Rhinos’ Keinhorst is flying after time spent at Hunslet

Given the form of Leeds centres Kallum Watkins, Carl Ablett and high-profile signing Joel Moon, the German international has been on a dual-registration deal with the Championship club for much of this campaign

However, with England duo Watkins and Ablett ruled out by injuries, he was recalled for Friday night’s game against Castleford Tigers and duly eased over for three tries to help secure the champions’ first win in five matches.

“Confidence is a big thing in this game and I had been going alright with Hunslet,” admitted Keinhorst, who had last played for his parent club in February.

“I had not been 100 per cent there by any means and there’s bits of my defence I wasn’t too happy with in this (Castleford) performance which I will look to improve.

“But it was good to get those tries. The main thing was getting the win after a few losses we were disappointed with.

“It was real important we got back on the road with this victory and we’re happy with that.”

Leeds coach Brian McDermott was impressed by Keinhorst’s performance and admitted he may have erred by not selecting him sooner.

“Jimmy did really well,” he said. I’m pleased for him. We’ve always been confident in Jimmy, who has obviously been waiting for that chance.

“Maybe the coach should have used him earlier than this.”

Castleford threatened to deliver a first-ever Super League double over Leeds when Jordan Tansey’s second try against his former club put them 18-16 ahead in the 45th minute.

Though they then fell behind after Keinhorst’s intervention, they only trailed by four points heading into the final stages until two late Leeds tries.

“We were in the game for large periods,” said Tigers coach Daryl Powell. “I just thought we gave a little bit too much away and, when the game goes quick, Leeds have the players that can punish you. The scoreline was a bit harsh but that’s Super League. If you clock off, you end up conceding points.

“I thought we created so many chances in the first half but I felt they always had us just at arm’s length. We got them a bit twitchy when we got to within four points but we couldn’t go on. We’ve got to learn some lessons and cut down on our errors.”