COUGARS captain James Feather believes Sunday’s friendly at Barrow will prove invaluable for team bonding as he declared: “This is the best squad we’ve had for years.”

After two pre-season outings at home to Oldham and Halifax, Paul March’s side make the trip to Cumbria to face a Barrow team who will be competing with them for promotion from League One this season.

Long-serving hooker Feather played in the opening friendly win over Oldham but did not feature against Halifax and is hoping to be back in the side for this weekend’s match.

Feather said: “As we had given a good account ourselves against Oldham, Marchy wanted to mix it up and throw in a few of the young lads against Halifax.

“He will shake things up again this weekend, I’m sure, and if I’m selected then I’ll really look forward to it.

“I’ve played in a few friendlies up at Barrow in recent years and it’s good because it stands you in strong stead for the division where there is a lot of travelling involved.

“It’s great for team bonding especially with the new lads having come in, because you travel up there and spend the whole day together.

“You only spend a few hours together when you’re training whereas new lads tend to settle in a lot quicker when you’re on a good away trip.

“I think it’s a smart move by the club to organise a trip to Barrow in a pre-season friendly so we can gel together and get used to travelling together before the league campaign gets underway.”

The close-season recruitment of players such as Vinny Finigan, Richie Hawkyard, Charlie Martin and former Hull KR duo Aaron Ollett and Sonny Esslemont, all of whom have played in Super League, has encouraged hopes that Cougars can go all the way in the promotion race this year.

Feather added: “The way the squad has shaped up is very, very encouraging.

“I was speaking at a sponsors night recently and said it was the best squad we’ve had since signing Sam Obst and Michael Korkidas under Jason Demetriou.

“They were Super League players but the likes of Richie Hawkyard and Vinny Finigan have played top-flight rugby as well and they are really good players.

“Signing these sort of guys is a credit to the club and Marchy for bringing them in.”

Feather faced an uncertain future this time last year after he agreed to join Hunslet before performing a u-turn and deciding to stay at Cougar Park.

He declared: “I’m determined to help my home-town club get back into the Championship this season.

“I really enjoy working with Marchy and Adam Mitchell, who is really good at his job and gives you a nice pat on the back.

“He has really helped me to get enjoying my rugby again, so I’ve personally thanked him and Paul March for welcoming me back to the club with open arms.”

Feather plans to continue playing for another couple of years at least and has ambitions to progress into coaching.

He already assists with Cougars’ reserve team and added: “I’m hoping for a good year and am going to try and better myself by hopefully getting the club promoted and have another crack at the Championship.

“I’m setting a target of retiring when I’m 34 and I’ll be 32 later this season.

“If I can give a good account of myself then it will just be about seeing how my body is, but you’re a long time retired so I want to play as long as I can.

“I don’t want to be overtaken by any of the young lads, but at the moment I’m still beating a lot of them in training, so as long as that’s the case I’ll keep playing on, definitely.”

On his coaching commitments, Feather added: “I’m grateful to Marchy and Scott Lindsay, who is the head coach of the reserve team, because they have given me the opportunity to help out with sessions here and there in an assistant role to Scott.

“We’ve worked really well together over the last few months and we’re going to have a good reserve squad because we have such a big first-team squad.

“It’s hard work and I’m putting in plenty of hours, but it’s good fun and hopefully I can keep my hand in, so we will see what happens further down the line.”