MATCH INFORMATION
KEIGHLEY COUGARS v NEWCASTLE THUNDER - CORAL CHALLENGE CUP ROUND THREE
SATURDAY 15TH FEBRUARY - 2PM KICK OFF
COUGAR PARK - KEIGHLEY - BD21 3RF
REFEREE - MR LIAM STAVELEY (BRADFORD)
ADMISSION:
ADULT - £15
CONCESSIONS - £10
JUNIORS (13 & UNDER) - FREE
LOVERS EXCITED FOR CUP CLASH
KEIGHLEY Cougars head coach Rhys Lovegrove is relishing the prospect of a mouthwatering clash against League One rivals Newcastle Thunder in the Challenge Cup Third Round this weekend.
Typically, the Australian is delighted with the tough home draw and says it will act as a "measuring stick" ahead of Keighley's daunting start to the league season, which will see them go up against most of their promotion rivals.
He said: "It's been a fairly tough start. We've had two Championship teams in friendlies, now we have Newcastle in the Challenge Cup and then we've probably got, according to the bookies, the top six teams in the first six weeks.
"But by having Hunslet, Workington, Barrow, Rochdale, Doncaster and Newcastle, as well as this Challenge Cup game, hopefully we'll start as we mean to go on."
Asked if he'd prefer to play Thunder in the cup over a non-league side, Lovegrove said: "Definitely, I'm really happy we get to play Newcastle.
"They're a quality side and they're our competition in League One. It's a good opportunity to use the game as a measuring stick.
"We were good in the friendlies but it's difficult to get a decent gauge of where you're at until you've kicked a ball in anger."
Kyle Kesik has only just come in too, with the experienced hooker signing from Doncaster at the end of 2019.
He will be Cougars' captain for 2020 and Lovegrove said: "I'm an observer who lets the players forge their own path, so I just let them settle and interact with each other over pre-season.
"There are a few obvious voices within the group, like Benn Hardcastle and Jake Webster, but I've noticed that the boys have been drawn to Kyle so I think it (the captaincy) is deserved."
One player who won't be in action at Cougar Park on Sunday is Jordan Aitchison, who has just had successful surgery on the heart condition he was diagnosed with last month.
Lovegrove was full of praise for the utility back and said he was delighted by his recovery.
Aitchison admits he cannot wait to pull on a Cougars shirt again and asked whether that epitomised the positivity around the club at the moment, Lovegrove said: "It's an indication of the mentality, not just around the club, but the Keighley community.
"It's exciting and Cougars is almost becoming a hub that people want to be a part of."
Rhys Lovegrove's thoughts courtesy of the Keighley News
TEAM NEWS
Head Coach Rhys Lovegrove's has been forced into changes from last week's initial 21-man squad following the postponement and re-arragement of the tie.
Will Cooke (Foot) and Dan Hawksworth (Rib) are both back from injury and named in the new 21-man squad for Saturday.
Also coming in after missing out on last week's original squad announcement for this fixture is Billy Gaylor.
Lovegrove does also lose a handful of players with Jake Webster ruled out through injury and the trio of Taylor Prell, Ben Stead and Ritchie Hawkyard are all unavailable due to work commitments.
Jordan Aitchison (Heart) and Ryan Wright (Ankle) are both still ruled out through injury.
Elsewhere, Kieran Moran misses out with Steven Hayes cup-tied and Jack Arnold suspended.
COUGARS: Agoro; Bailey; Cooke; Coventry; Darley; Desmond-Walker; Feather; Gaylor; Hallett; Hardcastle; Hawksworth; Kesik; Levy; Lynam; Miller; Muranka; Parker; Seeley; Sheriff; Welham; Wray.
Newcastle Thunder Head Coach Simon Finnigan has made one change to the side that he originally named last week.
That change sees Tyler Craig replaced Jed Charlton in the Thunder's 21-man set up.
There is the potential for eight of the Thunder's off-season recruits to debut for the club at Cougar Park on Sunday, the standout of which is veteran hooker Bob Beswick who joined the club through the winter from Toronto Wolfpack.
Veteran back-rower Rhys Clarke (Ankle) is ruled out through injury for Newcastle.
THUNDER: Aldous; Blake; Brown; Beswick; Clegg; Craig; Dean; Donaghy; Gibson; Gill; Hudson; Lawton; Lightowler; Luckley; QLT; Roche; Santi; Simons; Walker; Wood; Young.
INSIDE THIS WEEK'S EDITION OF #CDQ
INSIDE THE FIRST EDITION OF 2020'S #CDQ
Kyle Kesik speaks for the first time since being appointed captain
Dalton Desmond-Walker talks with Josh about his move to the club
Either Or, the new player feature for this year, with Jake Webster
Team of the Decade, beginning with full-back Craig Moss
ALL THIS AND SO MUCH MORE FOR JUST £2! DON'T FORGET TO BUY YOURS!
VIEW FROM THE OPPOSITION CAMP
Facing a side that is being touted as one of the teams to watch in Betfred League 1 this season, head coach Simon Finnigan is looking forward to a tie he says is the pick of the round.
“I’m happy with our draw. If I could pick a draw to get this would be up there because it’s a tough place to go and we will see how far we’ve come and if the pre-season has been valuable or not after this week.
“Keighley are going to be a different animal this year. They have been very good in pre-season; all the games I have seen they are playing a different style which is good to watch, and they are a good attacking team, so the coach has done a really good job with them.
“They will go in at their place and you could argue that they are favourites and rightly so, they have recruited really well, they are playing a different brand that is nice on the eye and they are going to be a good team this year.”
“We’ve only had a couple of pre-season games, we’ve had a couple of injuries and we’re not flowing but what I’ve seen of them, Keighley are really going well so it’s going to be a good day with the intensity jumping up and letting us see exactly where we are at.
“I think it is the standout tie of the third round and we’re going to have to play well if we are going to be within a shout to win the game.”
View from the Opposition Camp courtesy of the Newcastle Thunder
CORAL CHALLENGE CUP FOURTH ROUND
The winner of Saturday's tie will progress to the Coral Challenge Cup Fourth Round next weekend where the opposition will be provided by Siddal of the Kingston Press National Conference League Premier Division.
The tie will be played at a venue to be confirmed with Siddal being the home side regardless of the venue.
DJ STAND TRANSFERS SCRAPPED FOR SATURDAY
Due to the current weather forecast being given for Saturday's game, the club has for one game only made the decision to wave the £2 stand transfer for supporters to be able to sit in the Danny Jones Stand.
This decision has been made to allow ALL supporters to take cover in either the Danny Jones Stand or Terry Hollindrake Stand in order to keep both dry and relatively warm throughout the afternoon.