KEIGHLEY Cougars full-back Quentin Laulu-Togaga’e insists the club are a sleeping giant, but admitted he never used to be keen on the place.

Speaking at the club’s media day, the 36-year-old Samoan international, who joined the Cougars last August, said he has kept his body in great shape despite a year out of action, and is ready to set himself little goals throughout the season.

He also gave his thoughts on the loss of former club Toronto from the professional game in Britain.

The Canadian side, along with Sheffield, Castleford, Halifax and Newcastle, make up the CV of ‘QLT’, with the veteran flyer scoring a sensational 230 tries in 292 league appearances over the last decade.

So asked whether he felt he was too good to be playing in League 1, he said: “When I was talking to (head coach) Rhys Lovegrove and Keighley, they said they wanted someone like me to help out the youngsters at the club.

“I do think we’re a sleeping giant anyway, and if we can be successful as a club, and have people back at games, that would be amazing.

“I was excited when I heard what the club had planned for the future and wanted to jump on board.

“I never thought I’d play here. When I came as part of the opposition, I just felt it looked very old (the ground) and somewhere I wasn’t keen on.

“But I’ve definitely changed my opinion since I signed and I really like it here.”

Laulu-Togaga’e is not getting any younger, but he is sure he has plenty left in the tank to help Keighley push for promotion this season.

He said: “The older I get, the more I feel I’m getting my body right up to where I want it to be.

“I’ve done more than ever since we stopped last year.

“Especially given how physical rugby league is, you’ve got to do the best you can on that front.

“We were blessed to have a few sessions before Christmas and get those in the bank, then we haven’t looked back since we started back up again the other week.

“We want to get a good pre-season behind our backs first, then see how we’re progressing after that.”

He added: “It’s not really about tries in a season or anything like that for me, but I do set myself goals.

“The big one is what I want us to achieve as a team, but I always look back on each session and see what I need to do to improve, and set myself little goals for each one to keep getting better.”

‘QLT’ has clearly joined Keighley to help them progress into the Championship, which was also the case when he joined Toronto for their inaugural season in 2017.

Asked about their demise, which may only be temporary, he said: “If you haven’t experienced Toronto, you won’t realise just how good rugby league was there.

“They deserved another chance in my opinion, especially if the RFL is thinking about trying to grow the game.”