KEIGHLEY COUGARS have fought off competition from across the game to keep hold of their head of rugby Andrew Henderson, who has signed a new two-year deal with the club.
With permanent head-coach jobs available at Widnes Vikings, London Broncos and Bradford Bulls, Henderson’s name was often mentioned as a possible appointment, but the new deal means he will remain in his current role at the Cougars until the end of the 2024 season.
“I am very pleased to have committed my future to the Keighley Cougars,” said Henderson.
“I am really enjoying the role I hold at the club, which allows me to influence and shape how we operate as a performance department to give us the best chance of progression as a team and an organisation.
“I am driven to continue to help our players, staff and the club develop to progress to the next level. I have seen so much growth in such a short space of time, in both the playing group and coaching team, which excites me.
“It is certainly an exciting time to be at Keighley, with the club moving in the right direction both on and off the field, and I look forward to the challenges ahead in our aim to achieve something special with this group of players and staff in 2022, and the journey thereafter over the next two years.”
As well as Henderson, the club has also secured the futures of two of their more recent standout players.
Centre Nathan Roebuck, who has been named in Rugby League World’s League One team of the month for a second consecutive month, will also remain at the club until the end of next season after the Cougars decided to take up the optional second year on his contract.
Meanwhile prop Toby Everett will spend the rest of this year at Cougar Park after his loan deal from Batley Bulldogs was extended for the second half of the campaign. But even this could lead to a further spell at the club, with Henderson delighted to have got both deals completed.
“Having worked with Nathan previously at Warrington, I knew that both as a player and a person he would be a good fit for our team and our club,” said Henderson.
“He has certainly transitioned well here to life at Keighley, and for me it’s great to see his confidence as a player and a person develop and grow week by week. Nathan rewarded the team with consistent performances.
“We brought Toby into the club to strengthen our squad and add further competition for places and the coaching team have been impressed with his attitude and application during his initial month loan period.
“He has added value to the team thus far and we feel he will continue to improve in our performance environment moving forward. We are pleased to extend the loan until the end of the season, giving Toby the best opportunity to earn a contract for 2023 with the club.”
Elsewhere, Billy Gaylor will be available for selection when the Cougars return to action against North Wales Crusaders on Saturday.
Gaylor was initially handed a one-match ban for a charge of Other Contrary Behaviour in the recent game against Rochdale, and although he pleaded guilty to the charge, he challenged the original grading of a Grade B offence. The challenge was successful and the grading was lowered to a Grade A offence, meaning the punishment was also downgraded to a zero-match penalty notice and a £75 fine.
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NORTH WALES CRUSADERS coach Anthony Murray has said the result of Saturday’s game against Keighley Cougars will not be season-defining for either club.
Both sides go into the match unbeaten in eight games, with the Cougars topping the table on points difference. The winners would hold a two-point advantage in the standings, but with another eleven games for each team to play, automatic promotion certainly won’t be decided at Stadiwm Eirias this weekend.
“It’ll be a really tough contest – it always is against Keighley – and we’re looking forward to the challenge,” said Murray.
“Hopefully we can keep on our winning run, but whatever happens we just want to be competitive, put in a good performance on the day and give a good account of ourselves.
“The players are all excited by the game and they just want to go out there and challenge themselves against another team that hasn’t lost yet.
“For the last couple of seasons, League One has been a really tight division and this year is no different. Whatever happens on Saturday will not decide anything that happens in this league. It’s so competitive and tight across the season so much could still happen.”
The Crusaders go into the game on the back of a two-week rest, having enjoyed a bye weekend seven days before the Challenge Cup Final break. And for Murray, that is perfect preparation.
“A two-week break couldn’t have come at a better time for us,” added Murray.
“We were looking a bit jaded in the last 30 minutes of the Oldham game, because, with the Challenge Cup games we had, we’ve played twelve games already and we’re not even half-way through the season.
“A couple of weeks rest will hopefully see the guys come back in this week refreshed and over their little niggles so we can be at full strength to face Keighley.”
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LONDON SKOLARS coach Joe Mbu was delighted with the performance his squad put in as they picked up their first win of the season.
