Such was Dan Sarginson's disappointment in his comeback game from injury against the Broncos he sought solace in the arms of opposition coach Wayne Bennett.
He cut a disconsolate figure in the sheds of Southern Cross Group Stadium at half-time against the Sharks last Saturday after bombing a try just before the break but Titans coach Neil Henry believes the true measure of the man is how he responded.
One of Henry's high-profile acquisitions over the summer, the England international played Round 1 under the duress of a knee injury and then missed the following five weeks before playing his second NRL game against the Broncos in Round 7.
He made two errors that night playing at right centre and then playing on the left wing against Cronulla made two errors in the first half alone, the drop before half-time from a Jarryd Hayne bullet pass looking as though it could be costly right up until Leivaha Pulu's match-winner five minutes from full-time.
But after registering just 55 metres from nine runs in the first 40 minutes Sarginson responded with a further 15 carries for 106 metres in the second term, giving his coach the confidence to reinstate him at left centre against Newcastle this week.
"It's been tough for him because he's been injured and he's come into a tough competition and wanted to impress straight away," Henry said of Sarginson's NRL introduction, the former Wigan Warrior overlooked for the England team to meet Samoa next weekend.
"He hasn't been able to train for lengthy periods and he hasn't been able to string some footy together.
"The pass that he put down, there was an arm in there and it came pretty quick and it was unfortunate because obviously it was a try-scoring opportunity and he's had a couple of errors in his game.
"But what I liked about him was he bounced back and he had a lot of involvements in the game. He looked hard for work carrying the ball into a really tight line into the forwards and he came up with some good running metres.
"He's playing himself back in by sheer effort and he got some confidence out of that game. Left winger, left centre, that's his spot and he'll be better for that run."
Fellow Englishman Joe Greenwood has seen first-hand Sarginson's struggle to gain confidence in the NRL and says his Titans teammates have been using some tough love to reinstate some self belief.
"All of the team get around each other and if you sense that someone is down on confidence you get around them and give them a kick up the arse really," Greenwood told NRL.com.
"He always looks on the negative and builds on that and he's always a bit too harsh on himself. I think that builds some pressure on him.
"It's good to be critical but then you need the positive to keep that momentum and confidence building."
Given Greenwood's own injury interruptions the English pair have only played the two games together this season but as they are both left-side dominant players and with Chris McQueen leaving for the Wests Tigers next year any combination they can form will be of benefit to the Titans not only this season but into the future.
"It would be good to form a combination on that left side with him and hopefully keep building," Greenwood said.
"He's been centre and wing and a little bit of fullback so hopefully we can cement our place but with the injuries we've got it's been hard at the minute."
