COUGARS captain James Feather has urged his side to produce a vastly-improved display when they travel to derby rivals Hunslet in the league tomorrow.

Paul March’s side were dumped out of the Challenge Cup last weekend after a first-half horror show saw them fall 20-0 behind.

Cougars conjured a fightback of sorts after the break but tries from Adam Brook and Feather were not enough as they slumped to a 20-12 defeat.

Attention now turns to the Good Friday showdown at Hunslet, who are coached by former Cougars player Matt Bramald after he stepped up from assistant to replace ex-Keighley boss Barry Eaton following the Hawks’ relegation from the Championship.

Reflecting on the York loss, Cougars hooker Feather said: “We gave ourselves far too much to do and you can’t give teams like York a headstart.

“We’ve been starting slowly over the last couple of weeks and you can get away with it against the southern sides.

“But you can’t give the northern teams a head start or you will get burnt and that’s what happened on Sunday.

“York are a good, well-drilled side and you saw that in the first half.

“We got a rollicking from Marchy at half-time and got back to the game-plan in the second half.

“We could have been there or thereabouts with some better decisions but we just gave ourselves too much to do.

“Hunslet away is going to be tough but hopefully we get the right response from the lads because we’ve got a good side with some great players.

“Marchy has done well to recruit them and I think it’s just about the new lads finding their feet.

“We’ve just gone from playing on a bog to a nice surface at York City FC.

“Hopefully as the pitches firm up over the next couple of weeks, the lads will hit their straps and we can start picking up the right results.”

Feather agreed to join Hunslet at the start of last season when Eaton was in charge before performing a u-turn and deciding to stay at Cougar Park.

The homegrown favourite said: “The thing is with being a rugby league player, you always want to try and better yourself by playing at the best level possible.

“I’m not getting any younger myself and Barry Eaton has always been a close friend of mine.

“He offered me an opportunity to stay in the Championship and I was in a bit of a bad place mentally.

“I wasn’t really enjoying my rugby and I looked for a way out.

“Looking back, it was the wrong decision and I’m back enjoying my rugby again at Keighley.

“Yes, I’m in the division below but hopefully I can help to get the club back into the Championship, which is where the club deserves to be.

“In terms of what happened, I’ve got no regrets and I’m grateful to Hunslet for letting me come back to Keighley and continue my career at my home-town club.”

Hunslet won at Cougar Park in pre-season and, despite losing their opening two league games, they stuffed Doncaster 48-6 in the Challenge Cup last weekend.

“Hunslet are a good club with a good team who are well drilled under Matt Bramald,” said Feather.

“Matt will be looking to build on Barry’s legacy and, having played them pre-season, we know the kind of quality they possess.

“They beat Doncaster quite easily in the Challenge Cup last week, so we will have to be at our best to get the win.

“I played with Matty at Keighley for a couple of years and he’s a good professional.

“I am still good friends with him and we stay in touch. He has got them well-drilled and it will be a tough game.”

Meanwhile, Cougars’ home League One fixture against Newcastle Thunder has been changed.

The fixture at Cougar Park, originally scheduled for Sunday, June 5 with a 3pm kick-off, will now be played on Saturday, June 4 with a 6pm kick-off.