New boy Scott Rooke has been hailed as a potential star after a blistering debut for Workington Town on Saturday.

Cross-code amateur Rooke made his first appearance in the blue and white of Town at full-back against Widnes Under-19s and impressed his coaches and the fans alike.

Despite Town losing the game 22-18, there were a host of positives for the Derwent Park outfit.

"Scott was outstanding at full-back," said director of rugby Les Ashe.

"Tee Ritson has been training in that position for weeks but he rolled his ankle in training on Wednesday.

"He was withdrawn from the game as a precaution and Scott filled in admirably. His contribution was outstanding for 80 minutes.

"He and his family could not have asked for a better debut."

Rooke was not the only bright spot, there were good performances from several new players, including Sam Dowsett and Ed Chamberlain along with regulars such as Brett Phillips.

And the club featured eight trialists from the amateur game, including Billy Southward, the grandson of the late, great Ike Southward.

Ashe added: "When you look at where we were as a club following the last game of last season, I think everybody is pretty upbeat after today.

"At one stage, we had seven players from the community game on the park.

"That is testament to the community game itself and also to Dave Clark and his coaching staff who brought them into this environment.

"They have gelled them in alongside Scottish internationals and a host of senior players. For effort and commitment, we were absolutely delighted."

Ashe also thanked the 479-strong crowd that supported them on the day.

"We have got a local theme back in place and hopefully that is what the crowd like to see," he added.

"People like to see local players and we were delighted with how many came along on a Saturday afternoon."

Town will now head to Huddersfield next weekend for the second of their pre-season warm-up games.