Kingstone Press Championship Preview: Keighley Cougars v Workington Town

Keighley Cougars player-coach Paul March is set to make his return to first-team action on Sunday, just three days after playing for the first time in two months.

March, who was banned for two months after verbally abusing a match official, will play in Keighley’s U20s fixture against Halifax on Thursday night.

He said: “Thursday’s a good opportunity to get a bit of game-time under my belt, and I can’t wait to get back out there on Sunday.

“Danny Jones is a bit of a concern with a hamstring problem, so it’s ideal timing for me to come back in and give Danny another week to recover.”

March added: “Workington had a fantastic win against Batley last week that kept their hopes alive, but we see this as a six-pointer.

“If we win we open up a big gap, so it’s a big game for both clubs. It’ll be a physical battle – they’re a big side that challenge you in certain areas – and we need to stand up to that.”

Workington Town travel without loan signing Declan Hulme, who serves a one-match suspension, but confidence is high in Phil Veivers’ team.

Town have won their last three fixtures, beating Featherstone Rovers and Swinton Lions before last week’s triumph over Batley.

But Veivers said: “Those matches count for nothing now and all I’m concentrating on is the next game on the fixture list.”