Shaun Lunt has revealed a lack of gametime was at the heart of his decision to leave the Giants and join Super League rivals Hull KR on a loan deal for the rest of the season.

The 27-year-old hooker, who played one game for England in 2009, is out of contract with the Giants at the end of the year and prompted the move himself.

Lunt, who won a Grand Final ring while on loan to Leeds in 2012, will plug the gap created by the departure at the end of last season of Josh Hodgson, who left to join Australian club Canberra Raiders.

The former Workington Town No.9 has played in all four games for Huddersfield so far this year but has been left out of the side to play Castleford Tigers tomorrow and is hoping to make his Hull KR debut against Catalans Dragons on Sunday.

“Things have not gone as planned at the start of the season with Huddersfield and I’m very grateful for this opportunity at Hull KR,” said Lunt, who will train with his new club for the first time tomorrow.

“I’m 27 now, I’m in the last year of my contract and I need to be playing regularly so I want to take this chance with both hands.

“I’ll be putting my name forward for Sunday and hopefully I can take part.”

Hull KR had space on their salary cap to accommodate Lunt following the decision of prop Michael Weyman to hang up his boots with immediate effect after failing to recover from a knee injury.

Rovers coach Chris Chester said: “We’re thrilled to have Shaun on board for the rest of the season. He is a quality player with plenty of experience at the highest level and I’m sure he’ll fit right in.

“It was disappointing to lose a player of Mick’s calibre but we’ve acted quickly to bring in Shaun and strengthen a key position for us on the field.

“He’s a strong defender and a real threat out of dummy half. Hopefully he’ll add another dimension to our play and we’re really looking forward to working him.”