KLAUS Jakobsen silenced his critics with his best performance of the season to help Sheffield on their way to their first win of the season.

Jakobsen, much maligned after last week's point-less display, scored eight plus three bonus points to give the Tigers fans a glimpse of what he is capable of and showed strong signs that he is regaining his race sharpness. Jakobsen paid to practice at Scunthorpe at the weekend and Leicester in the week, and joint team manager David Hoggart feels it paid off.

"He practiced a lot this week and he looked a lot sharper because of it. He was away for a long time and it isn't easy to just get back in the points instantly. Tonight he kept battling away and he got rewarded and showed everyone what he's capable of.

"After last week, I asked myself a question, which was how long does it take to find the right set-up for Sheffield? And it's rhetorical, because we know that it doesn't happen instantly. It takes a few meetings before you find something you're comfortable with and Klaus has found that. Jason Lyons helped him with his set-up and it worked, which is why we saw the real Klaus."

The Tigers recorded their first win of the season with a nine point victory over Redcar, with Pepe Franc leading from the front with paid-13. Ably supported by Richard Hall and Jakobsen, Owlerton was all smiles as the home side ended their three match losing streak.

Tomorrow (Friday) sees the return fixture, before the Tigers travel to Scunthorpe on Monday.

Sheffield: (Josef Franc 11+2, Richard Hall 9+1, Klaus Jakobsen 8+3, Emiliano Sanchez 7, Ricky Wells 7, Hugh Skidmore 6+1, Joe Haines 1+1.)

Redcar: (Justin Sedgmen 10, Ulrich Ostergaard 8+2, Matej Kus 6, Carl Wilkinson 5, Max Dilger 4+1, Mark Jones 4, Aaron Summers 3.)