Skipper James Feather admitted he was in dreamland after helping the Cougars to promotion.

Hundreds of Keighley fans turned out at the Halliwell Jones Stadium to see Jason Demetriou’s men clinch an immediate return to the Championship after relegation last season.

And nobody was happier than homegrown hooker Feather – nicknamed Buster – whose intelligence around the ruck kept the Cougars on the front foot all afternoon.

A six-try demolition job on the Cumbrians, with Feather among the scorers, made for jubilant scenes in the Cougar Park clubhouse on Sunday night.

The 27-year-old, who works as a builder, said: “It was brilliant to celebrate with all the fans and I’d never known so many of them come down.

“I felt proud for all the players but I also felt proud for the town.

“Everyone in Keighley should be delighted and hopefully more and more people will come back to support us next season.

“The aim is to survive in the Championship now and build from there but the foundations are in place for us to keep improving.

“I’d love to get a full-time coaching job here one day. Playing for the Cougars is a great hobby but I don’t ever want to leave and would like to move into coaching at some point.

“This is a great club and if we can continue to do well then who knows what could happen further down the line when Super League licences are handed out?”

Feather believes Demetriou can take much of the praise for this season’s promotion.

He explained: “JD deserves a massive amount of credit.

“He’s come in and totally changed the way we play by putting his own stamp on things.

“He’s got great coaching skills and his experience of playing in Super League for so many years has rubbed off on us. We’ve picked up a lot of good habits.”