It was a frustrating return to action for Kalyn Ponga, with his Newcastle Knights falling 18-0 to the Cronulla Sharks.
Ponga spent the last two rounds on the sideline with a knee injury, but couldn't spark a lacklustre Knights outfit, with the team failing to score a single point in their early Friday night match at Shark Park.
After the match, he didn't hide his disappointment.
"Wasn't too happy [with the loss] ... but it's good to be back. I'm happy to be back," Ponga said.
"I'd like to win though.
"From the start, we were a bit off, a bit clunky.
"And then in the second half when we opened up a little bit it felt like we got back in our rhythm a little bit.
"And then with 12 men on the field, it made it hard again. But yeah, on to the next week."
It was a scrappy and defensive first half from both teams before the Sharks pulled away in the second half thanks to some exhilarating play resulting in a late flurry of tries.
When asked if the windy conditions impacted the Knights' performance, Ponga refused to accept that as an excuse, rather, focusing on how the team can improve in coming games.
"It's probably just our mentality coming into this game," he explained.
"Maybe with the conditions we tightened up and then that might have fallen into the Sharks' hands in the first half ... we didn't adjust on the run.
"With our play-the-balls, we weren't able to play on the front foot, and then we were just sort of scrambling at the end there to come up with something.
"We'll be alright - like coach said we'll get back together hold onto the effort stuff in defense, and then just polish the attack."
Some salt was also added to the Knights' wounds on Friday night, with Tyson Frizell leaving the field with a suspected hamstring injury.
Frizell will undergo scans with the club's medical team to determine the severity of the injury.
