Shaun Lunt has admitted almost all of the gloss was taken off his eagerly-awaited return by the manner of the Huddersfield Giants’ 33-14 Super League fade-out at home to Warrington Wolves.
The 26-year-old current Dream Team hooker hadn’t played since his side’s opening-night triumph at Wigan Warriors two months ago because of an ankle injury.
Lunt made a big difference in the opening exchanges as Huddersfield charged into a deserved 14-4 interval advantage.
But the way in which the Giants fell away in the second half to concede 29 unanswered meant the livewire No9 wax left feeling with mixed emotions.
“I suppose you could say I experienced a personal victory because I came through the game feeling good. The ankle felt strong,” said Lunt.
“But it was still a pretty hollow victory, because of the way the game went.
“After the first half, we were feeling positive and were really looking forward to pushing on.
“Instead, we were our own worst enemy. We gave away cheap possession far too many times, and you just can’t do that against a quality side like Warrington.
“The way the final score blew out was tough. I think we conceded a fair number of points in the last 10 minutes, but that can sometimes happen when you’re chasing a game.
“It was a bitterly disappointing way to end things.”
However, Lunt is feeling upbeat about the future, both personally and collectively.
“I’ve only been back in full training a week, so I always knew this would be a challenging game for me,” he added.
“Warrington were obviously well aware of that and were deliberately spotting me to try and tire me out, and fair play for them for that.
“But I’ve come through in one piece and looking forward to building on this in the weeks ahead.
“I know I’ll get better with the more games I play, and I know we’ll get a lot better as a team as well.”
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