Lee Radford says Joe Westerman is available to play in Sunday's Super League opener at Hull FC and is "tough" enough to bounce back from his sex shame scandal.
The England loose forward, 33, was handed a "substantial fine" by his club and ordered to help educate young people on the effects of alcohol and "dangers of social media when in the public eye" after a video emerged of him allegedly performing a sex act earlier at the weekend.
Westerman "wholeheartedly apologised" to his family and friends for his actions but he has been in the headlines all week in the build-up to the first game of the season.
Asked if the player would play in Sunday's game, Radford said: "If he gets selected. He's available, definitely. I'm sure he's going to have a blast at the KC Stadium. I think he'll be up for playing, definitely."
Radford - who worked with Westerman before in their time together at Hull - was also questioned how the ex-Warrington and Wakefield player is mentally.
He replied: "He's alright; he's Joe. He's been himself. Monday knocked us about a little bit but since then he's trained well and put his best foot forward for selection. He's one of a number of players who have had a good pre-season and players I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do as a collective in 2023."
If he does play, Westerman is sure to come in for a torrid time from the Hull fans but - asked if he had any advice on how to prep him for that - Radford said: "No, I think the easy one is to play well, that's the best way to silence a crowd. But as a group we want to play well and knock our first result off of the season. I'm sure Joe will be as motivated as everyone else if he is to participate.
"I've seen him, he's had some (tough spells) throughout his career, he's driven a rocky road, he's had other setbacks throughout his career off the field but he's always responded in a good manner and mentally, he's a tough fella."
