SIMEON HOYLE has pledged his future to the Cougars despite tremendous interest from throughout rugby league.

The young hooker was seen as a ripe target by other clubs after an outstanding season which was capped by top a man of the match performance in the Grand Final at Widnes.

He attracted the attention of other clubs, with Halifax and Doncaster keen to get his signature for the 2004 season, but he has signed a new contract and confirmed that his future is with the Keighley club.

Fitness coach Paul Royston has taken over day-to-day negotiations while Gary Moorby is on holiday and was delighted with the response from the club's present squad.

"Everyone is keen to move up to Division One and show what they can do after gaining promotion this time.

"Obviously there was a lot of interest in Simeon, particularly after his televised performance in the Grand Final and his contribution to National League 2's victory over New Zealand A.

"He has developed tremendously as a player since joining the Cougars and was among the first to sign a contract for next year," Paul Royston said.

But Hoyle was not the only Cougar player to catch the eye of coaches throughout the game. Dewsbury wanted the signature of pocket dynamo Dave Foster, Oldham have been chasing 21-year-old prop forward Danny Ekis and this week York claimed to have signed Lee Patterson -- but they have all signed new contracts to stay at Cougar Park.

"We have also reached agreement with most of the other squad members and are waiting for them to come over to the club to sign contracts," he said.

However, Cougars look to have lost the race to retain Oliver Wilkes who has agreed terms with Leigh, but expect to be able to announce the signing of a big forward with bags of experience within the next week.

"We are obviously having to play our cards close to our chest to prevent other clubs stepping in, but there should be some positive developments within the next few days.

One name which will certainly be added to the line-up as the club prepares for the new season is Danny Turner, a 6ft 2ins back row forward who weighs in at 15 stones. He is a product of the Wigan Academy system and has been at Salford, but was not retained by former Cougar coach Karl Harrison at the end of the season.

"He is joining us for pre-season training and we think we may be able to help him continue to develop as a player. He has obviously shown he has ability and if we can get the best out of him he could be a tremendous prospect."

But some of the best news for the club - and the district - was that Matt Foster had agreed to step into Jason Ramshaw's shoes as the club's Community Development Officer working with local clubs and schools.

Foster has plenty of experience after working alongside 'Rammy' when the present scheme was launched and already has good links in the area. He first joined the club back in 1995, but after being snapped up by Sheffield the club hit a financial crisis he dropped out of the professional game before being brought back to Keighley by Moorby.

Moorby's faith paid big dividends last season as Foster rediscovered his appetite for the game and shone as one of the club's top performers.

Work is also taking place behind the scenes to bring new sponsors into the club and they are also developing links with Dales local radio station Fresh FM.

"They will be carrying items about the club throughout the year together with some commentary on the games," said publicity officer Ron Holmes.