BEN STEAD is certainly making his mark as Keighley Albion, who are back in the National Conference League for the first time since the late 1990s, went into the Easter break second in Division Three.
The Rishworth Park side lost their first fixture back in the flagship league, being edged 26-24 by visitors Bentley.
But since that reverse, Albion have won three games on the hoof, accounting for Beverley (away), Myton Warriors (home) and, again at home, Featherstone Lions.
Stead, a local lad who retired as a professional last June, ending with Keighley Cougars after a notable career which also included productive spells with Hemel Stags, Gloucestershire All Golds, North Wales Crusaders and Coventry Bears (now Midlands Hurricanes), has been a key figure in those triumphs and is thoroughly enjoying the experience, even if he admits that he came late to the Albion cause.
The scrum-half told League Express: “As a junior I played with Keighley Cubs and continued with Keighley Cougars sides through to the Under 18s.
“Keighley Albion – who now have a really good section at youth and junior levels, which is testimony to the hard work done by long-serving stalwarts typified by the likes of Terry Caddy – didn’t have junior or youth teams.
“I gravitated to the professional ranks through the Cougars themselves and played semi-professional Rugby League for eleven years.
“However there’s only so long you can keep going at that level. The opportunity to retire from the professional ranks on my own terms arose last June so I did just that.
“After a brief stint with Keighley Rugby Union Club, the fact that I’ve a lot of mates at Albion led to me readily accepting the call to join the side as they returned to the National Conference League after an absence of more than over 25 years.”
Stead reflected: “It’s been a great experience, so far at least, for both parties.
“Although I wasn’t quite sure what to expect in the National Conference League Third Division, I have to say that I’ve been impressed in the games I’ve played in so far, both by Albion’s players and by our opponents in what is a very competitive section.
“It’s certainly very physical, but I’ve always kept myself fit and, at 32 years of age, feel that I can handle the intensity.
“We have a good team, right across the board. I bring plenty of experience to bear and hopefully any knowledge I can pass on helps my teammates develop and progress.
“By the same token, as a scrum-half, I need the forwards to set some sort of platform and that’s exactly what our pack has been doing. Otherwise any halfback’s prospects in a game are impossible.
“We have some very hard-working forwards here and in fact the buzz throughout the side, indeed throughout the club, is incredible. The team spirit is fantastic and I’ve very aware that there’s plenty going on behind the scenes to enable us to perform on the field of play.
“Blokes like Terry Caddy work so hard to provide us with superb facilities, and to sustain the junior structure. They are a very big part of this club and whatever we might achieve is credit to those guys.”
Stead added: “My immediate ambition when I joined Albion was simply to enjoy my rugby. It’s become something more than that now.
“We’re second in the table, with three successive wins after our narrow defeat at the hands of Bentley and although it’s still early days I definitely think that we can mount a serious promotion challenge in what is a tight league.
“We’re at the higher end of the standings and I see no reason why we shouldn’t be there or thereabouts come the end of the campaign.”
