Hull KR head coach Willie Peters has confirmed the club would be open to sending Bill Leyland back to St Helens, with the Red Vee already expressing interest.
Leyland wrote his name into St Helens folklore with his two-try performance helping to seal the Good Friday derby win against Wigan Warriors, just hours after Rovers had won their own derby.
Back with his parent club this week, Willie Peters confirmed that Leyland’s Hull KR teammates have already adorned the hooker with his own nickname.
“The boys are calling him James Roby at the moment,” he revealed when speaking to BBC Radio Humberside.
“We’re really really happy for him. It was great to see him and Jordan (Dezaria) get some minutes and especially Bill being dominant in terms of the end result and the impact that he had on the game.
“As soon as we got a call in and around him going to St Helens, we didn’t hesitate because we knew it was going to be a win-win for everybody. St Helens would be getting two very good players, as they saw, and the boys are going out and playing Super League but also playing in a derby, which is special.”
Hull KR boss gives Bill Leyland verdict
Peters also went on to confirm that St Helens have already confirmed they would be interested to talk again, with Paul Rowley having said earlier in the week that the club ‘won’t be afraid to make the same phone call’.
On Leyland’s chances of playing for either KR or St Helens, Peters said: “Whether he plays for us this week or next, St Helens have already indicated that they’d like to talk at some stage if they need him and we’d be open to that because we want our players playing at the highest level.
“I certainly wouldn’t hold him back but we also know that he’s ready to go for us as well. Jez can play 80 minutes but there will be times when we want to go with two hookers and times when Bill can work his way into the team.”
Peters also admitted that Leyland had been unlucky to miss out for the Robins in recent weeks, praising his performance against Catalans and in reserve grade but admitting that Karl Lawton’s versatility is something that had earned him a bench spot over Leyland.
The Robins coach said: “The week before when he played Catalans for us, he only played a short stint but he played well for us. It was unfortunate for him as we felt we needed someone else with a few more positions and that’s why Karl Lawton came on the bench.
“All he’s got to do is do what he did on the weekend, just take his opportunity. He did it last week in reserves as well against St Helens so it’s really good for his development.”
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