GarethWiddopwassurprisedbyhowmuchhissecondshoulderinjuryaffectedhisconfidence but is doing all he can to finish a great career in the Red V. ByMICHAEL BLOKFOLLOWINGtwoshoulderreconstructions
andninemonthsonthesidelines,
StGeorgeIllawarraskipperGareth
Widdophashadtobattlethementalside
effectsofa long-terminjury.
Havingbeenclosetoinjury-freeformost
ofhiscareer,Widdopdidn’tfullyunderstand
howtoughit wouldbetobeoutforsolong.
Heinitiallydislocatedhisshoulder
inlastyear’seliminationfinalagainst
Brisbaneandwasforcedtorehabhisshoulder
throughthemajorityoftheoff-season.
Afterworkinghardtoreturntothe
paddock,ina cruelcaseofdéjàvu,he
sufferedtheexactsameinjuryonhisreturn
toSuncorpStadiuminRound3 thisseason.
Therewereinitialfearshewouldmissthe
remainderoftheseason,buthemanagedto
returntothefieldlastFridayagainstSouth
SydneyatANZStadium.
“I wasa bitnervousbeforehand,being
myfirstgamebackina while,”Widdopsays
momentsafterthefinalsiren.
“Afterthefirstshoulderrecofailingand
havingtohaveanotherone,you’realways
goingtocomebacka bitnervous.”
Aftersucha lengthyset-back,youcan
understandwhyWiddopwasapprehensive
abouthisreturn– buthe’sdoneasmuchas
hecantobephysicallyandmentally
preparedtotakehisplaceintheteam.Notonlyhashespenthoursonrehabilitation
togethisbodyright,he’spreparedhimselfby
surroundinghimselfwithfamilyandfriendsto
keeppositive,aswellastalkingthingsthrough
withsupportstaffattheDragons
“I’vedoneeverythingthat’sbeenaskedof
merehab-wise,”Widdopsays.“Andwe’vegot
greatsupportandperformancestaffhereto
helpwiththementalsideofthings.”
It wasnearlya dreamreturnforWiddop
againsttheRabbitohslastFriday.Afterhisside
drewlevellateinthematch,hehada penalty
goalattemptfromthesidelinestohandthem
analmostcertainvictory.Henailedthekick
fortheleadhowevertheBunniesscoredin
theensuingsettoshocktheRedV.
“I thoughtwehadit...I’mjustthankfulI got
throughthegamewithnoinjuries,”hesays.
“Thepastninemonthshavebeendifficult
sittingonthesidelines.It wasgoodtobeback.”
WiththeDragonssittingthird-lastonthe
ladderwithjustsixwins,Widdopadmitsit’s
beentoughtowatchonashehasn’tbeen
abletohelpout.
“It’scertainlybeenverydifficultfor
a numberofreasons.Beingonthesideline
hasbeendifficult,especiallywhenwe’vebeen
losing,”theEnglandinternationalsays.
“I’vebeenluckythroughoutmycareerwith
injuries.I haven’treallymissedtoomanygames
or many setbacks. This was the first time.“Itwasoutofmycontrolandknowingthat
I’mleavingattheendoftheyear,finishingup
thiswayisn’tideal.”
DespitesigningwithWarringtontoreturn
toEnglandnextyear,Widdopsayshewas
alwaysfocusedtoreturnthisseasonand
didn’talreadyhaveaneyeonthefuture.
“I wasdeterminedtogetback,”hesays.
“Thisis whereI’mcontracted.I wasalways
goingtoworkandrehabhardtopullonthis
jersey.It’sbeena bigpartofmylifeandmy
career.I haven’tthoughtaboutnextyear.”
AlthoughtheDragonsareallbutoutof
contentiontoplayfinalsfootballthisseason,
hookerCameronMcInnessaysit’simportant
tosendWiddopoutona high.
Therearesixmatchesremainingand
theRedV willbeplayingfortheirskipper.
“Garethdeservesbetterthanthisand
we’llbeplayinghardforhimfortherest
oftheseason,”McInnestellBigLeague.
“I wanttoenjoythetimewehaveleft
withhim.It’sgoingtobesadtoseehimgo.”
McInnessaysheandhisteam-matescould
feelthesquadrisewhenWiddopreturned.
“Hebroughta lotofbelieftoeveryone,”
theNo.9says.
“There’sbeena noticeablechangesince
he’sbeenback.I can’tspeakhighlyenough
ofhim.Thechangeinourattitudecanbe put
down to him being back in the team.”ThementalloadPHOTO:
NRLPhotos.com: Nathan Hopkins (v Souths), Scott Davis (Injury)
22 BIG LEAGUE 2019 Round 20