COUGARS club captain James Feather has spoken of his pride at bringing silverware to his home-town team and confirmed he will be playing on next season.

The popular 32-year-old hooker skippered the side in the iPro Sport Cup final win over Blackpool at the Summer Bash last Saturday.

It was a proud moment for a player who has spent his entire career at Cougar Park and will now aim to help Paul March’s side to promotion to the Championship.

The success at Bloomfield Road marked the first time in the club’s history they had won a knock-out cup competition.

Feather said: “It’s a massive achievement and it’s good of the RFL to put on an event like this for the lower league sides.

“We used to have the Northern Rail Cup, of course, but this is another great competition and it gives you something to aim for in mid-season.

“It was a great occasion at Blackpool and for me, we simply had to win because we had been struggling to win after losing the two promotion finals last season.

“Even the week before the iPro Sport Cup final, we lost to London after making a few changes which Marchy has put his hand up for.

“The team we put out there was still good enough but it was another close game we had lost.

“Therefore, to go out and put in another defensive performance like that was a great credit to the boys. That’s what wins you big games.

“We needed that momentum coming into the back end of the season.

“We’ve played all the southern sides first, so it’s going to be tough week in and week out now.”

Feather will not retire until the end of next season at the earliest and is keen to be a part of Cougars’ coaching staff.

“I have spoken to my wife and my family and I am feeling a bit older,” admitted the man universally known as Buster.

“But I also feel I’ve got at least another year left in me, whether that be in the Championship or League One.

“If we are in the Championship, I’ll train during the off-season and I’ll play for another year because I want to test myself at that level.

“If we stay in this division, I’ll play on 100 per cent and beyond that, who knows?

“I’ll see how I feel before hopefully moving into coaching but I’ll definitely be playing on next year.

“My long-term goal is to move into coaching and I don’t think many coaches have come through

playing for Keighley Cubs, Keighley Cougars, captained the club and then moved into the coaching side.

“I’ve learned a lot from Barry Eaton and Jason Demetriou at Keighley, who I still speak to, and Paul March too.

“I’m always watching and learning the game, so hopefully I will get my chance at Keighley whether that be with the reserves or as a first-team assistant.”

Meanwhile, Thursday’s Reserves fixture against Halifax at Cougar Park will now be played on June 9 with a 7.45pm kick-off.