Tries from Luciano Bejanidze, Robert Tuliatu, Reece Rance and two each from Jerome Yates and the returning Lameck Juma secured a 38-16 win over Oldham in the annual Friday Night Lights event.
It was a result Mbu was confident had been coming for a couple of weeks.
“I have been saying for a while now that we just need to keep working hard and have the belief in what we’re doing,” said Mbu.
“We’ve been quietly confident that we’d get the win and it was only a matter of time. We’ve talked about how we’ve often had a good half of rugby, but we needed to make that a two-half performance.
“On Friday we did that and executed what we wanted to do for the full game.
“Friday Night Lights has been happening for a few years now and it has become a tradition here. The boys are aware how important the night is and they certainly delivered.
“I am really proud of their performance and the attitude they showed.”
Juma returned to the club last week after finding first-team opportunities limited at London Broncos, whom he joined ahead of this season after six years with the Skolars.
And it wasn’t just Mbu who was glad to see him return.
“It’s great to have him back,” added Mbu.
“The crowd were chanting ‘Lameck Lameck’ within ten minutes of the game starting because he is a very special player.
“He has a real positive impact on the squad in terms of his attitude and effort. What he doesn’t say in words, he does in his actions, and that is what he brings to the club.”
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ROCHDALE HORNETS Chairman Andy Mazey believes Lewis Sheridan’s Rugby League World Player of the Month award is more than justified after a string of promising performances by the halfback.
In the four rounds covered in the magazine’s selection process, the 28-year-old crossed for two tries and kicked 20 goals as he played an instrumental role in the Hornets picking up three wins.
Sheridan, who is currently the top points scorer in League One, is joined in the team of the month by Hornets team-mates Gregg McNally, Cian Tyrer and Gavin Bennion.
“It is well deserved,” said Mazey of Sheridan’s personal accolade.
“He’s a local lad and we always have a big emphasis on Rochdale lads playing in Rochdale shirts, so it’s great to see one of those local lads doing as well as Lewis is.
“I’m really pleased for him. He had a reasonable season for us last year but has really started this season with a bang. Hopefully he can keep that form up and carry on in the same vein for the rest of the year.”
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HUNSLET‘s recent signing Richard Wilkinson will have to wait for his chance to shine at the club, but his new coach Alan Kilshaw has been pleased with the attitude he has shown towards that challenge.
Wilkinson has moved to the South Leeds Stadium following his requested release from London Skolars earlier this month.
“Richard got in touch with us a couple of weeks ago and asked for an opportunity,” explained Kilshaw.
“We were happy to give him that, but he knows he is behind a couple of the other guys. He’s working hard in training and knows he just has to continue to do that and wait for his chance, but he is happy to do it.
“He brings quite a bit of experience and versatility and he’s not afraid to talk and be a bit of a leader in meetings and on the field. That’s always good and the younger players can learn a lot from him.”
As well as Wilkinson’s arrival, the club has been further boosted by the deal to keep Jacob Doyle at the club on a season-long loan deal from Featherstone.
“A season-long deal with Jacob was something we spoke about initially but it was a case of making sure we were all happy with each other,” added Kilshaw.
“He’s been really good for us and it was unfortunate he got a bit of a hamstring tweak in the Swinton game, because he’d gone really well in the other two games. He didn’t play against West Wales as a precaution, so I am looking forward to having him back and it extends our options in the outside backs.”
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DONCASTER chief executive Carl Hall believes the club can use the town’s newly-appointed city status to push themselves forward on the field.
The town was one of eight to be awarded city status as part of this year’s Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, having previously tried, and failed, on three separate occasions to attain the status.
But with the city status comes increased pressure for all involved to live up to it, but that is a challenge Hall is ready for.
“To get city status means up there with the big boys now with Leeds, London and Manchester,” said Hall, who was on the board that submitted the bid to become a city.
“We’re not little old Donny any more, so we now need to give them Rugby League and football clubs that that status warrants, and we will all be doing our best to do that.
