MATCH INFORMATION
NORTH WALES CRUSADERS v KEIGHLEY COUGARS - BETFRED LEAGUE ONE ROUND FOURTEEN
SUNDAY 30TH JUNE - 2:30PM KICK OFF
QUEENSWAY STADIUM - WREXHAM - LL13 8UH
REFEREE - MR KEVIN MOORE (NORMANTON)
ADMISSION:
ADULT - £12
CONCESSIONS - £10
JUNIORS - £2
ROYSTON: "THIS IS A CHANCE TO BUILD"
KEIGHLEY Cougars have their eyes on next season so they can pounce from the off, says Paul Royston.
The Strength and Conditioning Coach admitted the priority in the coming games is to build for next season, rather than focusing on moving up the table.
He said: "We want to see which players want to and can buy into the way Rhys wants the side to play.
"That makes the games very important, but more so in terms of where we want to be with recruitment and where we want to be in pushing towards next season.
"For where we finish this season, it was always going to be a difficult one in any case.
"So whilst it would be nice to finish higher up, I do think really given where Cougars were at the beginning of the year it's all about being prepared for a good year next year.
"We started on that on Saturday."
New Head Coach, Rhys Lovegrove got his victory since being appointed against London Skolars at the weekend.
The 38-26 win was also the Cougar's first after a four-game straight losing streak.
Royston said: "Well, the win was essential really because we've actually been training really hard in the last three or four weeks with the systems that Rhys wants to play.
"Through a variety of reasons, it hasn't really come off exactly how we wanted it.
"But on Saturday the way we played, the lads had really switched on to it and they saw the benefit of it.
"Obviously with the scoreline, but more in the confidence side of it.
"The confidence that the systems work and that the gaps are then created, playing the way Rhys wants us to play."
The two points also meant Keighley made it into positive points after being tantalisingly close during their slump.
Royston says its something the squad have discussed for a while, and is glad to be over the barrier.
He added: "Now we've done that, we've got into positive points, we've moved off bottom.
"Some people had said we'd be on the bottom for the whole season, so it's nice to prove a few people wrong."
Cougars next face North Wales Crusaders who pulled off a shock against division leaders Whitehaven in their last match.
Royston knows they'll have to be at the top of their game to get something from the match, but says that would have been the case regardless of their opponents heroics at the weekend.
He added: "It's more about, the performance we had on Saturday is where we want to be.
"That performance led to a good result.
"If we continue that performance again, improving that this weekend, I see no reason why we shouldn't be pushing them hard.
TEAM NEWS
Rhys Lovegrove makes three changes to the 19 man squad that defeated the London Skolars last weekend.
Jordan Aitchison (Hamstring) is forced out through injury and is expected to be sidelined for four weeks.
Dom Horn and Alfie Seeley both drop out of Lovegrove's squad for the trip to Wrexham.
Taylor Prell returns to the side after not featuring since the defeat to Hunslet at the start of the month as does Dan Parker who was forced to sit out last weekend's victory due to a clause in his transfer agreement.
Hunslet loanee Marcus Webb is named in the squad for the first time since joining a fortnight ago.
Matt Nicholson (Concussion) remains a long term injury worry for the Cougars coaching and medical teams with Louis Sheriff unavailable for selection due to work commitments.
Aaron Levy (Appendix) is nearing a return to fitness and is expected to feature for the reserves next weekend away at Hull FC.
COUGARS: Bailey; Cooke; Coventry; Cullimore; Darley; Feather; Hallett; Hardcastle; Lynam; Miller; Muranka; Parker; Parry; Prell; Thackray; Webb; Welham; Wray; Wright.
North Wales Crusaders coach Anthony Murray makes two changes from the squad that stunned league leaders Whitehaven in Cumbria last Sunday.
Veteran Stephen Wild and prop Brad Brennan are the two men who drop out of the side. They are replaced by Simon Atherton and Dave Eccleston who both missed out last week's away victory.
Kenny Hughes is expected to make his 150th career appearance whilst there is two familiar faces to keep an eye on for the travelling Keighley support as former Cougars pair Ben Stead and Lewis Fairhurst are also named in the 19 man squad.
CRUSADERS: Ashall; Atherton; Baker; Eccleston; Fairhurst; Gregory; Hazzard; Houghton; Hughes; Hurst; Massam; Morley-Samuels; Reid; Roper; Ryan; Smith; Stead; Thompson; Walker.
RESERVES IN ACTION DURING BYE WEEK
Even though next weekend sees the Cougars sit out during their second and final bye week of the Betfred League One season, Dean Muir's men play the first of four Reserves Championship fixtures in July.
They head east to Hull Ionians RU near to North Ferriby to face Hull FC on Saturday (6th July) for a 2pm kick-off with a strong side expected to be named with the first team not in action that weekend.
Then follows a further three games through the month of July.
A trip to Featherstone Rovers, coached by ex-Cougars Head Coach Paul March, follows at the Big Fellas Stadium on Wednesday 17th July.
Then back to back home games follow against Halifax RL on Wednesday 24th July and Wakefield Trinity on Wednesday 31st July at Cougar Park.
All three of those fixtures will be 7:30pm kick-offs.
CLUB RECORDS UPDATED
Club historian John Pitchford last week issued an updated club records list as a part of the clubs heritage project:
Highest Score - 112-6 V West Wales Raiders (15-9-2018)
Highest Score against - 2-92 V Leigh (3-4-1986)
Biggest home win - 98-6 V Coventry (6-5-2018)
Biggest away win- 6-112 V West Wales Raiders (15-9-2018)
Biggest margin - 94-0 V West Wales Raiders (17-6-2018)
Record Attendance -14,500 V Halifax (3-3-1951)
Lowest Attendance - 216 V Fulham (4-4-1987)
Goals in a match - John Wasyliw 15 V Nottingham (1-11-1992)
Martyn Wood 15 V Chorley (1-5-2000)
Tries in a match - Jason Critchley 6 V Widnes (18-8-1996)
Points in a match - John Wasyliw 34 V Nottingham (1-11-1992)
Goals in a season - John Wasyliw 187 (1992-3)
Tries in a season - Nick Pinkney 45 (1994-5)
Points in a season - John Wasyliw 490 (1992-3)
Goals in a career - Brian Jefferson 967 (1965-77)
Tries in a career - Sam Stacey 155 (1904-20)
Points in a career - Brian Jefferson 2,116 (1965-77)
Appearances - Hartley Tempest 372 (1902-15)
David McGoun 372 (1925-40)
Playing and scoring in consecutive games - 15 Danny Jones (2-9-2008 to 4-7-2010)
Playing and scoring in every game in a season - John Wasyliw (1992-3)
Danny Jones (2009)
Quickest to 500 points in a career - John Wasyliw 47 games (1992-3)
Quickest to 100 goals in a career - John Wasyliw 18 games (1992-3)
Team tries in a season - 193 (1992-3)
Team points in a season - 1,300 (1994-5)
Team goals in a season - 194 (1992-3)
Team tries in a match - 20 V West Wales Raiders (15-9-2018)