Star full-back out to achieve the goal runaway Championship leaders brought him in to do

James Gordon

Featherstone are six points clear at the top of the Championship and appear odds on favourites to finally make the jump to Super League.

They have won all 12 of their league games so far and show no signs of stopping, the latest being the 46-16 win over York at Summer Bash.

The most ominous thing about their run is that they have done it without a clutch of players at various points, who have been sidelined through injury.

Even the recall of on-loan half-back Riley Dean by Warrington didn’t impact them massively, with Johnathon Ford stepping in following his return from a knock.

The likes of Chris Hankinson, Craig Kopczak and Joey Leilua have all been sidelined, with the first two featuring against the Knights.

One man who is eager to make a long-awaited return is former Toulouse full-back Mark Kheirallah.

Kheirallah was an eye-catching capture for Rovers in April 2022, following his shock departure from Toulouse on the eve of their Super League season.

He was brought in to help Featherstone go toe-to-toe with eventual champions Leigh, but he suffered a serious knee injury in the win over Newcastle in July and has been sidelined since.

The former France international had scored eight tries in 12 appearances before the innocuous incident in the 58-22 win over Thunder.

He told Rovers TV: “I remember getting the ball out of the back and I went to square up my defender and saw space, I stepped off my right leg and before I knew it my knee crumbled underneath me. It wasn’t the nicest of feelings and I just remember lying on the ground being in agonising pain.

“The club brought me here to achieve a goal and to get injured that early, especially as that game was a turning point for us to kick on, to come to the realisation I wasn’t going to be able to play for the rest of the season.

“This is the first serious injury I’ve ever had, that was pretty hard to come by. I just try and remain optimistic, there’s always another day.”

Featherstone have had an embarrassment of riches at full-back in recent seasons, so much so that they were happy to allow Brandon Pickersgill, a headline signing from Bradford barely 18 months ago, depart to Halifax.

Wales international Caleb Aekins came in during the off-season from Leigh, while Craig Hall is also on the fringes.

Kheirallah will have to go some to dislodge Aekins, who has maintained the superb form that saw him form a key part of Leigh’s promotion campaign.

The former Penrith and Canberra man has scored seven tries in 11 games so far this season, after notching 21 in 32 for the then-Centurions in 2022.

It is thought that Kheirallah has been fit and available for the past two games without being selected, though he is expected to feature at least in part in this Sunday’s home game against Barrow.

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Championship Featherstone Rovers