KEIGHLEY Cougars will be desperate to get back on track this weekend at home to Midlands Hurricanes, but they will be without their star man in the halves and their marquee new signing.
Cougars were thumped at title rivals Oldham last Sunday, and now look set to finish second in Betfred League 1, which would force them to have to gain promotion via the play-offs.
The Hurricanes, led by former Bradford Bulls head coach Mark Dunning, are a competitive outfit, and sit fifth in the table, so Keighley know they will have to be something close to their best to claim victory.
But scrum half Jack Miller failed a HIA in the defeat to Oldham, with concussion protocols meaning he cannot play tomorrow.
And Brad England, a surprise arrival from Championship side Featherstone Rovers last week, starts a two-game ban.
Here's your 21-man squad in contention to face Midlands Hurricanes this weekend.
— Keighley Cougars (@Cougarmania) July 26, 2024
Miller failed his HIA and misses out, while Brad England serves the first of a two match ban incurred while playing for Featherstone
TICKETS > https://t.co/T4usiTeJ2U pic.twitter.com/48e89ZF1QT
Gallingly for Cougars, he picked up that suspension while playing for his former club, yet it is them who it affects.
Keighley are now trying to recover a three-point deficit to leaders Oldham with six games to go.
The Roughyeds are therefore on course to be the only side in the division to be automatically promoted, but they face a tricky test tomorrow.
They travel to fourth-placed Rochdale, who backed up an excellent draw with Cougars earlier this month with a tight 14-10 victory over the Hurricanes last weekend.
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