Rams coach ready to put the boots on

The 37-year-old former Bradford Bulls forward insists it could be a last resort ahead of the Championship trip to Cougar Park.

“Steve Crossley is definitely out, Ben Jones is out, and Matt Nicholson (shoulder) only has a 40 per cent chance of playing,” said Jowitt.

“On top of that, at training on Tuesday we had Rob Spicer, Josh Tonks, George Flanagan and Daley Williams all down with a sickness bug.

“It’s going to be a tough challenge for us. Everything’s going against us but we’ve had some hurdles to get over this year and we’ll have to do the same again this week.

“Even (assistant) Adam Hayes has said he’ll play this week so if the worst comes to worst, we’ll both have to get our boots on.”

But Keighley Cougars player-coach Jason Demetriou, whose side are bidding to cement their play-off place, countered: “I think it’s all hype. It’ll be a big effort if he pulls on the boots again, but I don’t think there’s any chance he’ll play.”