COUGARS have been working on a plan to defeat Rochdale's power-packed forward line.

After an impressive performance in defeat at Halifax Keighley's Director of Rugby has been drawing up a plan to avoid a head-on collision with the huge Hornets forward line.

"We know they have a bigger squad than us, but we just have to play smarter rugby and avoid and up-front battle," he said.

He heaped praise on his players, and the club's supporters after the Halifax game.

"The players should real spirit and pride in their performance and came out of the game with a great deal of credit. No one who saw the game could doubt their commitment and their pride in wearing a Cougar shirt.

"We didn't expect to win, but we were looking for the style of performance and every man in the squad played stood up to be counted.

"The travelling fans were also superb and gave the whole team a lift when the going was tough - I would like to thank them personally for their support," Roe said.

He has stepped up his search for players to strengthen the squad and contacted a scout in France and an agent in New Zealand. "We are looking at ways of bringing more players into the squad," he said.

He added that in Rochdale they would face another team with Super League ambitions, but he believed the young Cougar side could pull off a home win on Sunday.

Karl Smith and Tom Palmer had been drafted into the pack and were getting used to playing among the forwards and gained valuable experience in last weekend's game.

"We have been working on ways of avoiding the big collisions and giving our players the opportunity to use their power and pace. We have to play intelligent rugby and out-smart Rochdale," he said.

n Captain barry Eaton will be leading from the front on Sunday.