Keighley Cougars will be looking to show their bite against Batley Bulldogs on Sunday in their first home fixture of the National One season, 3pm kick-off.

And they will hope to send the Bulldogs back home with their tails firmly inbetween their legs after a Bank Holiday bonanza turned into Bank Holiday blues last weekend for the Cougar Park side.

After sealing their place in the quarter final qualifiers of the Arriva Trains Cup with a 47-8 demolition of Hunslet Hawks, Keighley were brought back down to earth with a bump against Hull Kingston Rovers on Monday.

Hull KR away was never going to be the easiest of league openers, and so it proved as a powerful home side -- one of the favourites for promotion to Superleague -- racked up a one-sided 56-6 win.

Keighley coach Gary Moorby will now be looking for the right kind of response from his players as they prepare to face a Batley side who also made a winning start to their National League One season, beating Rochdale 48-12.

He said: "Our stats were very poor against Hull, our completion rate was low and we kept coughing up possession.

"But you have to get these things in context. Hull are a good side and have invested heavily in the side and off the pitch.

"We went there confident of giving a good account of ourselves, but that was blown away in the first half-hour of the game.

"The high completion rate against Hunslet was down to way under 50 per cent.

"That will cause you problems against anyone as we have learnt to our great expense already this season -- especially against a side going all out to achieve Superleague status next season."

Despite Keighley's opening day blip, Moorby remains upbeat his side can get off the National One blocks against Batley.

He said: "We will have a look at Batley before the game and look at one or two things we might adjust, but we know we are capable of getting a result.

"We just need to look after the ball and stick to what we want to do -- the rest should look after itself.

"When we do that then we know we can be successful.

"Batley have started well and are scoring points, but we've been going pretty well -- apart from Hull -- and have been scoring points too."

Meanwhile, Keighley Cougars will be making the trip to National League Two outfit Barrow Raiders in the next stage of the Arriva Trains Cup competition.

The quarter-final qualifier sees a place in the last eight up for grabs in what is bound to be a tightly contested game next Sunday.

Barrow will be looking for revenge against Keighley as the sides' last meeting in August last year saw the Cougars come away with a narrow 18-16 victory.

That result effectively ended Barrow's challenge for the play-off places in National Two that Keighley were promoted through.

Moorby added: "It's an interesting draw. Peter Roe (ex Cougars boss) is up there and it is always a tough game in Cumbria -- I've never had an easy one yet."