JOSH Lynam's decade of service to Keighley Cougars is to be rewarded with a testimonial year.

The club announced yesterday that the second rower had been granted a 12-month testimonial by the RFL in celebration of his time with the Cougars.

Lynam is a local lad who came through the Keighley youth system and has been there ever since, but for a brief unfulfilled escapade to Oceania.

Current Cougars boss Craig Lingard expressed his delight at the announcement and added he's happy players still feel committed to Keighley, as Lynam follows in the footsteps of James Feather and Brendon Rawlins.

He said: "It's massively deserved, he's a bit like a James Feather really, he's a Keighley lad, he's as loyal as they come and he's somebody that you need in your team.

Lingard is particularly impressed with how Lynam has stepped it up another gear this season.

He said: "He's played over 100 first team games, so again, he's not a young kid anymore, he's an experienced guy.

"I just thought the next stage in Josh's development was stepping up to be a leader and we've made him vice-captain this year and that bit of responsibility has just taken him to the next level for us.

"The workrate that he's got and the attitude that he has to developing his game. He's always asking questions, he's always wanting to improve, and he's always wanting to do his best for the team.

"The testimonial that he's got is well deserved. There's not many people that are as loyal to clubs nowadays.

"People will drift off, or spend a year or two at one club and then go on somewhere else, so there's not a massive amount of people that have testimonials now."

On the flip side, Lingard adds that loyalty, like that shown by Lynam, always deserves to be recognised.

He said: "I don't think it's rewarded, it's a little bit like your banks and your telephone companies and your internet companies, your own customers and your own players I suppose you take them for granted a little bit.

"Then another team will come calling and they'll offer them a bit more money and then they generally go.

"So I think people need to look after their own players a little bit more and reward them for longer service while they're down there.

"One of those rewards is a testimonial, which Josh has got, so once that testimonial kicks in I'm sure that the people and public of Keighley will get behind him and give him plenty of rewards over that 12 months."