WITH a smile on his face, Liam Watts cuts a contented figure as he strides off the training pitch and begins interviews with the media.
The 22-year-old's demeanour has changed greatly in recent weeks.
The frustration of earlier this season, when sitting on the sidelines with a thumb injury, firstly gave way to a feeling of eagerness to make up for lost time.
Now, eight games since making his seasonal debut against former club Castleford Tigers, Watts is enjoying his rugby again.
Helped not only by his own improved form, but also the upturn in results for Hull, on the back of four successive wins, Watts is in a confident mood.
Preparing to face Wigan at the KC Stadium tonight, he is determined no more of the season will be allowed to pass him by.
"I can't believe we are halfway through the season. It's come from nowhere," said the prop.
"It will soon be the business end of the season and it's time to start kicking on now. I've been getting back into the swing of things. I've played about eight games now since coming back from injury, and now I'm trying to kick on.
"It has been tough. I am getting back on my feet now, though, and I'm getting a lot of game time, so I'm enjoying it."
Bringing size to a pack that sorely missed that facet in those early weeks of the campaign, Watts' return has been a welcome one for coach Peter Gentle.
The former Hull KR player is yet to rediscover that very best form which brought his England Knights selection, but he's happy recent displays have indicated he's getting close.
Both Watts personally, and Hull as a team, need to get back to their very best.
Whilst the past month's results may suggest that has been achieved, Watts is the first to admit performances have left lots of room for improvement.
"We have been playing for each other recently. We've not been winning comfortably, but we've known what we've needed to do each week to get the win," he said.
"It has been win at all costs really. But it shows how you get a few wins and then you are back in the top eight, and now we have something to build on."
In a season which has brought criticism – perhaps mainly because of some over-ambitious pre-season statements – Watts believes head coach Gentle has taken the right path with his squad building, only to be struck by bad luck.
"We are a pretty new team and we are a young side too. Leeds have done it for many years now like that, they've had a mix of good young players and a good mix of top end players," said Watts.
"We have tried to do that too, but all our top end players have been getting injured and we've had a lot of young lads in the side.
"It is about getting that right mix and hopefully we can do that now with the players returning."
The return of Mark O'Meley, Tom Briscoe, Shannon McDonnell and Richard Whiting this week, coupled with Kirk Yeaman and Paul Johnson having come back in the cup win last weekend, has seen Hull's side take on a different complexion.
That blend Watts alludes to is now more evident, but while the personnel is set to change, Watts admits it is the approach and mind-set that needs altering as much as anything.
Hull's success last season was built around starting games well. They'd go on and win some games easily, but it was the Black and Whites' ability to get a lead and fight to hold it under pressure which won them many games, particularly at home.
"Last year we were getting a good start, getting 10 points ahead of teams then going on and defending, but this year we've had to chase games a lot," added Watts.
"Josh Bowden and Chris Green have done a good job in the last few weeks by adding some punch off the bench and after 20 minutes we've been getting a roll on, but we need to start better. Against Salford, we started poorly and in the first 15 minutes all we did was defend.
"We have to go all out and make sure we don't leave anything in the changing room.
"We've not helped ourselves in recent weeks in the first 10 or 15 minutes of games. We've seen teams get in front and we cannot afford to do that against Wigan."
The arrival of the league leaders may be seen as a daunting prospect to some, but not Watts, who says Hull are relishing the challenge.
"We've seen a few things we can exploit in Wigan so we are confident, but we know we will have to be at the top of our game," he said.
"Wigan are a tough side to play, they play the same home or away. It will be test of our defence this week. We've worked hard on our defence this week and it will need to be good.
"It's a tough test, but a good test."
