COUGARS coach Paul March is confident about the strength and depth to his squad after former Super League player Rikki Sheriffe became the latest addition to the ranks this week.

In a move that will see Sheriffe play alongside his younger brothers Jode and Jesse, the ex-Bradford Bulls utility back will spend an initial one month on loan from Halifax but it is thought his stay could be extended.

Keighley have lost their opening three friendlies, including last Sunday’s 33-26 defeat at home to Championship One rivals Swinton Lions.

But March is not overly concerned by results and hopes to bolster his numbers further with an unnamed player who is currently plying his trade in France.

He said: “Last year, probably 23 of the squad could play Championship rugby and a few were waiting for the chances. This year we’ve got players who can come in and it won’t disrupt us all.

“Training is going well, pre-season games have been disappointing results-wise but it’s just keeping our feet on the ground.”

Bradford-born Sheriffe, 30, has played for the Bulls, Halifax, Harlequins and Doncaster in the 13-man code and also had spells in rugby union at Newcastle Falcons.

Following the conclusion of his contract with the Falcons, Sheriffe returned to Halifax in 2013 before playing union for Bradford & Bingley last season. He also coached Halifax’s under-20s side before it folded.

Sheriffe is poised to feature in the friendly against the University of Gloucestershire All Golds at Cougar Park on Saturday (3pm), with trialist Isaac Brown also ear-marked for action.

March said: “Rikki will add competition to places in the backs and he could go straight in this weekend.

“The other player is playing in France at the moment and still under contract, but he’s back in England for a couple of weeks and will train with us while he is here.

“Hopefully we can get a deal sorted with him before he goes back and get him back over here playing as quickly as possible.

“Isaac has been training with us and hopefully he will play on Saturday depending on work commitments. He has been with us since pre-season started and his commitment with his amateur club is fading away.

“He’s electric out of dummy half and it will be good to see him playing at this level with a lot of experienced players in our side.

“This would push our numbers towards the 30-mark and every one of them would be ready to play in Championship One.”

Like several other sides in their division, the All Golds are an unknown quantity to Cougars, with the teams meeting for the first time.

Speaking at the official launch of the Championship divisions in Salford on Tuesday, March said: “People are talking about us being one of the favourites but, until we start playing in this league, you don’t know what you’re going to come up against.

“It’s new territory for us playing sides such as London Skolars, Hemel Stags and Oxford.

“We know all about the ex-Championship sides – it’s the other teams we’re going to have to worry about and make sure we’re on our game every week.”

“I don’t know too much about Gloucestershire and that’s one of the reasons why we offered (coach) Lee Greenwood the chance to come up and play us.

“Most of our side have been playing in the Championship. It was only David (March) who played in Championship One last year.

“He knows a lot about these clubs and I’m talking to him about their style of play and what standard they’re at.

“Saturday will be a good marker to see what the competition is going to be like in our league.

“We played Leigh recently and it was quite clear that they were at the top end of their preparations with their season starting this week.

“We’ve got another three weeks before we play our first League One game and it’s not until April 3 that we kick off our league campaign.

“We’ve got plenty of time to improve and build towards something special.

“I’m just glad we have kept most of the squad together which enables us to keep that continuity between the half-backs and the hookers, and throughout the team really.

“All the teams who have come down from the Championship have kept the majority of their squads and will be looking to bounce straight back as we are.

“I’d expect Oldham to be strong as well because they were strong in League One last year and have partnered with Huddersfield Giants on dual-reg, so it will be a tough division.

“We just need to ensure that we perform week in and week out. If we do that then we can set a high standard and hopefully go straight back up.”

*Great Britain legend Garry Schofield will be introduced as Cougars’ new pre and post-match speaker at Keighley’s friendly at home to the revamped Newcastle Thunder on Sunday, February 22 (3pm). A local band will also provide post-match entertainment.