Rhyse Martin is back and ready to compensate for lost time after his triumphant return to action on Friday.
After four months on the sidelines, the Hull KR back-rower was back in the starting line-up after recovering from a long-term quad injury that had kept him out since the end of February.
It didn’t take long for him to get into the thick of it, creating Rovers’ first try of the night as Martin put Tom Davies to the line with an offload.
His return was more than welcome from Rovers’ perspective, but for the man himself, the outing was filled with nerves.
“It was a great night,” Martin said. “It’s always great playing here at home. But to run out and be back on the field felt really good; I really enjoyed it.
“It was tough at some parts, I was very worried about how I’d feel fitness-wise, but yeah I’m glad I knocked out a good 60 minutes or so.
“I’ve got a good team around me and good support and making sure that we were doing everything right and not cutting any corners or putting any pressure on me because realistically if I’d come back earlier I’d probably miss the rest of the year. It’s been good and I had trust in them. I’m happy I’m back now and I felt really good.
“It’s probably the most nervous I’ve been in years. I wanted to make sure that I got through the game physically and then how I’d handle all the contacts and the repeat efforts. It was easy to come here because your team-mates are doing such a good job in their own positions that you only have to worry about yourself.”
Martin returns at an exciting time, with Rovers top of the table and chasing a historic treble. He missed the Challenge Cup final, a natural disappointment for any player, but he’s ready to play his part in what is a massive opportunity for the team.
“Everyone’s been buying into what we’re really trying to create here and it’s all about accountability and turning up for your teammates. We don’t want to let off, we want to get better every week, and to do that we need to challenge ourselves and keep putting that motivation into the group.
“It’s exciting for me personally. I knew it was coming, but for me I just needed to get through tonight, know I can actually play rugby league again. I think we’ve got a couple of days off now and I’ll recover. I’ll see how I pull up in the morning. No doubt I’ll be horrible.
“I will sleep tonight. I think once we get in on Tuesday and we start prepping, I’ll get excited. But, you know, the job doesn’t change. We’ve got one focus, and that’s to win. All I need to do is my role and my part for this team and hopefully we walk away with the two points.”