POPULAR Ritchie Hawkyard, the Oldham and former Keighley Cougars full-back, is keen to help his previous club to raise money to fight cancer.
Roughyeds go to Cougar Park on Saturday evening (6.30pm kick-off) in a crucial Betfred League One game for both clubs.
Keighley have made it a cancer awareness game and Ritchie has said he will dye his hair pink for the game so long as Oldham fans will chip in to raise a modest £250 in total for the Cougars’ anti-cancer fund.
Said Ritchie:
“Every little helps and it’s all going to a great cause.”
You can find out how to contribute by going to the Titch Goes Pink JustGiving page and seeing what he has to say.
Cougars chairman Mick O’Neill, meanwhile, has told the Bradford Telegraph and Argus why he took the shock decision to sack coach Craig Lingard even though he has guided the side to five wins and a draw out of eight league games.
He said Cougars had to go flat out to win promotion as quickly as possible before the predicted restructuring by the RFL.
He said the club needed fresh management talent to take it forward.
He added:
“The decision has upset a number of our fans and I’d like to place on record that Craig Lingard is a fine man with a professional spirit.
“He stood by the club in some of the darkest times in it history and everyone connected with Keighley Cougars respects and appreciates that commitment. That’s why, when we took over in January, we agreed to continue his contract without hesitation.
“In the last few months we’ve had time to look at what works and what doesn’t and everyone has worked tirelessly on and off the field to get the club out of this horrible division.”
Three players who left Keighley at the height of the club’s financial turmoil early in the year — Hawkyard, prop Scott Law and utility forward Emmerson Whittel —- will be expected to be in the Oldham line-up on Saturday.
Oldham have been beaten in each of their last seven games at Cougar Park.
