FIT-AGAIN Luke Robinson isn’t taking a start at Hull KR on Saturday for granted – even though he came through his Giants Super League return unscathed.
The 26-year-old hooker played just under an hour of Friday’s 20-6 home defeat to champions Wigan Warriors.
It was his first game since he suffered a serious elbow injury during England’s Four Nations victory over Papua New Guinea in November.
That forced him to undergo surgery to repair the damage, as well as have an operation on a long-standing shoulder problem.
But he showed no ill effects when he returned to action on Friday, grabbing a try with just his second touch of the ball to crown a rock-solid all-round display.
But Robinson knows that doesn’tautomatically guarantee him a place in the side to face the Robins at New Craven Park in front of the Sky TV cameras next weekend.
“For a first game, I thought I was ‘all right’, but nothing more,” said Robinson, who was introduced from the bench midway through the opening half.
“But it was something to build on, and hopefully that process will continue at Hull KR on Saturday. That will obviously be down to Browny, who I hope saw enough to keep me in.
“But we’ve obviously got a strong squad and Browny’s not scared to drop anybody if he’s not happy with the way they’ve played.
“In that regard, he can be pretty ruthless.
“So I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that I did enough to repay the faith he showed in me by putting me straight back in.
“I know there’s still a lot of improvement for me to make.”
Robinson was understandably disappointed to return to action in a losing Giants side.
But he’s delighted he’s now got that first game under his belt.
“I was always fairly confident I’d come through unscathed, because Nathan Mill and Greg Brown have done a fantastic job with my rehab,” added Robinson.
“So when I was about to come onto the field I was more worried about not passing well enough or letting my teammates down rather than whether the shoulder and elbow would be strong .enough.
“Obviously, the fluency wasn’t quite up to scratch, and the timing and match fitness need to be improved.
“But overall, I was fairly pleased with the way everything went.”
