A couple of years ago Matt Neill was struggling to pick up a coffee cup.
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Today, he's focused on lifting the New Holland Cup silverware at the end of the 2022 season.
It's been an amazing return to action for the former Rhinos skipper, who was forced to give up the sport in 2020 due to nerve damage caused by a neck injury.
The only thing more remarkable than Neill getting to the point where he was ready to pack into a scrum again is the manner of how it happened.
"It was pretty scary," Neill said of the injury.
"I'm on the tools at work as an electrician and I couldn't hold my drill. I had nerve damage all down my arm and I couldn't pick up a coffee cup.
"I was at Westmead and I shook the surgeon's hand as he wished me good luck (for the surgery) and then he said my handshake felt a little firmer than it did three days earlier when he did the initial tests.
"He did the tests again and it had started to improve on its own."
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The decision was made to not have the surgery, and to see if things kept improving. Improve it did and Neill began to gain more strength and "things turned at the 11th hour".
Neill didn't take to the field at all last year and while playing rugby wasn't exactly recommended after a neck injury, his love of playing rugby and representing the Rhinos, combined with the return of strength in his arm, brought him back this season.
It wasn't easy to start with and there was some nerves but after getting through some games at centre and out wide unscathed, it wasn't long before he was back in the familiar surroundings of the forward pack.
"Everything feels strong ... and now I'm back up front where it feels like home and everything feels fine at the moment," Neill said.
"It's scary and the transition was a bit nerve-wracking as well but now I'm back it just feels like home. I love footy and I love this club."
Neill has come back at a perfect time as well, with the Rhinos currently sitting top of the New Holland Cup ladder heading into the final three rounds of the regular season.
It's a far cry from the days where Neill was the captain of a battling Rhinos side which failed to win a match in both the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
"I had a year off thinking I was never going to play footy again through injury and I came back because I love footy and I just thought I'd go back and enjoy playing footy," he said.
"I never thought I'd be talking about heading into the finals on top of the ladder after what we had been through before."
There's been a monumental rebuild at the Rhinos in the past two years, with a real focus put on how the club runs off the field and how players conduct themselves as well as performances on the field.
A breakthrough win at Narromine last year was a moment of success for the club and the first grade side went on to make the finals.
Things have gone to the next level this year, with wins being scored regularly and real depth on show across both first and second grade.
"It's incredible," Neill said.
"This is my seventh year at the club so it was six years of really battling and there's guys like Jesse Redenbach and Neil Madden, as well, who have been there a long time and this is what we went through all that crap for.
"We went through all the tough years to get guys like we have now. There's a group of under 18s coming through who make a real massive difference on the field.
"This is what we've building for. A year where we've got a real shot at it."
There's been plenty for the Rhinos to be proud of in recent times but Neill knows that isn't enough for the players like himself who have been there through the dark days.
"It's nice to be sitting on top of the ladder but I think I speak for everybody when I say we really want to win this comp," Neill said.
"That's the goal. We didn't suffer for six years to go close, we did it to win so that's the goal now."
The Rhinos travel to Bathurst on Saturday to take on fourth-placed CSU while a difficult trip to take on the Mudgee Wombats, who had been top of the ladder most of the season, follows before a final round home clash with Narromine.
Saturday's match at University Oval kicks off at the later time of 5.45pm.