Review of the Year: Keighley Cougars may have started 1998 in disarray, but they end it with high hopes of lifting the First Division championship next season.

The club were still in Administration when the new year dawned, following the horrendous financial problems they suffered as a result of their brave bid for the top flight.

It was another six days before the club came out of Administration, thanks to new owner Hami Patel. However, such had been the uncertainty over the future that then-coach John Kain had only one member of his playing staff contracted to the club, with Cougars' opening fixture just three weeks away.

Kain did well to put a side together in such a short time, although the lack of a pre-season was evident from the first league game at Swinton. A mauling at the hands of eventual Super League champions Wigan followed in the Challenge Cup, and when Cougars were heavily beaten at Dewsbury in March, the board decided to act. Former Great Britain international Lee Crooks was the surprise high-profile choice to try and revive Cougars' fortunes, and he set about his task with relish.

Beefing up the pack was a clear priority because Cougars had no players capable of driving forward. This meant the backs were under almost constant pressure when they received the ball, and Keighley had trouble getting out of their own half without kicking.

There were many low points, most coming in the first third of the season. Heavy defeats at Swinton, Whitehaven, Dewsbury and Feather-stone were dreadful affairs, with only a full-scale brawl at Post Office Road providing any excitement for the Cougars' travelling fans!

However, the arrival of George Mann, albeit briefly, and Lee Hansen improved the side remarkably and as Cougars' fitness levels improved, the results changed for the better.

After losing eight of their first nine games, Keighley went on a fine run which, with a bit more consistency, would have earned them a top-five place.

The playing personnel changed remarkably in 1998, with only six of the 17 players who played in the opening game still at the club. And of those, only Jason Ramshaw, Matt Foster, Phil Stephenson and Dave Larder look certain to start the 1999 campaign.

The recent re-capture of Martin Wood has stoked up expectations for the coming year, ,and the club are hoping they can revive the glory days of the mid-1990s when they were the most progressive club in rugby league.

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