By Tom Howe/Cornwall Sports Media.

Head coach Neil Kelly has called the club's links with Super League sides Leeds Rhinos and Wigan Warriors a 'real feather in the cap for Cornwall'.

Leeds quartet Oli Field, Joe Hird, Oli Gibbons and Mackenzie Turner debuted for Cornwall in Sunday's 50-0 loss to the Rochdale Hornets in front of over 900 people at Penryn's Memorial Ground.

They follow in the footsteps of previous loanees Toby Brannan and Adam Jones who, having arrived from the Rhinos' top tier rivals Wigan, spent two weeks in the Choughs' ranks last month.

Although those aforementioned are yet to break into their club's respective first teams, the rugby league experience they bring to Cornwall's burgeoning squad is seen as an invaluable asset moving forward. 

"I think in the short term, we need it," Kelly told Cornwall Sports Media. "We have talked about our northern based players playing for us who are doing really well but I feel as though we need that little bit of an injection of knowledge if nothing else. 

"There is so much we can absorb from them. I would have no criticism of the performances or attitude of any of the loan players we had in today or anybody that has played in the last two or three weeks. 

"We are just like any other professional team. We have all got kit to wear, supplements to take and hotels to stay in when we are playing away. It is okay to be professional but you have also got to adopt a professional approach. We see a lot of positives about our performances but I actually feel we need to be a bit more professional in our approach to the game.

"For us to be having players from the likes of Leeds and Wigan, albeit not first team players, they are players that have the pedigree to be at those clubs. For those clubs to be prepared to loan players to us, it is a big feather in Cornwall's cap."

The former Super League Coach of the Year added: "The improvements that we are talking about will happen a lot quicker if we are adopting a professional approach," before concluding: "The support for Cornwall has been brilliant.

"I hope that [the supporters] have the patience to stick with us because this is a long term project. It was never going to be an overnight situation but I am really pleased. 

"I was doing some shopping around Truro and saw a lot of Rochdale regalia on fans so I was pretty confident they would have a good contingent here today. 

"I am really over the moon with the Cornish people who have come to support us. With their support and the desire of the Cornish players, I am sure that we will get to where we want to be."

Click here to see more from Cornwall Sports Media.