Gareth Ellis’ return to Super League from the NRL could not have got off to a much worse start.
But having shrugged off his injury setback the Hull FC captain now has his sights set on firing his side up the table, starting with their derby clash with Hull KR at Magic Weekend, an initiative where all the weekend’s matches are played in the one stadium.
The former Wests Tigers player broke his foot in the warm-up before the first game of the season and has had to sit on the sidelines for the first half of the campaign.
Hardly the ideal homecoming for the England international whose return from Australia was the story of the Super League off-season.
But the skipper returned to action at the start of this month and joins a Hull FC side in fantastic form with seven wins from their last eight games in all competitions.
And with their local rivals, who beat them in dramatic fashion with a last-gasp David Hodgson try at last year’s Magic Weekend, up next Ellis is loving getting back into the action.
“It’s been brilliant and that’s pretty good to be able to say that after the start to the season I’ve had,” he said.
“It was pretty frustrating not being able to get on the field for the first half of the season and having to watch from the sidelines, particularly when you want to make your mark and do the things you were brought to the club to do.
“It was disappointing but even through all that I’ve been made to feel really welcome at the club and I’ve felt like I got on with the boys straight away.
“It’s almost got a final feel about it, going away and playing in a big stadium in front of hopefully a big crowd and obviously it’s a big game for the city of Hull as well with us playing against Hull KR.
“It’s hard to get from the derby — the fans are so passionate about it and it’s something all the supporters have spoken about since I arrived at the club.
“It’s a big game, everyone gets up for it but we’re happy with where we’re playing at the minute and we just need to keep building on our performances and hopefully keep the two points ticking over.”
Another marquee match-up at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium this weekend sees Nathan Brown’s St Helens side take on the reigning Challenge Cup holders Warrington Wolves.
And fresh from their comeback win against Leeds last Monday, the former St George Illawarra coach is hoping his side can carry some momentum into the clash.
“We’ve gone to Headingley against a great side and we’ve fought back and got the win so we’d like to think we’d take some confidence from that and move forward and go in to Magic Weekend and improve a little bit and build into the back end of the season nicely,” he said.
“But one win doesn’t make a summer and we certainly won’t be getting too carried away at this stage.”