Rovers already hunting McCarthy replacement

Hull KR coach Chris Chester has revealed that the club has already begun its search for a replacement for Tyrone McCarthy, who is leaving the club at the end of the season.

MCarthy is leaving Rovers to join St George-Illawarra Dragons in the NRL, and Chester acknowledged that it is disappointing to lose the 27-year-old Irish international.

“It’s disappointing to lose Tyrone for next season as he’s impressed everybody on and off the field this year,” Chester told his club’s official website.

“He’s been a consistent performer and has taken on a leadership role on the field since Terry’s injury, but we understand his ambition to test himself in the NRL and he will leave with our best wishes at the end of the season.

“We’ve already begun to look at a replacement for Tyrone in our squad for 2016 and hope to make an announcement on this in the near future.”

Meanwhile, Chester also hailed the performance of Rovers full-back Kieran Dixon, who bounced back from his Challenge Cup final horrorshow display with two tries in KR’s home win over Wakefield on Sunday.

Dixon played on the wing in the workmanlike 20-18 victory, with Ken Sio switching to full-back.

“Kieran copped a little bit of stick from people outside the dressing room last week but he’s a special talent and he played very well today,” Chester added.

“He got a couple of tries and he’s a confidence player. I thought it was important to get him back on the field as quickly as possible and he did himself proud today.”