SUPER Stanley Gene produced one of his best Huddersfield Giants performances in months against Hull on Saturday and declared: "This is just the start!"
The Papua New Guinean was at the heart of his side's shock 22-20 triumph over his former club.
It was his long pass to Julian Bailey which helped set up Marcus St Hilaire for the Giants' opening try, while he continued to rip into the Hull defence as his side mounted their remarkable late match-winning charge.
But Gene believes that he is still far from being anywhere near his best, and that it may take until next season.
"To be honest, this season has been a nightmare for me injury-wise," he admitted.
"My damaged groin, which was operated on mid-season, is still not 100% and I'm continuing to have problems with the toes I dislocated against Widnes the other month.
"In hindsight, I shouldn't have come back from the groin surgery as quickly as I could. I didn't give it enough time to heel.
"But it's my own fault.
"I came back when I did because I could see that the squad was struggling through injury and we were desperately short of bodies.
"So I felt I needed to put my hand up and get back on the field as quickly as possible.
"As soon as the season is over I'm going to have a really good rest, that's what I need more than anything right now.
"Then I'll come back next season firing on all cylinders."
And an extra day's rest this week played a big part in Gene producing the performance he did against Hull.
"Jon (Sharp) could see I was struggling in training, and told me to rest up on Friday and save all my energy for Saturday," he added.
"I definitely felt it did the trick and I was able to play my part in a great team effort.
"The mood in the changing rooms at the end was absolutely fantastic."
