IT was not that long ago that David Alstead was standing on the Central Park terraces cheering on his Wigan heroes.

On Sunday, he pulled on a primrose and blue Super League jersey for the first time to play against the same men he used to idolise.

Alstead, a full back held in high regard by Wolves coach Darryl Van de Velde, said: "Facing up to the Wigan players was something I tried to block out of my mind from the moment I found out I was playing.

"I just had to block that out, treat it as any other game and not let myself be daunted by it."

Like winger Jamie Stenhouse on his debut the week before at London Broncos, Alstead felt the difference in the step-up straight away.

He said: "It was a lot faster than what I've played before."

Alstead, only 18, played for 29 minutes in two spells against his home town club.

The only time he was able to show Wolves fans his pace was to chase Gary Connolly over 65m and was just too late to stop the centre scoring a crucial try.

Generally, Alstead did not seem overjoyed by his performance. He said: "I made a couple of mistakes but I just hope I get another chance.

"I'd like to stay in the team for the remaining games of the season and hopefully get a number to carry on next year."

It was the biggest crowd Alstead had played in front of but he was not able to savour the atmosphere.

He said: "I never really noticed the crowd because I was so focused on what was going on in front of me rather than around me."