Huddersfield Giants started their Super League season with a narrow win in a hard-fought match against Challenge Cup holders Leigh Leopards.
Tries from Ethan Marsters and Adam Milner gave the Giants a slight advantage at half-time, before Lee hit back with Josh Charnley in the opening 40 minutes.
The second half was a battle of attrition due to soggy conditions, but Elliott Wallis extended the Giants' lead.
Tom Briscoe scored a try in a tense finale, but Huddersfield held on.
Hopes that a quality team taking to the field at humid Leigh Sports Village would provide a spectacle to match the expectations of the new season unfortunately did not materialize.
Instead, this was a game of needles, rare moments of quality punctuated by blasts and spanning across the field that threatened to boil over frequently.
Lee were hampered by the loss of hooker Edwin Ipape to a knee injury, but were guilty of dropping to the bench with John Aciata and Ricky Leutere effectively teaming up either side of half-time. All I could do was blame him. The host acted briefly to reduce the arrears.
Conditions were hostile to handling, but a lack of discipline kept referee Jack Smith busy handling two spirited pucks.
There were some classy moments, too. Jake Connor hit Ollie Russell's chip in cutely for Marsters to score, Matt Moylan's beautiful kick for Charnley to ghost in and dot down.
Wallis, who arrived in the winter and has seen the team withstand many of Lee's pressures thanks to tenacious defense, lightly pushed the scoreboard to give Giants manager Ian Watson a look of victory.
In the end, home pressure told the story when Briscoe powered over for a corner kick, but it was as good as any losing start to the season that Adrian Lam's side had in the second half.
Leigh head coach Adrian Lam told BBC Radio Manchester:
“It's very disappointing. We had to prepare the whole pre-season for that. We've been working really hard for four months, but tonight we made too many mistakes and were under pressure with a lack of completion. “And undisciplined.
“I thought Huddersfield were really good tonight, they had plenty of energy, kept it very simple and did everything right so I give them full credit.
“You want to win the first game at home. We have strengthened the team, but the first six rounds are a bit dark at times and we have to do our best to get through.
“If you don't have a high performance or make a lot of mistakes, you can't do that in this tournament. It's a tough start, but we'll be fine.”
Huddersfield head coach Ian Watson told BBC Radio Leeds:
“I thought we played a really good, nifty defense. Both teams made some mistakes, but it was a credit to the players who played as a team that we backed it up defensively.
“We talked about being hungry to work harder for each other and our players practiced that today. The middle was phenomenal. Even though they were set , if we made a mistake, they had to go on set again. Their work was amazing.”
“Lee has good players like Lachlan Lamb, Matt Moylan and John Aciata. They test you. Once you do something they do another thing to break you. But our players rose to the challenge.”
Lee: O'Brien. Briscoe, Hardacre, Reutele, Charnley. Ram Moiran. Amone, Ipape, Mulhern, O'Donnell, Hughes, Axiata.
Interchange: Norman, Davis, Hulton, Nakbuwai
Sin bin: Axiata (33), Reutele (44).
Huddersfield: Connor; Swift, Marsters, Naikama, Wallis. Clune, Russell. Hill, Milner, Ikahihifo, Murchie, Hewitt, Cudjoe.
Interchange: Golding, English, Wilson, Saravio.
Referee: Jack Smith.