Cougars got back to the hard graft on Tuesday night as Barry Eaton’s side returned for the start of pre-season training.

The squad, bolstered by their five off-season recruits, were put through their paces by new strength and conditioning coach Paul Royston for the first time.

Eaton got stuck into the session himself and, although he admits to a few aching muscles in the aftermath, he was pleased with the results.

“It was Paul’s first session and it went very well. everyone was assertive and got stuck in,” said the Cougars chief.

“The new boys joined us for the first time and we embarrassed them a bit by making them introduce themselves to the group but they settled in well.

“We were put through an intense weights session to get pre-season going and Paul (pictured) was pleased with the results.”

Cougars also received a significant boost after both hooker James Haythornthwaite and prop Ben Sagar agreed new deals with the club, leaving Dan Potter and Craig Brown as the only players still to finalise their futures.

Eaton said: “I’m really pleased because they are young lads who came through our scholarship programme and broke into the team last year.

“It’s important to have a pathway from the scholarship to the first team and this provides an incentive for younger players.

“Both of them are great role models and good professionals and show what can be done if you put in the work.”

Despite bringing in five new recruits, squad-building efforts at Cougar Park are far from over.

Eaton continues to make headway in his pursuit of an Australian player with Queensland Cup experience, although he looks to have missed out on another who played in the Championship last year.

The club had been in talks with former Featherstone Rovers winger Waine Pryce, cousin of former Bradford Bulls duo Leon and Karl Pryce, but work commitments prevented him from signing.

Eaton said: “We’ve had some contact with the Australian player and are hoping to receive some video footage over the next couple of days.

“I’ve had two or three good references already but still want to have a closer look.

“I’ve also been having discussions with Waine Pryce’s agent but it looks likely we are not going to take it any further.

“He’s not re-signed with Featherstone but he’s a little bit worried about job commitments and travel to Keighley and he wouldn’t be able to guarantee he’d get to training on time.”