Ryan Stig is attempting a stunning return to the NRL – 14 years after last playing in the big league.
A former promising halfback with the Knights, Stig had the league world at his feet – until being struck down by the potentially fatal Lyme’s disease in 2012.
Stig, now 34, gave away football for several years before making a comeback last season with the Knights’ NSW Cup side.
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Now with uncertainty surrounding the Newcastle halves for 2025, Stig is making a brave bid to break back into the top grade.
“A few years ago I was more worried about whether I would live or die – I never dreamed I’d play league again,” Stig told Wide World of Sports.
“I’d put the game in the bin and just wanted to live for my family.
“So to get back onto the field was something very special.
“I was blind in one eye, my nervous system was shot, as well as my immune system – there may have even been some brain damage.”
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Australian doctors were at a loss for a cure, so Stig took to the internet looking for answers – and ended up in Mexico, then Switzerland and finally Germany.
“I had hyperthermia treatment in Germany,” he said.
“They knocked me out and heated up my body to 42 degrees and kept me in that stage for eight hours.
“I felt that radical treatment was the turning point and I have been slowly getting my life back ever since.
“I was crook all those years and worked so hard on my health – I still eat organic – and kept saying ‘I’m gonna get back’.
“So playing NSW Cup last season was a big step and I feel fit and strong again.
“I’d like to do an NRL pre-season and see what happens. Yes, I’m 34 but I don’t feel it because I have played very little footy the past 14 years.
“I feel I have a lot to offer the younger guys at the club and all I’m asking for is a crack.”
The Knights have playmakers Jackson Hastings, Jack Cogger, Tyson Gamble, Will Pryce, and Phoenix Crossland on their books but none of them were able to cement a starting spot in 2024 amid a disappointing campaign.