FITNESS is playing a key part in Keighley's bid to climb out of Yorkshire Division Two.

Following a 19-13 defeat at home to current leaders West Leeds on the opening day of the season, Keighley have won their last seven matches to go second.

They trail the men from Bluehill Lane by six points but, following last Saturday's postponement at Castleford (the new date is November 28), Keighley have a game in hand.

Their head coach Danny McGee said of their season so far: "We aren't thinking about promotion and are taking things week by week.

"We feel we are in a better position now to face West Leeds than we were at the start of the season but the great thing for me this campaign has been the whole ethos of the club – from the first team to the Stags to the Academy.

"Also we are getting more consistent numbers down at training. Pre-season we had 35 to 40 and now we are getting 25 to 30, whereas last season we might have had similar numbers but then followed it up with 12 or 13 players at a session.

"I had a lot of sympathy with (previous coach) Kevin Young over that as you cannot plan a training session with those kind of numbers.

"But we have tried to make training interesting so that players haven't stopped coming because they are bored. We have brought in a skills element, a fitness element and have just tried to make it fun."

As for fitness, McGee said: "Only West Leeds have matched us, and our fitness has meant that we have pulled away from sides in the last half-hour.

"It has also helped us in defence and attack, and we have had three clean sheets, plus another match where we have only conceded a try and another where we have only conceded a converted try."

Shipping only 12 points in those five matches has virtually guaranteed them a nap hand of victories (their points against is still only 51 from eight matches, and the next best in the north east is 72 from seven by Yorkshire Division Four leaders Hessle), especially as they are scoring an average of 31 points a game.

After the disappointment of their match being called off at 11am last Saturday, Keighley have a derby at home to bottom club Old Grovians this weekend.

However, perhaps bearing in mind the Keighley connections at Grovians in the shape of former coach Dave Lister, his brother Mark and John Hinchliffe, McGee added: "I see this game as a potential banana skin."

* Oakbank and Parkside will be battling it out in warm-up matches at Rose Cottage on Saturday for a schools' challenge trophy as part of Keighley's club-schools link programme.