Keighley Cougars' Championship return: Crowd-whipping megaphone, sobering experience and underlying anxiety

The ambitious West Yorkshire club have made no secret of their desire to not only reach Super League but one day lift the trophy at Old Trafford.

They have been here before, however, and there is a fear that history is repeating itself.

Keighley were left on the outside looking in following their exclusion from Super League in 1995 despite winning the Second Division.

That was the beginning of the end for 'Cougarmania' after the club threw everything into reaching the promised land.

Almost 30 years on and the Cougars have momentum behind them again fresh from storming to the League 1 title with a perfect record.

Keighley were still celebrating promotion when IMG dropped the bombshell that conventional promotion and relegation would be scrapped in favour of a new grading system.

Confusion reigns with the all-important criteria yet to be determined, which is only cementing Keighley's stance after they were the one club to oppose the move last October.

That clubs began the new season not knowing the true value of promotion is unacceptable in the eyes of Ryan O'Neill, who together with father Mick and husband Kaue Garcia rescued the Cougars from the brink of extinction in January 2019.

"I think it's absolutely ridiculous," the Keighley co-owner told The Yorkshire Post.

"The season is now starting and what's going to happen at the end? It's crazy. For me, it's supremely unprofessional.

"Back in the 1990s when Super League first arrived, it basically killed the club stone dead. We were the only progressive club out there building a fan base and bringing in millions of pounds in sponsorship and they decided not to let us in.

"We've been there before and it seems very much like history repeating itself.

"It is frustrating because we're doing so well. Even if we don't get up to Super League this season, we will get there within the next two or three years without a shadow of a doubt – but will they let us?

"It does add that anxiety and stress when we're actually trying to build something.

"You wonder whether you're going to be able to achieve what we've set out to achieve.

"Everyone wants to be at the top but are the politics of the sport going to stop us getting to the top? That to me isn't right. Sport is about winning."

Winning is all the Cougars knew last year but there is an acceptance that this season will be a different challenge altogether, which was reinforced by a sobering 50-0 defeat in front of the Viaplay cameras on Monday night.

Riley Dean – the young half-back on loan from Warrington Wolves – scored two of Featherstone's five first-half tries to give Sean Long the perfect start to his coaching career.

Gareth Gale completed his brace as Rovers added four more tries after the interval and shut out a Cougars attack boasting debutant Luke Gale.

With a top-six finish the aim after ending their nine-year Championship exile, Keighley's season will not be defined by their results against the clear favourites for promotion.

If the Cougars ultimately fail to get to where they want to, it will not be for the want of trying.

"Everyone is absolutely buzzing," said O'Neill, who confirmed the main stand at Cougar Park will be demolished and rebuilt in the off-season to take the capacity above 11,000.

"Getting promoted has totally changed the atmosphere around the town. We've got a Cougars van and I spent Sunday going around with a loud hailer telling everyone to come to Cougar Park.

"It was all a bit nuts but the amount of cheers we got as we were driving around the town was pretty encouraging.

"I actually got the idea when I was in Phuket sitting having dinner. They have a Thai boxing bus that drives around with a loud hailer telling people to go to an event the following night. It drives you nuts but it really sticks to your mind.

"I thought it would be good to do that back in Keighley and the surrounding areas because we're trying to expand our fan base."

For the ambitious Cougars, the focus is on the bigger picture and building on the foundations laid last year.

As they switch their attention to Sunday's trip to Widnes Vikings, all eyes will be on their reaction to a rare setback.

"We'd like to be top six," said O'Neill.

"If we finish below that, I'd be a bit disappointed. We didn't lose last season so we're going to have to learn how to lose this season."