Tuesday 6 September 2016 15:27, UK
Former Great Britain captain Jamie Peacock has come out of retirement with a view to playing for Hull KR during the closing weeks of the season.
Peacock, 38, joined Rovers as head of rugby after ending his lengthy career as a player after helping Leeds Rhinos win the Treble last season.
However, with an increasing injury list leaving the club short of numbers in the Super 8s Qualifiers, Peacock has returned to the training pitch with the first-team squad.
Peacock, who was officially registered as a player by the club before the deadline at the end of July, began training individually in the gym six weeks ago and took part in a field session with James Webster's squad for the first time on Tuesday.
He is now in contention to face London Broncos on Sunday but will monitor his progress on the training field with the club's backroom staff before deciding on a date for his return to action.
Hull KR are fourth in the Super 8s Qualifiers standings with four points from four matches and facing a battle to retain their Super League place for next season.
Peacock told his club's official website: "I've been happily retired for almost a year now and bowing out in last season's Grand Final with the Rhinos was the perfect way to bring my career to an end, but the time has come for me to put my boots on again.
"Although my family don't quite understand it, this feels like the right decision and I'm looking forward to getting back out there as quickly as possible.
"Physically, it may take me some time to get back up to speed but I've been preparing as best I can and mentally I'm in a good place. I'm going to fully embrace the challenge and do all I can to help the team until the end of the season.
"With the loss of three more players to injury against Leigh on Saturday and Maurice Blair returning home to Australia temporarily this week, we are now down to the bare bones in terms of the squad. Our policy throughout the season has always been to blood our younger players but now is not the time to be putting the pressure on them given what is at stake over the next three weeks.
"Unfortunately, salary cap restraints meant we were limited in terms of bringing in reinforcements before the deadline but we explored the option of using somebody internally and I was officially registered as a Hull KR player with the RFL in case of emergency.
"I understand my decision will be a big talking point but as far as I'm concerned I'm just focusing on training as hard as I can and getting back out there on the field as quickly as possible. I know it won't be easy to just pick up where I left off after nearly 12 months out of the sport, but I'm determined to give it my best shot."
A multiple Super League, Challenge Cup and World Club Challenge winner throughout his career, Peacock is a former England and Great Britain captain who was crowned Man of Steel in 2003 and awarded an MBE four years ago for services to the sport.
In total, he made over 500 appearances for Leeds, Bradford, Yorkshire, England and Great Britain throughout his career before retiring after the Rhinos' victory at Old Trafford last season, where he won the Grand Final for a remarkable ninth time.
Peacock will become the second oldest man to play in Super League. The record is held by Australian forward Steve Menzies, who was 39 when he played his last match for Catalans Dragons in 2013.
