Hull KR hooker Bill Leyland starred for St Helens on Good Friday
Bill Leyland celebrates his Good Friday try with St Helens against Wigan Warriors.
Hull KR would be open to allowing Bill Leyland to return to St Helens down the line, Willie Peters has confirmed.
After being overlooked for a spot in the Rovers side for the Hull derby, KR gave the green light for Leyland and Jordan Dezaria to link up with the Saints for their own Good Friday clash against Wigan Warriors.
Both players got game time and both impressed, but it was Leyland who made the biggest impact, stepping off the bench to score two late tries and secure a famous win for Paul Rowley’s side.
The hooker was lauded as a hero on Merseyside before returning to east Hull to begin preparations for this week’s Challenge Cup clash with York Knight, which he could feature in.
However, Rovers would be more than willing to send him back out on loan in the future, Peters says, with St Helens already voicing their interest in having him back should the need arise.
“The boys are calling him James Roby at the moment,” Peters smiled when asked about Leyland. “Really, really happy for him. It was great to see him and Jordan get some minutes, especially with Bill being dominant in terms of the end result and the impact that he had on the game.
“The week before he only played a short stint but he played well for us and it was unfortunate for him because we just felt we needed someone who could play a few more positions [for the derby], that’s why Karl Lawton came in.
“As soon as we got a call around going to St Helens we didn’t hesitate because it was going to be a win-win for everybody. They got to play in a Wigan-St Helens derby which is special and Bill will never forget it, I’m sure Jordan won’t but especially Bill, it was a moment in his career that he will never forget.
“Whether he plays with us this week or not, St Helens have already indicated that they would like to talk at some stage if they need him and we’d be open to that. We want our players playing at the highest level and I certainly wouldn’t hold him back, but we also know he’s ready to go for us as well.
“Jez can play 80 minutes and that’s basically where he’s at, but there’ll be times where we’ll want to go with two hookers and there’ll be times where Bill could be in the team. All he’s got to do is do what he did at the weekend and that’s take his opportunity.”