Brian McDermott reckons the development of on-loan full-back Ben Jones-Bishop has been a shining light among the sea of injuries swamping Harlequins RL’s start to the Super League season.

Hooker Chad Randall was the latest to join the casualty list, missing out on Sunday’s 34-10 defeat to Melbourne Storm due to a groin strain.

And with Luke Dorn, Luke Gale, Rob Purdham, Karl Temata, Danny Ward, Andy Ellis and Jon Wells already on the sidelines, McDermott admits the form of Leeds star Jones-Bishop, who crossed for his third try of the season on Sunday, is a sight to behold.

He said: “Ben is growing in stature week by week and it is great to see.

“To play full-back in Super League you need to be a pretty dominant personality and someone who can take charge of organising the defence.

“Ben is not a brash person in the slightest - he is not loud by nature and that is something he is learning.

“But there is so much to his game that I cannot coach - he has far more skill than I ever had and you get that air of anticipation when he gets the ball.”

Will Sharp crossed for the other London try at the weekend as Quins dug in in the second half to stop the Australian champions running up a mammoth score.

And ahead of Friday night’s trip to Hull, McDermott feels there was some encouragement from a youthful Quins line-up that included 17-year-old debutant stand-off Max Edwards.

He added: “I’m not going to go overboard but there were a few youngsters out there who did not look out of place.

“I was a bit twitchy before the game as I was dreading more injuries but thankfully we came through unscathed.

“Now we head to Hull on Friday and we are well aware of how difficult a place that is to go.

“But hopefully a few of our players will be back and we can look forward to it.”

Harlequins RL’s next three matches: Feb 26 Hull FC (a), Mar 5 Leeds (a), 14 Salford (h)