Paul Sculthorpe is hoping he'll never miss another game again after making his long-awaited return from injury against Bradford.
Former Lions skipper looking slim in latest comeback
Paul Sculthorpe is hoping he'll never miss another game again after making his long-awaited return from injury against Bradford.
The former Great Britain skipper came off the bench to help St Helens defeat the Bulls 22-16 at the Grattan Odsal Stadium on Friday night.
Exactly a year on from a man-of-the-match display against Brisbane in the World Club Challenge, the 30-year-old played over an hour, giving Saints a timely boost when they are beset by injuries in the pack.
Sculthorpe has had to bide his time to make his latest comeback, which has seen him drop some weight to try and take pressure off his body.
Tremendous
"It's obviously great to be back playing," he told
Sky Sports.
"Fitness isn't a problem, I got stood up a few times in defence but it's just about getting back in the routine.
"The body feels tremendous. The target now is to never miss a game again, I think I've missed enough over the last two years.
"I'm in the best shape I've ever been in. I've cut some weight to try and play a bit lighter.
"I think I bumped up too much and that put extra pressure on the body."
Sculthorpe was certainly thrown in at the deep end by coach Daniel Anderson as Saints recorded their first win at the home of the Bulls since 2005.
Already without Jason Cayless, Maurie Fas'asavalu, Jon Wilkin and Chris Flannery, coach Daniel Anderson saw Nick Fozzard suffer a serious knee injury in the early exchanges.
Buzz
However, the former Man of Steel felt the big occasion helped him, just as it had done 12 months ago against the Broncos at the Reebok Stadium.
"It's a year to the day since the Brisbane game and I said then that I think the occasion helped, and coming to Bradford is always a big occasion," he added.
"I felt tremendous out there, you really get a buzz and it's just great to be back with the team."
