KEIGHLEY Cougars head coach Matt Foster has warned the rest of Betfred League 1 that his side still have “another 30 or 40 per cent to find”.
That is a scary prospect given Cougars have won all five of their league matches so far to sit top of the table, averaging a mammoth 52 points per game.
But Foster said: “I still think we’re a work in progress, in terms of understanding how we want to play.
“That is getting better from us, but we’ve probably got another 30 or 40 per cent to go, and we know we can keep growing and improving as a team.
“It’s important to have that mentality and know we’re not the finished article yet.”
And they look likely to be tested in their next league game, which comes at Rochdale Hornets this Sunday.
Oldham and Keighley are the overwhelming favourites to fill the two promotion spots this season, and both remain unbeaten so far, but North Wales Crusaders and Rochdale look the most capable of breaking up that duopoly.
And the Hornets enjoyed a statement 37-36 win at North Wales last weekend, meaning Keighley certainly will not be taking victory for granted on Sunday.
Foster said: “Whether it’s (rock-bottom) Newcastle like last weekend or Rochdale this time around, you have to go out and produce to get the performance required.
“You can’t just turn up expecting to win against any side, you have to put the effort in.
“For Rochdale, that was a great win for them at North Wales and they have an added threat because they’ve got the use of players on dual-registration from Bradford Bulls and a couple of Widnes Vikings loanees in Liam Bent and Lloyd Roby.
“They’re bringing in loanees who are of real Championship quality so we have to prepare to go there and be at our best to get the win.”
Cougars will expect a more uncomfortable afternoon in Rochdale than they had up at newly-reformed Newcastle Thunder on Sunday, where they romped to an 82-6 win.
There were rare appearances for club stalwarts Josh Lynam and Matt Bailey, both currently on dual-registration with amateur side West Bowling, and the pair of them marked the occasion with a try apiece.
Discussing the pair, Foster said: “Josh and Matt are really important to us, as local lads who’ve lived and breathed Keighley Cougars their whole lives.
“It’s important for the players to understand our culture and history like those two do.
“And in our squad of 26, we’re going to need all of them this season, so when people get a first-team opportunity, like Josh and Matt last weekend, it’s important for them to be able to hit the ground running.”
Another vital component of a promotion-hunting squad is the ability to adapt, and while they have had four thumping league wins, Cougars really had to grind out their 22-6 victory at home to North Wales earlier this month.
Foster reflected: “The North Wales game was more of a traditional arm-wrestle, with a more even spread of the ball than in our other games so far.
“They have good, strong forwards who really challenged our defence, but we restricted them well.
“I thought we started the game a bit slowly, possibly because we’d had no game the week before, but we really settled into our groove after half-time.”
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