England's new find Jack Reed might have been playing for Keighley had his career not gained dramatic momentum.
The Broncos centre's England call-up is Cougars' loss
England's new find Jack Reed would right now be preparing to play for Keighley in Sunday's Championship One qualifying semi-final, had his rugby league career not taken a spectacular upward turn this year.
The 23-year-old was called up by England coach Steve McNamara on Thursday for the end-of-season Four Nations Series. This move came after the centre took Australia's NRL by storm with Brisbane Broncos, rejecting the chance to represent Queensland.
On Saturday, Reed will be trying to help the Broncos move to within 80 minutes of the NRL Grand Final, where they will take on reigning champions, St George Illawarra, in front of a near-50,000 crowd at Suncorp Stadium.
It is a far cry from Cougar Park, where 1,000 resilient fans will watch Keighley take on Workington this weekend. A place in the third-tier Grand Final of professional rugby league in Britain is at stake and would leave the team only a step away from promotion to the Championship.
Reed, who was born near Keighley, emigrated with his parents Joe and Kath at the age of two and last season turned out for his village team, Silsden, while holidaying in Europe.
He made three appearances in division four of the Pennine League with the offer of pre-season trials with the Cougars. His father even paid his air fare as a 21st birthday present.
Lifeline
However, the strong-running centre or second rower was thrown a lifeline by Brisbane Norths and from there was spotted by the Broncos, where he has become an ever-present in a sensational debut season.
Neil Cullen, a Keighley director and family friend, is delighted with Reed's rise to fame, even if it meant the Cougars' loss.
"He was over here on holiday, touring around Europe, came to see his family and ended up playing a few games for Silsden," he said.
"The intention was for him to return this year and we had spoken about him coming to Keighley for trials. That's as far as we got."
Cullen, who stays with the Reeds during his frequent trips to Australia, was not surprised by Jack's rise to prominence.
He continued: "He had a sound grounding in the local teams in Queensland and he's taken his opportunity."
