JOSH Drinkwater’s return to the Warrington Wolves side was a successful one, both individually and collectively.

Playing for the first time since Round Three, the Australian scrum-half played his part as Hull FC were beaten on Friday night as he stepped back into the side to replace the injured Leon Hayes.

A fracture dislocation of his left ankle is set to sideline Hayes for what remains of the season, meaning a chance for Drinkwater to have a lengthy run at the place he lost firstly to a thigh injury and then the youngster’s form.

And it is one he is clearly determined to take.

“I’ve been around for a long time. I’ve been dropped before and it’s about how you react,” he said.

“I wanted to go and train and help the boys prepare each week, then my opportunity came.

“It’s unfortunate what happened to Leon but that’s rugby league and he’ll be back stronger.

“If you ask me, I’d probably say I’ve been ready to go for five weeks although Sam (Burgess) would probably say it’s only been two.

“It’s been tough but Leon has been doing a great job.

“I want to give a special mention to him – the injury he’s got is sad but he’s only young. The club and the community will get behind him and he’ll come back bigger and better.

“It’s tough not playing and the injury wasn’t great, but I’m back in the team and want to put my best foot forward for the rest of the year.”

Drinkwater came out of the game with a try assist to his name as he made a crucial line break to set up half-back partner George Williams for the second of Wire’s four tries on the night.

“It’s job done for us,” the 31-year-old said.

“It was wet which made things pretty tough and slippery out there, and Hull FC came to play.

“They dug in and with where they are on the ladder, they had a real crack at us.

“For us, it’s two points. It was a little bit scrappy but we’ll move on.

“It’s been beautiful and sunny for the past few weeks, then we get that weather in my first game back!

“It was a bit slow and conditions were tough, but the main thing is we got the two points.”

The games certainly get bigger from now on, with Hull KR visiting The Halliwell Jones Stadium on Thursday with a Challenge Cup semi-final against Huddersfield Giants to follow.

With Warrington among a cluster of teams packed together at the top of the pile, Drinkwater senses an opportunity but for the team and for himself.

“The big games are the ones you want to play in,” he said.

“It’s good to get 80 minutes under the belt and now we move onto Hull KR, which will be a tough one. I’m really looking forward to playing in those big games again.

“We’re looking at it as a good opportunity with where we’re sitting on the ladder.

“We’ve got a Challenge Cup semi-final coming up and the competition is pretty open at the moment, so it’s exciting.

“For myself, I’m obviously off-contract at the moment so I want to play some good footy to get myself sorted for next year, but the main thing is we’ve got a good team in there and we can do something this year.”