MATCH INFORMATION
COVENTRY BEARS v KEIGHLEY COUGARS - BETFRED LEAGUE ONE ROUND EIGHTEEN
SUNDAY 4TH AUGUST - 3PM KICK OFF
WEBB ELLIS ROAD - RUGBY - CV22 7AU
REFEREE - MR AARON MOORE (WIGAN)
ADMISSION:
ADULT - £12
CONCESSIONS - £10
YOUTH (AGED 12-16) - £5
CHILDREN (UNDER 12) - FREE
ROYSTON: "IT'S A MEGA MATCH"
PAUL Royston has billed Keighley Cougars' trip to Coventry Bears this weekend as a "mega match" for his side.
The Keighley strength and conditioning coach has targeted nothing short of a victory from his side's trip to the West Midlands on Sunday (3pm kick-off) as they look to close the five-point gap their opponents currently have on them.
Cougars' squad are ready to return to Betfred League One action following a blank weekend. Their last game saw them crash to a 52-4 defeat at Workington Town on July 21.
Now, with bottom-placed West Wales Raiders just one point below them, Cougars need to grab two points as they look to finish the season with a flourish. Tom Tsang's Coventry suffered a 44-16 defeat to West Wales in their last game on July 20.
They are also looking to improve on their form on the road, despite a keen Cougars following on their travels.
Including their trip to Coventry, Cougars have five league games left this season, which ends against Newcastle Thunder on September 8, with three of them at Cougar Park.
Despite their indifferent recent form, Cougars may be encouraged by their performance in their previous game against the Bears this season.
In the driving rain and mud, Cougars recorded a 40-8 victory at Cougar Park on March 3, with tries from Macauley Hallett (2), Will Cooke, Davey Dixon, Jack Miller, Jack Coventry and James Feather.
Royston said: "We need to pick up a result on the road. We have done OK at Cougar Park, but we're up and down away from home.
"It is a critical game at Coventry. A win would set us up for the bigger games at the end of the year. We still have to play teams like Hunslet, Doncaster and Newcastle.
"It would give us a good platform. It's very important, it's a mega match. People need to be up for it. We need to prepare well for it."
"The fans are really supportive. They have long journeys. The amount of work volunteers at the club do is great. They prepare lunches on matchdays and breakfasts for all of us. It's a good club."
Royston says he is aware of the threat posed by West Wales as Cougars look to surge up the table rather than finishing bottom of the pile at the end of the season.
He added: "When we played them at Cougar Park the other week we thought that they played very well against us. They have moved on since last season.
"It proved we did have a good performance on that day. They were playing typical League One rugby, they have improved, their coach has done a good job and they are a better team now."
TEAM NEWS
Head Coach Rhys Lovegrove has rung the changes on the back of his sides disappointing defeat away at Workington a fortnight ago.
Lewis Wray and Will Cooke both drop out of the side that was hammered in Cumbria with Louis Sheriff (Work Commitments) and Taylor Prell both unavailable for selection.
The big news is that reserve team winger Adam Allerton is called up to the first team and is expected to make his professional debut this Sunday in Rugby.
Jack Coventry, who has impressed for the reserves in recent weeks, comes back into the first team for the first time in a month, as does Matt Welham.
Kieran Moran also comes into the side for the first time since July's defeat at Hunslet.
Josh Lynam (Neck), Jordan Aitchison (Hamstring) and Matt Nicholson (Concussion) all miss out through injury.
COUGARS: Allerton; Arnold; Bailey; Barlow; Coventry; Cullimore; Darley; Dixon; Feather; Hallas; Hallett; Hardcastle; Levy; Miller; Moran; Muranka; Parker; Seeley; Welham.
Coventry Head Coach Tom Tsang has made changes to his side after their last outing saw them because the first team to lose to the West Wales Raiders.
Both loanee half-backs, Bradford's Cobi Green and Hunslet's Joe Sanderson, drop out of the side that lost in Llanelli.
Chris Barratt and Kieran Sherratt also miss out from the team that was comfortably seen off by the Raiders a fortnight ago.
There's a recall for former Cougars hooker Nathan Conroy with utility back Kameron Pearce-Paul also returning for Tsang.
Sheffield loanee Lewis Taylor also comes into the side as does hooker Sam Davis, who is on dual-registration from the London Broncos.
Dewsbury dual-registration pair Jack Ray and Harvey Whiteley, who were in the Wakefield side that defeated the reserves on Wednesday, are included once more as is Halifax loanee Dewi Billingham, who was sent off against the reserves last week for a headbutt.
BEARS: Billingham; Carter; Conroy; Davis; Fellows; Freeman; Hall; Jones; Kaufman; Mason; Pearce-Paul; Purslow; Rance; Ray; Sheridan; Stewart; Taylor; Whiteley; Williams.
COUGARS LAUNCH SECOND CHANCE INITATIVE
KEIGHLEY Cougars are launching a second chance initiative as they continue their preparations ahead of the 2020 Betfred League One season.
The club, now under the stewardship of new head coach Rhys Lovegrove, is looking at ways to improve its squad ahead of next year with the Cougars targeting that all-important promotion to the Championship.
And the latest way they plan on doing it is through the second chance initiative, which is the brainchild of the club’s coaching staff as a way of assisting Lovegrove in his recruitment.
The initiative will see players being released from the Under-19s competition at Super League level invited to an open trials day at Cougar Park in which they, as well as their families and partners, will be welcomed and presented with an opportunity to meet the directors, staff and volunteers of the club.
Those who attend will then take part in an open training session which will allow both Lovegrove and head of performance Paul Royston to assess the players abilities both and off the field with the opportunity to be offered a contract by the club for the 2020 season.
The different way of scouting and recruitment of players with this initiative is exactly the sort of way that the former Hull Kingston Rovers player believes makes Keighley stand out from the crowd.
“It’s something that’s different from the norm,” said Lovegrove.
“I’ve said that I want the Keighley Cougars to stand out, be different and break the stereotypes that are connected to League One clubs by those at the higher levels of the game.
“My goal next year is to challenge to win this comp, and to do that I need to have players that have the intelligence which allows me to teach our systems and structures so that they can get straight into things from the moment we return to pre-season in early November.
"Player recruitment has already started and the advantage of the 12-point deduction means we can treat the remainder of this year as sort of a mini pre-season to build for next season.
“This is the opportunity for players who weren’t in my thoughts or plans in regard to recruitment to prove themselves and earn a contract with the club and develop as a player in the way the likes of Jack Arnold and Dom Horn have in our system this year.”
Any player interested in the initiative is encouraged to contact the Cougars on 01535 606044 or via email at info@cougarmania.co.uk
GAME TO BE PLAYED AT WEBB ELLIS ROAD
The Bears have secured use of The Rugby Football Club (Rugby Lions) at Webb Ellis Road in Rugby, Warwickshire, CV22 7AU to play their remaining game at the home of the rugby.
Coventry understand that this has been a difficult time for their supporters, and I would like to apologise for the inconvenience, but we must focus on the positives that can often come from adversity like this.
This is an opportunity to showcase rugby league at a well-known and famous facility.
