MAKING your Super League debut should be one of the highlights of a rugby league player’s career.

The trouble is that James Green, who has signed on loan for the Bulls for the rest of the season from Castleford Tigers and made his debut at Hunslet on Sunday, can’t remember all of his first top-flight game, which, ironically, was against Bradford in August, 2012.

The imposing second-rower, who is 6ft 6in and 115kg, was playing for Hull KR at Odsal in a 32-26 defeat under the gaze of the Sky Sports cameras.

But Beverley-born Green, who is out of contract with the Tigers at the end of the season, was concussed during the match against the Bulls, hence the memory loss.

The former West Hull and Skirlaugh player said: “I clashed heads with Chev Walker, but it was in the days before concussion protocol and, with it being my debut, I was determined that I wasn’t coming off.

“I can’t remember the rest of the game, but fortunately a mate taped it so I have been able to watch it back.”

Maybe in hindsight it may have been better had Green, who was Hull KR’s Young Player of the |Year in 2014 and came through their Academy system, come off as he was placed on report later in the game and subsequently suspended.

“That was my season with KR finished,” said Green, who made 81 appearances for Rovers over the course of five seasons up to 2016, scoring three tries.

However, what was Hull KR’s loss was Batley Bulldogs’ gain as he made nine appearances later that season under current Bulls coach John Kear.

In all, the former Rovers reserve skipper, who was their 18th man for the Challenge Cup final at Wembley in 2015, has played for four clubs under the dual-registration system – Workington Town, Batley, Gateshead Thunder and Sheffield Eagles.

Green has also played for Leigh Centurions and Castleford Tigers as a permanent member of staff, as well as Hull KR, while there have been loan deals to Halifax and, now, Bradford. Six of Green’s nine clubs have therefore seen him as either as a dual registered player or on loan, so doesn’t that make it difficult for the second-rower to always feel comfortable?

“No,” says Green. “Rugby players are rugby players when all said and done. They are fairly down to earth and hard working so it isn’t difficult to fit in.”

Green, whose loan signing was announced last Thursday, said: “I only managed to get two training sessions in before the Hunslet match, so John Kear hasn’t had much chance to work his magic with me yet, but what he has said is ‘Don’t do anything different’.”

The display of the physically impressive Green has already earned praise from pack colleagues Elliot Minchella and Ross Peltier, and Green said: “It is nice of them to say things like that, but what I was looking forward to was the block of ten league games, including Hunslet, where I can really crack on, and hopefully next season in the Championship.

“The difference between Super League and League One is that the defences are more structured in Super League, where normally three players come in to tackle, with two of them up top and one below.

“It is physical in both and the collisions are hard, but it is a little more unstructured in League One and a little bit slower.”

Next up for leaders Bradford, of course, is a home game against their biggest rivals York City Knights, who are two points behind them and have the second best attack in the division (behind the Bulls) and the third best defence (behind the Bulls and Oldham). “It is going to be interesting,” said 27-year-old Green, who is set for his Bulls Odsal debut in what is their ‘Game of the Year’, “and I am really looking forward to playing in it – the lads have been talking about it a lot.

“I have some mates who play for York and they can play some eye-catching rugby, but if we play at a quick tempo I think we will be okay, but we need to be a bit more ruthless than we were against Hunslet.”

Ross Peltier, who, like Green and two-try George Flanagan made an impact off the bench at Hunslet, agrees about playing at pace.

The prop said: “When we play direct with tempo down the middle, we will roll anybody away, and we rolled them down the pitch.

“Sammy (Hallas) was getting out, George was getting out, I was getting out, and I was really impressed with James Green on his debut, carrying the ball 100 per cent. The pack did the job for us, and we were complimented on that afterwards.

“However, we were disappointed to let in that soft try from the scrum, and all of the points that they scored were off the back of our penalties.”

Peltier also feels that the Bulls can cope if, as expected, second row James Laithwaite, who was helped off the field at South Leeds, is out for an extended spell.

He said: “We have plenty of lads who can step in. Minny (Minchella) can fly straight into the back row and we have Kirky and Mike Wood so it isn’t the end of the world for us.

“We were down a sub at Hunslet and all of the boys had to dig in but we know that we are fit enough and strong enough to adapt to that.”