JACQUES O'Neill earned some words of praise from Castleford Tigers head coach Daryl Powell after making his Super League bow in last Friday's win at home to Hull Kingston Rovers.

The hooker from Askam had already been included in the Tigers' 19-man squad this year, but finally earned a spot on the interchange bench for the match.

O'Neill put in an impressive stint which helped Castleford secure a 23-16 victory and Powell was particularly pleased with his display in defence.

"I was also really pleased for Jacques O’Neill and for him to come on," said Powell in his post-match press conference.

"I think he had Mose Masoe come at him three times and did a fantastic job on him.

“We know he’s a tough kid anyway, but for him to defend as he did on his debut I was really pleased for him and I thought he carried the ball pretty well also. That will be massive for Jacques.”

Lining up for Hull KR was Barrow Island youth product Ryan Shaw and he had the small consolation of kicking two goals for the visitors

* GREG Richards and his London Broncos team-mates were celebrating another surprise win on Sunday after they overcame defending champions Wigan Warriors 18-16 in thriller at the Trailfinders Sports Club.

Urswick native Richards was on the interchange bench for the clash which saw the newly-promoted Broncos survive a tense close to the game and hold on for their second win of the campaign.

"Beating the champions at home is really special," said Broncos head coach Danny Ward. "It was a great performance from the boys and one they really enjoyed.

Lining up for Wigan ,along with ex-Barrow Raiders player Joe Bullock, was Dalton youth product Liam Paisley.

* BRAD Walker was among the scorers as Widnes Vikings capped off a tumultuous week with an emphatic victory at home to Featherstone Rovers in the Betfred Championship on Sunday.

The back row, who played youth rugby for Askam, was one of six different try-scorers for the Vikings as they returned to action with a 44-22 win just days after a consortium took over the club to secure its future.

Walker is set to return to the area this Sunday when Widnes face Barrow at Craven Park.