Huddersfield Giants coach delivers glowing assessment of starlet amid honest admission following debut

Huddersfield Giants boss Luke Robinson admits he gave Marshall Land an uphill task by handing him his debut against Wakefield Trinity, but says the youngster can be proud of his performance.

Teenager Land, a product of the Giants‘ pathway, made the first senior appearance of his career on Saturday evening at Belle Vue.

Named in the halves, Land partnered fellow youth product Kieran Rush, and is the latest in a long line of debuts dished out by head coach Robinson this term in what is his first full season in charge.

A 48-2 defeat to Wakefield followed, with that an 18th Super League defeat of the campaign for the Giants, but it was an evening which Land will never forget.

Huddersfield Giants coach delivers glowing assessment of starlet amid honest admission following debut

Back in April, the Dewsbury Celtic junior put pen to paper on his first professional contract, with that two-year deal set to begin on December 1.

Post-match, Robinson gave a glowing assessment of Land to Sky Sports, saying: “We’ve given five or six debuts this year to lads that probably weren’t expecting to play, they’ve been accelerated a little bit by the circumstances we’ve been put under.

“Marshall’s somebody that we have really high expectations of. He’s a great lad, he comes from good stock and he’s been playing really well in the academy.

“If I’m being honest, I don’t like putting young half-backs in a side like that where they’re on the back foot, all you’re doing is defending, you’re not getting any field position and you’re not getting any opportunities with the ball.

“But for his debut, in those circumstances, I think he can hold his head really high.”

Prior to the trip to Belle Vue, debutant Land was presented his shirt by his parents, with his dad having coached him as a junior at local community club Dewsbury Celtic.

The youngster has already come through a quite serious injury concern with nerve problems looking likely to end his career before it ever got going not too long ago.

Robinson continued: “For a young kid to be put in to play in the halves and be put on the back foot all game, I thought he tried really hard.

“I was just really disappointed that we couldn’t make his debut a more memorable one.

“It’s unfortunate for him, but it might be a blessing later down the line.”