KEIGHLEY ALBION kick off the amateur rugby league season when they clash with Sheffield Hillsborough at Crossflatts tomorrow (Saturday).

Coach Keith Reeves said: "It should be a tough but interesting opening encounter. Sheffield are coached by Ralph Rimmer who joined the club over the summer. He was very successful with the army side and will certainly have tightened them up defensively.

"I'm hoping we will have a good start to the season and the return of Wayne Smith and Craig Morphet adds strength and pace to our back row.

"I think we should have a very good season. We have the nucleus of a very good squad and I am looking to add to the squad as the season progresses.

"We are now an established Conference side and we must look to improve our mid-table finish of last season. We have also introduced one or two of the younger players from the Under-18 side and I am expecting big things from Chris Atkins this time. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he was our leading scorer. When I coached at the Cougar Academy he was a second rower, but he played in the centres with the Under-18s last season and was very impressive.

"He will be broken in gently on the wing to get him used to Conference football but he will also get his chances to show his paces at centre.

"Adam Beaumont is another exciting prospect. He is only 17 but is another converted forward who has bags of pace. He will get a chance in the first team, perhaps even tomorrow, and will add tremendous strength near the try line where his try-scoring instinct takes over."

"Two players who have really impressed over the summer are the old guard Ian Spencer and Gareth Greenbank who set me a problem every time I play. I like to spell my props, rotating the substitutes, but every time one of them comes off we seem to lose our go-forward so I am having to re-think my tactics which pleases them no end.

"I have changed a few things over the summer and I can say that we will play more open football, which is no criticism of previous coach Gary Moorby, but the squad has changed and the new players mean we have to open the game to make the best use of resources.

"Neil Jordqan and Mark Adams from Silsden are natural footballers and although they can grind out a victory or two they would much rather throw the ball about and enjoy themselves."

The club is hoping for a bumper crowd at Crossflatts following four weeks of summer camps which helped to raise their profile in the community.

" After a month without the Cougars and it would be great to see the touchlines packed at Crossflatts tomorrow," Keith Reeves said.