grit and dedication.”
5 tries within the first half-hour successfully ended what had threatened to be a tough opening task, with two from Rovers’ new half-back Riley Dean, on a season-long mortgage from Warrington, easing them to a 28-point benefit on the intervals.
The relentless strain continued after the break, with Gareth Gale additionally finishing a double to place the seal on successful that bodes properly of their quest to deliver an finish to nearly half a decade of promotion heartbreak, not that Lengthy will probably be getting carried away.
“They’re actually shopping for into the tradition and the DNA of the membership, and the place we wish to go, as a result of there are quite a lot of harder exams to return down the street,” added Lengthy.
“However it did not really feel any completely different for me on the market. I used to be having a good time. Sport day is all the time one of the best day and nothing modifications once you’re on the opposite facet of the road.”