After overcoming an illness he believed would kill him, former Newcastle Knights halfback Ryan Stig is aiming for an incredible football comeback 14 years after his final NRL game.
In 2011, Stig, 34, participated in 13 first-grade games and seemed to be developing into a cunning halfback.
However, when he was diagnosed with Lyme disease the next year—a potentially fatal ailment brought on by the bite of a tick carrying dangerous bacteria—his career was completely upended.
In his desperate quest for answers, Stig travelled to Mexico, Switzerland, and Germany for treatment of hyperthermia, which exposes patients to extreme temperatures in an effort to eradicate diseases and tumours.
He remembered, “They put me to sleep, heated my body to 42 degrees, and kept me there for eight hours.”
I believe that receiving drastic treatment was a turning point in my life, and ever since then, I have been gradually regaining it.
“I’ve put a lot of effort into improving my health, and I continue to eat organic.”
Stig played in two Knights games this season at the reserve level after doctors cleared him to return.
When Sitg was diagnosed with Lyme’s disease in 2012, a potentially fatal illness brought on by the bite of a tick carrying dangerous germs, his career was completely upended (he is pictured this year).
Stig wants to play under Adam O’Brien and with Bradman Best and Kalyn Ponga since the NSW Cup isn’t enough for him.
He told Wide World of Sports, “I never dreamed I’d play league again; a few years ago, I was more concerned with whether I would live or die.”
“I just wanted to live for my family, so I put the game in the trash.” Thus, it was very remarkable to return to the field.
Stig sees an opening after players like Phoenix Crossland, Tyson Gamble, Will Pryce, Jack Hastings, and Jack Cogger were unable to secure a berth in the halves this season.
According to the former Australian Schoolboys representative, “I’d like to do an NRL pre-season and see what happens.”
Despite my age of 34, I don’t feel it because I haven’t played much football in the last 14 years.
“All I’m asking for is a crack, but I feel like I have a lot to offer the younger guys at the club.”
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