Tim Sheens praised Justin Carney after he made an impressive start to life at Hull Kingston Rovers.
The powerhouse winger made his long-awaited debut for the Robins on Sunday and scored twice in their 40-18 victory over Sheffield Eagles.
It was the 29-year-old’s first game in over two months after he was suspended for verbal abuse, but he showed few signs of ring rust as he scored an excellent solo try in just the fifth minute.
Not a bad way to score your first Rovers try 5 mins into debut! Great finish from @Carney2823! Highlights on https://t.co/HNABZx8V5r later pic.twitter.com/crSVDtmtlu
— Hull Kingston Rovers (@hullkrofficial) June 25, 2017
Sheens was impressed with Carney’s performance.
“It was a good, steady game from him,” Sheens told TotalRL.
“I was really happy with the fact that he was patient and didn’t try too hard or come up with any errors. His first try was very strong and his second was when Jamie Ellis hit him with a lovely ball, but I thought he worked reasonably hard.
“He’s out of sync with our system a little bit, but he needed that game. He’s had two months out of football, more I think, and he was very happy to get settled back in and out on the park so I’m really happy for him.
“Hopefully next week we’ll see a bit more. He’ll be about a month from getting anywhere near back to his best, but we saw touches of it today.”
Another debutant who impressed was Liam Harris. The 20-year-old halfback made a few clean breaks in the opening eight minutes and provided a superb pass for Chris Clarkson’s try to cap an outstanding first display.
Harris looked confident throughout the game and Sheens said: “He’s that sort of kid, it was a good result for him.
“At the back end of the game he was starting to feel the pinch as he’s not played at this level, and this is a long way from Super League so he’s got a long way to go just yet, but it was a good introduction for him.”
A full report is in the new League Express. Buy it today in stores or at Totalrl.com/le.
