Joe Keyes reflects on his time at Hull KR after scintillating start to life at Halifax

Former Hull KR player and current Halifax ace Joe Keyes has spoken to Hull Live about his two-year stint in East Hull and the impact it has had on his career.

The Irish international came to the club ahead of the 2020 season alongside Bradford Bulls teammates Anesu Mudoti, Matty Storton, Elliot Minchella, Ethan Ryan and Rowan Milnes, as the Robins paid a substantial fee for the six Odsal stars.

Only featuring six times in two seasons, Keyes' spell at the club was a frustrating one, and many see his period at Craven Park as 'right player, wrong time' as he struggled with injuries and played second fiddle behind Jordan Abdull, Mikey Lewis, Rowan Milnes, Jamie Ellis and Ryan Brierley. Still, when speaking about his time with the Robins, Keyes had nothing but praise for the club and the people associated with Rovers.

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"First of all, I loved my time at Hull KR," Keyes told Hull Live. "Even though it didn't work out as good as I wanted it to. I jumped at the chance to sit down with Tony Smith when the drama was happening at Bradford, and he spoke to me and Mini (Elliot Minchella) about his dream for the club and to get another gig at Super League was a dream.

"Overall, it was frustrating. That was down to me as well though I found it hard to get fit, and my back always was touch and go. Once I got back to action, my time was already ending. But I learned so much under Tony, Danny McGuire, Stanley Gene and Dave Hodgson. They all were really good to me and helped me develop. As a halfback at my age, you need to be playing regularly and guiding a team around, and Rovers couldn't offer me that, and Tony was accommodating in