Featherstone Rovers: New boss Ryan Carr backs dual-reg’ relationship with Leeds Rhinos

New Featherstone Rovers coach Ryan Carr. Picture: Stephen Penfold.

Leeds do not run a reserve team and send players who are not featuring in their senior side to Rovers to gain game time. Rhinos’ Ashton Golding, Josh Walters and Jack Ormondroyd all played in Rovers’ 18-18 Yorkshire Cup draw with Halifax last weekend. It is a controversial arrangement but Carr, whose team face Rhinos in their final pre-season game on Sunday, insisted: “We have got a really good relationship with Leeds. We are fortunate to have that. If the players are going to be playing here at some point in the year you don’t want them just rolling up in round one so any footy they can get with us is really good and I will give them a massive rap, they have fitted into the squad really easy.

“They are really good blokes, they only came in for captain’s run. Ashton jumped into full-back which is a key position, they have had a great attitude and I love having them around.”

Carr arrived in England last week and the game two days ago was the first time he had seen Rovers in action live.

He said: “I thought the boys did a really good job. Their effort was great which is what we really wanted to focus on this week – just working hard for each other. We are at a stage now where we are really focused on us and what we can control. Obviously we have had a bit of a disruptive pre-season so we are just stripping it right back and trying to work as hard as we can as a group.”

Imports Watson Boas and Connor Carey both made their Rovers debut and Carr added: “I thought Watson went really good; he jumped off a plane a week ago and had a really good game. I am really excited to work with him this year.

“Connor is a really good young kid and we just wanted him to get a little bit of footy over here to get used to it because it is a lot different to what he has been used to in Australia. We just gave him a taste. I was really impressed with him and I am looking forward to seeing what he can do for us.”

Rovers say Australian hooker Cameron King and Papua New Guinea stand-off Ase Boas, brother of Watson, have both been granted a visa and are due to arrive at the club this week.