FOR the first time in nearly 30 years, Roughyeds will play on December 26 when they take on Keighley Cougars in a pre-season friendly at Cougar Park, 2pm kick off.
The club has not played on Boxing Day since the likes of Wally Gibson, Scott Ranson, Martin Crompton and Darren Abram defeated Salford 16-12 back in 1994.
Admission prices for the clash at Cougar Park are £18 for adults, £15 for concessions (65 and over, disabled), and under-16s go free.
The fixture will be the first opportunity for fans to see the new-look Roughyeds side, now coached by Sean Long, who will take on promotion rivals Keighley.
“It will be a good indicator of where we are at, against a very strong Keighley team who have recently been in the championship,”
said head coach Sean Long.
“I want to see the lads in the pressure cooker, so we can work out what we need to improve on to get ready for the start of the season.
“We will be putting our strongest team out but also, within that, giving minutes to as many lads as we can.”
Recently relegated from the championship, based on a -3 points difference, Cougars are looking to bounce back after signing players such as Jack Miller, Mark Ioane and Aaron Brown, to name a few.
Keighley have had the better of Roughyeds on the past two occasions, winning 62-0 and 32-6 in 2022 when they went undefeated to lift the League One trophy.
Of the side which took the field in the reverse fixture on June 26, 2022, only Kian Morgan and Emmerson Whittel remain with Roughyeds having strengthened heavily.
Now coached by Matt Foster, Keighley are set to battle it out with Oldham in the race for the League One trophy in 2024, with this friendly set to be a taster of what is to come.
Tickets are available to be purchased online via the Keighley ticketing site
