T'Other Side: Keighley Cougars

 

2023 SQUAD

NEW SIGNINGS FOR 2023

Head Coach: Rhys Lovegrove

 

Rhys Lovegrove took over the role of head coach at Keighley in 2019 taking over from Craig Lingard. He was initially appointed as caretaker coach but then, after a month, he was given the post on a permanent basis. Prior to that he had been assistant coach at Bradford, Doncaster and Keighley.

He is an Australian and was a junior player at St. George Illawarra Dragons and Cronulla Sharks. He came on loan to Hull KR in 2007 and was quickly signed by them. He stayed at Hull KR until the end of the 2014 season although he did make one dual-reg appearance for Gateshead Thunder in his final year. In 2015 he played for London Broncos and finished his playing career with Bradford in 2016.

He was in the Scotland squad for the 2008 World Cup but an injury prevented him from playing.

 

 

Captain: Jack Miller

 

Halfback, Jack Miller, began his career with Huddersfield in 2013 but he only played one match in the two years he was there and in 2015 he joined Australian team, Queanbeyan Kangaroos for two years and in his first year won the McIntyre Medal for the best player in the Canberra Raiders Cup.

 

In 2017 he joined Doncaster and then in 2019 he signed for Keighley and captained them to their League One winning campaign last year scoring 18 tries and kicking 134 goals in 20 matches.

Loan players 

Keighley currently have no players on loan and they have not entered into a dual registration agreement for 2023.

 

The Fev Connection

We know of 47 players who have played for both Keighley and Fev. Currently there are no players in the 2023 Fev squad who have played for Keighley but Keighley have three in their current squad who have played for Fev.

 

Terry Manning (centre) started his career at Keighley in the 1987-88 season and then made 159 appearances and scored 46 tries for Fev over the next 5 seasons.

Few players have made such a big impression in such a short career at Fev (just 5 games in 1990) as New Zealander, Aaron Palelei. He was a rumbustious prop and scored an outstanding winning try on his début against Castleford. One fervent Fev fan even named his son 'Aaron' after Mr. Palelei!! We are happy to say that young Aaron is also a regular Fev supporter.

Owen Simpson (winger) was in the Keighley team when Fev beat them 86-18 in the Yorkshire Cup in 1989 (a new record for Fev for points in a match). Despite the drubbing that Keighley received that day, scored two tries and impressed the Rovers hierarchy who then promptly signed him and he went on to form a tremendous partnership with Paul Newlove over the next few seasons. 

Further back in time Rovers winger, JT ‘Stubs’ Morris,  made his début for Rovers in 1929 and after three seasons, at a time when Fev were in the doldrums, he was sold to Keighley.