Former Leeds and Bradford star among trio to join Championship club

Former Leeds Rhinos and Bradford Bulls star Josh Jordan-Roberts headlines a trio of new recruits at Keighley Cougars having come out of retirement to join the Championship club.

Versatile forward Jordan-Roberts began his career with Super League heavyweights Leeds, his hometown club, progressing through their youth system to make two first-team appearances between 2016 and 2017.

The first of those came at the back end of the 2016 season as Leeds beat Leigh in The Qualifiers at Headingley, with the other away against Wigan Warriors in a Super League clash which the Rhinos lost 34-0 the following July.

Jordan-Roberts has gone on to become a stalwart of the lower leagues, and hung up his boots up at the end of last season aged just 27 due to a long-standing knee issue.

But with his 28th birthday on the horizon later this month, he has returned to the sport: penning a short-term deal with Keighley which runs until the end of the 2026 season.

Former Leeds and Bradford star Josh Jordan-Roberts among trio to join Championship club Keighley Cougars

In addition to Leeds, Jordan-Roberts has also donned a shirt for Bradford, York, Hunslet, Rochdale Hornets and Midlands Hurricanes – with Keighley set to become the seventh club of his career to date.

As announced by the Cougars via social media earlier this week, he is joined in Ian Hardman’s squad by fellow new recruits Brad Clavering and Mac Walsh.

Clavering turned 28 earlier this year and has worn the colours of North Wales Crusaders in the second tier in recent months amid their financial struggle, featuring five times for the strugglers.

The forward has 81 professional career appearances on his CV having represented York, Hemel Stags, Midlands Hurricanes and Hunslet as well as Crusaders.

Outside-back Walsh meanwhile has not featured in the professional section of the British game’s pyramid since April 2025, when he made the second of his two appearances for Newcastle Thunder last term in League 1.

Set to turn 23 in December, Walsh’s career so far has also brought games for both Whitehaven and Toulouse Olympique, with two tries scored in 20 games across all competitions.

Jordan-Roberts, Clavering and Walsh have all inked deals until the end of the season with Keighley, who sit 16th on the Championship ladder and have five games left to play.

That run begins with a trip to Midlands on Sunday afternoon, where all three new Cougars recruits will be eligible to make their debuts.

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