Hull FC’s new signing Craig Fitzgibbon says his competitive debut for Hull FC in Saturday’s victory over St.Helens is one of the greatest experiences of his career.

The Aussie legend lined-up alongside his FC teammates for only the second time, after playing for 60 minutes against Hull KR in a pre-season friendly.

However, despite admitting he would have liked a little more game time before the clash, the former NRL man was delighted to finally get started.

“It was certainly a great experience, the fog and the fans really added to the atmosphere, Longy’s return spiced things up and we got a great win, so it doesn’t get much better than that,” he said.

“We certainly want to and need to improve on a few aspects, but for our first hit out, considering that sides has only really played together once, I thought we did extremely well.”

Fitz was one of the stand-out performers on the night for Hull, but he is only focused on one thing and that is the performance of the team.

“I was pleased with my input, but it is all about the team performance,” said the five time NRL Grand Finalist.

“I though we worked hard for each other, we showed some great commitment in attack and defence and I don’t think there is anyone in the side who you can say didn’t have a good performance on Saturday, we produced a great display across the park.”

One of those star performers was new captain Sean Long, who seemed to thrive on the pressure of returning to his former club, and despite only playing alongside him for a game and a half, Fitzgibbon knows he is lining up next to a class act.

He said, “I have only had two games with him, but you can just tell that Longy is sheer class.”

“He takes responsibility for everything and puts in 110% and I think he even lifted it more than that considering his surroundings.

“Like I say, his performance, coupled with the fog and the superb support, it made for a great evening.”

Now though, attention turns to the next game against Huddersfield Giants and despite a lot of praise for the side over the last couple of days, Fitzgibbon is ensuring the Black and Whites keep their feet well and truly on the ground.

“The culture will grow and we will get stronger, but we are not going to be going around beating our chests, we aren’t here to do that,” said Fitzgibbon.

“We still have a lot to do, we need to step it up but we have started well and that’s all we wanted.

“We are together as a team, we all think and feel the same way and we all want to improve and we all want to win and that is the right mentality.”

Don’t forget, tickets are flying out of the KC Stadium ticket office ahead of Friday’s clash against Huddersfield, so if you want to get down to the game you are advised to buy your ticket as soon as possible, particularly as the East Stand could be set for a sell-out.

Tickets are available from £11, so head to the KC Stadium ticket office right now or call 01482 505 600.