Cougars player-coach Jason Demetriou has prepared his side for what he describes as one of the biggest games in their recent history.

Demetriou steered Keighley to a second-place finish in Championship One, so earning home advantage against Workington Town in Sunday’s qualifying semi-final.

The reward for victory is a direct passage through to the Grand Final at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium on Sunday, October 2.

Workington stormed up the table in the latter stages of the season to finish third, losing to Keighley the last time the teams met at Cougar Park in April but beating Demetriou’s side 35-18 barely a month ago at Derwent Park .

The former Wakefield star, at the end of his first season in coaching, has been hugely instrumental in the Cougars’ success, both on and off the field.

Now comes Demetriou’s biggest test to date and he said: “It’s massive. I think it’s the biggest game in the past couple of years for the club.

“If we can get to the Grand Final, we are one step closer to getting promotion and one step closer to relaunching the club again in the Championship.

“We beat them convincingly at home and they then beat us convincingly when we went to their place. But we were poor that day and there were some issues from that game that we have addressed since.

“There’s no doubt that it’s going to be a tough game. They’ve improved over the season – but then so have we.

“During the second half of the season, Workington were probably the form side in the competition. But we don’t fear them at all – we’re looking forward to them coming here and to booking our place in the Grand Final.

“They have a big pack but I honestly think we outmuscled them in that department the last time we played them.

“It was our discipline and ball control that let us down on that occasion and we gave Darren Holt, their half-back, plenty of time on the ball and he went on to kick us to death that day.

“We have to limit Holt’s kicking opportunities to a minimum. Hopefully we can get a massive crowd down here and that the people of Keighley will turn out and show us how much they want a team in the Championship.

Less than a fortnight ago, when Keighley secured runners-up spot with a 28-20 victory over Whitehaven, a coach-load of Demetriou’s former fans from Wakefield boosted numbers on the terraces and the Cougars chief hopes that others will follow this weekend.

Hooker Jamaine Wray, struggling with a shoulder injury picked up during the Whitehaven game, is the Cougars’ only major doubt.