Keiron Cunnigham admitted that Jonny Lomax’s return from injury brought a tear to his eye.
Lomax made his first appearance in over a year and scored two tries to help St Helens to a 38-34 victory over Leeds.
And Cunningham admitted seeing the 25-year-old back on the field was a special moment.
“It was quite an emotional night for me with Jonny and Percy (Mark Percival) and those boys coming back, especially Jonny,” Cunningham said.
“I’ve been there with Jonny for a long period of time and we have a really close affiliation. Just to hear the Saints fans in full roar when Jonny goes over for that try, it brings a tear to your eye.
“It meant a lot to me and to the fans to see the kid in a Saints shirt again, seeing what it means to Jonny to get through it fine is immense.
“He’s not played for 15 months and he just kept going. We did roll him in a few different positions to try and freshen him up but all credit to Jonny, he did a great job and had an influence on the game from the start to the finish.”
