Change was on everyone's lips this weekend.

The world was tuned into Saturday's Live 8 concerts, set-up to focus the world's political eyes on the upcoming G8 summit and a mission to reform aid to poverty-stricken countries.

And change was also on the agenda at Huntington Stadium yesterday as Mick Cook and the York City Knights strove to make the Workington defeat history.

Cook, doing nothing to aid his growing Tinkerman reputation, made a staggering 11 positional and personnel alterations against Keighley Cougars in a bid to stop last weekend's dip become a losing streak.

By 4.40pm it was mission accomplished, courtesy of a coincidental eight tries and some forward thinking.

Props Yusuf Sozi and David Bates were handed rare starts alongside versatile captain Chris Levy at hooker and the three of them justified every inch of Cook's decision in a phenomenal front-row showing.

All three got on the scoresheet and all three were instrumental as they ground down the Cougars' pack.

The ball whipped through eight pairs of hands from Bates' slick offload in the second minute before Dan Potter dummied and released Peter Fox to open the scoring.

But it was the sheer tenacity of Sozi at the beginning of the second half with the score on a knife-edge at 12-10 that made the difference.

Minutes after Daley Williams saw his Cougars try ruled out for offside, Lee Paterson - still without a try this season - was held up on the Cougars line.

Paul Thorman found five players in his way but Sozi drove through with a balletic - well, as elegant as a prop can get - 360 degree turn and forced the ball down.

The already physically shattered Cougars had their last slithers of morale shredded and they conceded five tries in 15 minutes.

It was reminiscent of the Knights' epic comeback at Cougar Park. Except without the comeback.

That fifth, on 62 minutes, was easily a contender for try of the season. Levy picked up the ball from the Knights ten, darted across the field and then found the chink in the Keighley defence on a diagonal burst.

He broke clear and waited for Jonny Liddell to catch up in support before slipping the pass wide, Liddell zig-zagging the remainder of the pitch for a spectacular try.

Bates decided he wanted a piece of the scoreboard action and sprinted on to an awkward Levy grubber to spark possibly the most energetic celebration ever seen from the big man with 26 minutes left on the clock.

It was no more than he deserved after always being three steps ahead, always looking for the offload and always in the heart of the action.

Adam Sullivan's usual solid effort was eclipsed by the two powerhouses, as was Craig Forsyth, making a first league appearance of the year, who came close to joining the try-scoring forwards club in his brief 25-minute spell.

Cougars hooker Johnny Wainhouse, one-time York player, scrambled over from acting-half on 14 minutes to equalise with the conversion. Levy's response nine minutes later was an identical effort at the other end.

It was a day of acting-half triumphs for York with three of their eight coming from quick play-the-balls as per Cook's masterplan of speeding up the play to wear down the Cougars.

Chris Ross emulated Levy's try with a quick-thinking dive over the line after Neil Law had found his progress halted on 59 minutes, ten minutes after Jim Elston had spun out a quick pass to Liddell.

Ian Kirke was also on the try sheet for one of the easiest of the year in the last ten minutes.

The Knights were let off at least twice, while try-saving tackles from Matt Blaymire and a quiet Scott Rhodes helped tame the Cougars.

Hopes of a second-half shut-out though were lost when pacy winger Andy Jackson combined with Phil Stephenson for an 80th-minute try.

Defeat yesterday would have meant the start of a title-threatening losing streak.

The Knights won, and with some style. Who said change was a bad thing?

Updated: 11:10 Monday, July 04, 2005