LACHLAN Coote's close-season move from St Helens to Hull KR got off to the worst possible start when all his furniture and possessions were impounded en route.

The Scotland full-back was ready to move into his new home in East Yorkshire with his wife and two young children when he received a call from the police to say the removal van had been seized.

"I don't think he had insurance," Coote explained. "We had just picked up the keys and everything was going well when we got the call from the police to say everything had been seized and we had to go get our stuff from the depot.

"Thanks to Hull KR, a few of the guys came to the rescue with some vans. It was a pretty bumpy start but we got there in the end."

Coote, a 31-year-old Australian, has now settled into his new club but admits it was a wrench to leave Saints, with whom he had won the Grand Final in each of his three seasons in England.

Out of contract in November, the former North Queensland player was forced to consider his options when St Helens offered him only a 12-month deal as they looked to promote promising understudy Jack Welsby.

"It was a bit of a kick in the guts," Coote said. "At the end of the day, Saints were heading in another direction and that's the game, isn't it, with the salary cap?

"It's a juggling act, trying to keep the young fellas by upping their deals and making sure they're locked in for a while, and for them to do that, they had to let go of some blokes.

"Unfortunately, that was the case for me but I've come to a club that really wants me and it's a club that's heading in the right direction. Coming here has freshened everything up."

Coote is facing a race against time to be fit for the start of the new season on the second weekend of February after sustaining a shoulder injury in the play-offs.

The full-back defied the injury to help St Helens complete a hat-trick of Grand Final wins by beating Catalans Dragons at Old Trafford but underwent surgery shortly afterwards.

He is now back in light training and is due to start contact work in mid-January.

"I'll probably miss the friendlies but the physios are doing everything they can to get me right for round one," he said.