RECEIVING praise is obviously something sportsmen appreciate - and the Giants are certainly no exception.
But this week the praise we have been receiving has been scant consolation in light of the nature of our 18-16 defeat to St Helens.
Yes, we know Saints are riding high at the top of Super League after making an unbeaten start to the season, and we know that they have been scoring points for fun.
However, that doesn't make up for the huge disappointment we all felt at losing so narrowly to St Helens six days ago.
Performance-wise, we were delighted - although we all realise there is still room for improvement - but it didn't get us the win we all felt we deserved.
To be honest, I was surprised by the comments of St Helens coach Daniel Anderson after the match when he said he felt his team had deserved to win.
And I was even more surprised when he said he never felt his side was in danger of losing when we were applying all that pressure late in the game.
It's a comment that's easy to say after the event.
But I can assure you, that on the field itself, Anderson's men were not quite so confident. Take it from me, they were hanging on.
We could sense Saints were rattled.
We definitely had them on the ropes, but just couldn't find the knock-out blow.
That's why we were so disappointed.
It was a classic case of being so near, and yet so far.
As far as we're concerned, this was two League points that slipped through our grasp, and it hurts.
Hopefully, it will act as a major source of motivation against Harlequins tomorrow when we know a repeat performance will get us back on the winning track.
