COUGARS remain in the hunt for an Australian centre recommended to them by Wayne Bennett.

The England coach passed on a couple of names to boss Craig Lingard when he gave a question-and-answer session at Cougar Park in October.

And chairman Gary Fawcett revealed that, following inquiries, the club are looking into the possibility of recruiting one of them.

He said: "One of the players doesn't have a British or European passport but the other is eligible to acquire one so doesn't need a visa and we are currently in talks with him.

"We have two or three possible sponsors lined up who could get him a job, whether its office or bar work, and accommodation wise a few people have put their hands up.

"If anything happens it needs to by mid-January as the player would need to get over here and start training with the squad."

Fawcett says centre is the only position Cougars still need cover for. He revealed that former Keighley head coach Jason Demetriou – who is due back at the club in the new year for Brendon Rawlins' testimonial launch – had also recommended a player in that position but admitted the club might struggle to afford him.

Meanwhile, Fawcett is delighted by the way pre-season training has been going ahead of Keighley's opening warm-up game against amateur outfit Hunslet Warriors on Sunday, January 8.

He said: "There are some really good signs with the squad. Over half are new players but they are really gelling, so it's looking good.

"One of the reasons for that is we've now got quite an extensive management team who are making sure the players are looked after."

Alongside Lingard are assistant Nathan Graham, head of strength and conditioning Paul Royston and player performance manager Frank Levy, while Riki Sheriffe is also working as a development coach and the back-up coaching staff has been expanded.

Scrum half Jordan Payton, second row Reece Drahosz, utility back Rob Hawthorne, centre Graham Rowlinson and prop Alex Stott have all signed for Cougars' reserve squad.