THE current campaign has been a major learning curve for Wolves winger Kevin Penny.

A regular in the side last season, the 21-year-old speedster has found chances more difficult to come by this time round.

After being substituted during Warrington’s second half collapse at St Helens in their Super League opener, Penny did not see any first-team game time until being called on as a surprise starter in Monday’s 28-6 defeat against Castleford.

A late replacement for the injured Vinnie Anderson, Penny put in an assured display on his return to the team, forming a solid partnership on the left with Matt King.

The Wolves academy product admits he found it tough after being dropped but claims his experience has taught him a lot, although he still has plenty to learn.

He said: “It wasn’t difficult to get myself ready for the game despite coming on late because you’ve got to be on your toes every single day, waiting for that call and when it comes you’ve got to take your chance.

“I’ve been ready for quite a long time now.

“I got my chance and hopefully Tony thinks I took it well.”

He added: “It’s not ideal playing in the reserves but you don’t sulk about it, you’ve just got to get on with it and do your best to get yourself back in the team.

“You’ve got to be mentally tough. We’ve talked about that as a team but individually, I’ve had to stay strong.

“It’s no good sulking if you get dropped because that doesn’t help anyone.

“I just had to keep my head up, keep working hard and keep learning. There’s a lot of quality players in the team and I learn off them every single day.

“I thought I went pretty well. There’s still improving for me to do and I’ll be doing that.”

The delight of a recall was tempered by the disappointment of defeat for Penny.

He said: “I thought for most of the game we were pretty even really, we just needed to find that extra belief within ourselves to kick on.

“At 6-0 we were still in the game and even when they scored their second try we were still in the game, we just couldn’t find it in us to carry on. It was disappointing really.

“We’re all down after the game but the players have got to find it within themselves this week to pick ourselves up and get ready for Bradford because we’ve got a short turnaround before another tough game again.

“It’s going to be hard but it’s about being tough as a team and sticking together, that’s what we said after the game.”