WELCOMING back Daniel Holdsworth into the fold last week, there was nobody more happy to see the Hull FC stand-off return than Shannon McDonnell.
As two new faces at Hull this year, the two Aussies have built a rapport, both on and off the field.
A partnership that coach Peter Gentle hoped would blossom, was given no time to grow, until now.
A full-back at his best when playing off the shoulder of a creative half-back, McDonnell has missed that asset in Holdsworth's absence with a head injury.
Now, with his partner in crime back alongside him, McDonnell is hoping the two can start to put into action the hours of work done on the training field.
"Having Daniel back is great for the team and great for me personally as I work really well with him," explained McDonnell.
"We work really well together and we have our own plays that we work on alone during the week.
"We just seem to play the same in attack and it suits us, so I'm delighted he's back. Having Gareth Ellis back too is huge because he's a great leader and a massive competitor, so we feel like the team is coming together."
In his 60 minutes on the field last week against London Broncos, Holdsworth underlined his importance and offered a reminder of what he can add to the Hull side.
Hull initially limped along without their stand-off until finding a way to win and a style suitable to the players available.
While delighted to have Holdsworth back, McDonnell saves some praise for his team-mates who stepped in to cover his compatriot's absence.
He said: "All the players who have played in the halves have stepped up, done their job and that is all we can ask for.
"Richard Horne has been a key part of most of our wins.
"He's been looked at a lot to get our ball work moving on the field and he's taken that challenge on.
"He's put in some great performances and his defence has improved week to week."
Helped by Horne's displays, Hull have bounced back from a poor start with five wins in their last six games to climb to a season-high of sixth and progressed into the last 16 of the Challenge Cup against Wakefield tonight.
McDonnell admits his side are on a roll, but is adamant the players are not getting ahead of themselves.
"There were little things we weren't doing right and we always knew this team was a work in progress, but we are starting to achieve the things we set out to achieve at the start of the season," added McDonnell.
"We are on a bit of roll, but we don't want to get ahead of ourselves so we are taking it each match at a time.
"We know what we expect of ourselves now. We know what we are building and what we are heading towards. We are our own biggest critics and we know what our performances need to be like."
In terms of performance, the 25-year-old full-back knows it will take a further improvement this evening to navigate their way past a Wildcats team who are also in a good run of form.
Preparing for his Challenge Cup debut with Hull, having missed the win against North Wales Crusaders through injury, McDonnell says the approach has been to try and treat the contest like any other.
"It has a different feel because of the nature of the competition and the fact it is knockout football," said McDonnell.
"But at the end of the day once the game kicks off, it is just another game and one we want to win.
"Wakefield are playing really well and have an expansive style of attacking football which suits them.
"Their two wingers are doing great things, they have a strong forward pack and also Tim Smith.
"By no means are we expecting it will be easy to win, we know it will be tough."
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