COUGARS chairman Gary Fawcett is hoping Lewis Graham will resume his rugby league career after he has served his four-year ban.

The 21-year-old utility player was handed the punishment by UK Anti-Doping yesterday after testing positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone.

Graham was given an out-of-competition test by UK Anti-Doping on February 17, the eve of the 2015 season, and the suspension applies until March 10, 2019.

Yet Fawcett, while not condoning Graham's actions, has admitted his sadness at seeing the player banned and hopes he can get back playing again when he is eligible to do so.

"Whereas Keighley Cougars does not condone the use of performance-enhancing drugs, we are sad to see a young man receiving a four-year ban from sport," said the Cougar Park chief.

"I hope Lewis can work his way through this personal issue and return to sport successfully after his ban."

UKAD director of operations Pat Myhill said: "Athletes are solely responsible for any banned substance which is found in their system, regardless of how it got there or whether there was an intention to cheat or not.

"Under the 2015 World Anti-Doping Code, the sanction for a deliberate doping offence has now increased from two to four years. Lewis Graham is a young player who has been banned from playing sport for a considerable amount of time.

"This case highlights that all athletes, regardless of level, must be aware of and understand the risks to their sporting careers if they test positive. They must ensure they manage that risk at all times."

Graham, who previously played for Huddersfield, made 11 appearances for the Cougars in 2014 when they were relegated to Kingstone Press League One from the Championship.

Keighley added in a club statement: "We as a club do not tolerate this sort of behaviour and all the players are aware of the risks when taking supplements.

"Lewis understands he has only himself to blame. We as a club will not make any further comment on the matter."

Meanwhile, Paul March is eyeing a glorious last hurrah as he prepares to bring down the curtain on his distinguished career in the promotion final at Oldham tomorrow.

The Cougars player-coach and twin brother David are to retire at the end of the season and both men could feature at Whitebank Stadium as their side seek to make an immediate return to the Championship.

Player-boss March has been struggling with injury in recent weeks, while his sibling pulled out of the side which thrashed Hemel Stags last weekend due to a hamstring strain.

But the brothers, along with the likes of Samir Tahraoui, Adam Brook and Rikki Sheriffe, are set to come back into contention as Keighley bid to topple Scott Naylor's side.

The 36-year-old March, who played in Super League with Wakefield Wildcats and Huddersfield Giants, said: "We will see how I go this week but I'd like to think I will be involved.

"It has been a 19-year career and if it comes down to the last game and we get promotion, which we think we deserve, it would be a great way for me to bow out.

"David is obviously hanging his boots up at the end of the year, so it would nice for him too.

"It should be a good game and hopefully everyone will get behind us. It's knock-out football now and something I'm excited about because I think we've got a squad capable of going up into the Championship.

"We've got a lot of big-game players in the squad, so we're excited about what's going to happen.

"We can tick goal number one off already, which was finishing in the top two to be in this promotion final game. Hopefully this week it will be a much bigger tick and it will be very sweet if we do get promoted."

The good news for the Cougars is that March should have plenty of options at his disposal heading into the promotion shoot-out.

March, whose side will have a second bite at the cherry if they lose on Sunday, said: "Hopefully I will have a full squad to pick from and if I do, then those 17 players will also be playing on behalf of every member of the squad as well as the club and the supporters.

"David is certainly a big-game player. He showed that in last season's League One Grand Final, when he played a key role in Hunslet's win over Oldham at Headingley.

"Injuries have hit him hard this year but we've seen glimpses of what he can do.

"A fit David March can play a key role in winning games – but we've also got Paul Handforth and Ash Lindsay fit again now after they missed parts of the season with injury.

"They have come back and started adding things to our squad, so hopefully this week the squad will be at full strength.

"We'll pick the best team for this game and yes, there are going to be some disappointed players.

"But we're a team, we're a squad and we're a club who are going to stick together and make sure we get that win."