CESSNOCK Sportsground is a long way from where Luke MacDougall wants to be.
But all journeys need a starting point and, in MacDougall's case, playing park football with part-timers in front of a few hundred diehard fans was the first step towards his desired destination.
It was two years ago next week June 10, 2007, to be precise that MacDougall trudged off EnergyAustralia Stadium cradling his right elbow in only his second appearance for the Newcastle Knights after his mid-season release from St George Illawarra.
He has not been sighted in the NRL since.
Specialists diagnosed a ruptured triceps, a comparatively rare injury that required surgery to reattach the tendon to the bone with staples.
He returned to action midway through last season, only to aggravate the injury in his comeback match for Newcastle's reserve-grade team.
After battling on for another five games, he booked in for his second season-ending triceps reconstruction.
This time, however, MacDougall researched the injury extensively on the internet, was selective with his surgeon and spent a fortnight undergoing intensive physiotherapy and rehabilitation in the United States.
Nobody needed to remind the 26-year-old that his career was hanging on the outcome.
Having initially targeted Newcastle's pre-season trials for a return, the powerful outside back deferred those plans after suffering a setback lifting weights in the gym.
He was finally cleared to resume last week and marked the occasion with two classy tries for his feeder club, Lakes United, in their 30-14 loss to Cessnock on Saturday.
Yesterday the youngest of the four footballing MacDougall siblings admitted he was relieved to get through the match unscathed and revealed a desire that suggests he intends to add to his tally of 60 NRL appearances.
"It was good just to play footy again," he said.
"I was a bit nervous before my first game, but the nerves went pretty quickly.
"I was pretty surprised, actually.
"Last year when I returned I felt pretty rusty, and I think that's because I was tentative, but on Saturday once I got tackled and the elbow wasn't hurting, I settled in pretty quickly and felt comfortable."
After a couple more games for Lakes to build match fitness, MacDougall hopes to join the long queue of three-quarters vying for selection in Newcastle's No.1 side.
"There's obviously things I need to keep working on," he said.
"If I just put my best foot forward in training and in games, that's all I can do."
With big brother Adam and Knights assistant coaches Rick Stone and Rohan Smith watching in the crowd, MacDougall's fitness and courage were given a thorough workout on Saturday by Cessnock's 116-kilogram prop Sione Finefeuiaki.
"One of their moves was having him run off the scrum, and I was unfortunate enough to be in front of him a few times," MacDougall said.
"But Sione is a good mate of mine, and it was good to test my elbow out."
Proud brother Adam said with a laugh: "There is no better test than running into a human that big.
"Watching him on the weekend, even though it was only local league, I just thought his attitude was outstanding.
"You would never have known he hadn't played football for 12 months and was coming off a bad injury.
"I was just really relieved for him, after such a bad run, that he was able to put the past 18 months behind him."
Having dealt with his own serious injury problems over the years, Adam knows all too well the frustrations and disappointment his brother has encountered during what should have been the prime of his career.
"You don't play the game for money; you play to reach your potential," Adam said.
"I know he's just really determined to fulfil the potential that everyone has seen he's got.
"It's a cruel sport, footy.
"It can be taken off you very easily, and so many blokes never get to make the most of the gifts they've got.
"But he's a very talented player and it looks like he's turned the corner. He's still relatively young and he's got a lot of footy left in him."
Off contract at season's end, MacDougall is playing for his career, and Knights coach Brian Smith said he had received good reports about his comeback match.
"I've been told he had a lash and scored a couple of nice tries," Smith said.
"And generally he got through the game without any injury concerns.
"That was definitely the No.1 thing for us."
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