“Being a city may well give us more opportunities to host big events. Last week we had the Killers in concert at the stadium and had 25,000 in. It was an unbelievable concert to host and it was the biggest event we’ve held here. We’ve proved we can host events like that so we’ll be looking to do more of the same and bring more concerts of that ilk to the ground and the city.
“We’ve also held some England Women’s football and we have three of the Rugby League World Cup games later this year, so we’ve shown we can do a good job and can hopefully continue to do so. That brings investment into Doncaster which can then feed into the sports clubs and help them grow.”
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OLDHAM welcomed both Sean Slater and Calvin Wellington back into the squad that travelled to London Skolars on Friday night.
Slater had previously not played a league game for Oldham this season because of a knee injury, while Wellington last ran out for the club against Hunslet in round two. He was forced to leave the field midway through the first half and has sat out ever since with a stomach problem.
“We currently have a situation in which some players need game time,” said Oldham coach Stuart Littler.
“That’s where the squad system comes into its own.
“Sean and Calvin have both worked really hard on getting over their problems, but they need game time, minutes on the field. Sean has gone over and above what could reasonably be asked of him in terms of completing his long rehab programme, while Calvin has put in two weeks of tough training with no ill effects.
“We haven’t seen the best of either of them yet due to their injury setbacks, but let’s hope they’re over them now.”
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MIDLANDS HURRICANES stand-in coach Dave Scott believes his players can take a lot of confidence from the recent 29-18 defeat to Keighley Cougars.
The Hurricanes were only a point behind their hosts going into the final five minutes of the game, but two late Mo Agoro tries saw Keighley home as they moved to the top of the league.
“The group played very well across the park and showed a lot of resilience, particularly in defence when Keighley put us under pressure,” said Scott.
“We showed patience and composure on the opposition goal line and were happy to build pressure, which eventually turned into points.
“We were the better team for large parts of the game and, had a few decisions gone the other way, then we would have been celebrating a victory against arguably the best team in the competition.
“We can take great confidence from the performance moving forward.”
The Hurricanes return to action when West Wales Raiders visit Portway on Sunday.
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SWINTON LIONS scrum-half Jack Hansen has targeted more tries in 2022 after celebrating his 100th game with a last-minute score against Cornwall last time out.
That was the 25-year-old’s eighth try of the campaign, which is just one behind his highest season total of nine tries in the 2019 season, and he admits he has been trying to improve on that figure.
“I don’t think I am known for scoring tries, but it’s something I am looking at doing this year,” Hansen said after the defeat of Cornwall.
“Scoring more is something that I want to do. I am trying to be on the end of every break and trying to back myself a bit more this year.
“I don’t mind getting those assists – whatever helps the team – but getting over the line is one of the best feelings.”
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CORNWALL‘S Luke Collins could see positive signs on his recent debut, despite going down 54-16 to Swinton Lions last time out.
Having now completed his rugby union commitments in Holland, the 24-year-old arrived in the Duchy and linked up with his team-mates for the first time in the week leading up to the Lions match.
“The result didn’t go our way but it was a proud moment for me to make my debut for the club,” said Collins.
“I thought in stages we were really good – especially with the ball in our hand. We managed to score three tries and, if a few more things had gone our way in their half, then we could have scored another couple of tries too.
“There were parts of the game in which we played and performed really positively. The scoreline blew out a bit at the end, but when we had the ball in our hands, we looked dangerous.
“If we fix up one or two things in our defence and gel a bit more, then we will continue to improve.”
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WEST WALES RAIDERS part-owner Peter Tiffin says the club has seen added interest from sponsors since their win at Cornwall.
The Raiders earned only their second victory since entering the professional divisions in 2018 when they won at League One’s newest club earlier this month.
Tiffin explained how West Wales have been determined to build support in the region from the beginning and admitted results on the field help bring fans and partners.
“Entering League One, you have to be financially stable first and then work on results and performances; that’s what we did,” said Tiffin, comparing the Raiders and Cornwall.
“The first two years were all about growing supporters and sponsors. After the win at Cornwall we had several people wanting to be the match sponsors.
“So results do help in getting sponsors and crowds, but we do have to build from the ground up. We can’t rely on funding. We’re a professional team and we need to be able to grow.”
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