Doncaster RLFC: Praise for stand-in kicker Hedges

As well as making the running for the club’s first try when the Dons trailed 14-0 and looked to be in danger of a third successive league defeat, Hedges also kicked four conversions – two of which were from the touchline.

His prowess with the boot came as a surprise to head coach Richard Horne who had been forced to draft him at scrum-half as a result of Jack Miller’s work commitments during the week automatically ruling him out of contention for the key four-pointer.

“Apparently during his time with South Sydney (in the NRL) in the season they finished bottom of the league Jordie had a success rate of 85 per cent with the boot and kicked the most goals but he’s never told anyone,” said Horne.

“In addition to his goal-kicking I thought Jordie was outstanding and took the line on well.”

Although Hedges was originally signed as a scrum-half he has played most of his rugby at loose-forward since Horne took over midway through last season.

“We want to play him at loose-forward but due to injuries he’s had to play all over the shop and that probably hurt his form a little bit,” said Horne.

“He came off midway through the second half after picking up a little knock but he was also struggling at the time because he hasn’t played a lot of minutes of late.”

Horne will be checking on Hedges’ fitness at Tuesday’s training session at Cantley Park but expects him to be available for Sunday’s testing trip to Workington Town, who will be looking to bounce back from a heavy defeat at second-placed York at the weekend.