Greg Inglis lines up for his 250th NRL game against the Broncos at ANZ Stadium
ALEX Johnston is looking over his shoulder. Having overcome his physical and mental battles, it won’t be long before Greg Inglis comes searching for his No.1 jumper at South Sydney.
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AS he broke the line for an 80-metre runaway try against the Raiders, Greg Inglis thought his weary legs had more to give.
Not Alex Johnston. He reckons the South Sydney superstar only had one gear left in him and it wasn’t fifth.
“Speed? He wasn’t going that fast I thought he was on a treadmill for the last fifty I reckon,” Johnston said.
“I spoke to him after. He reckons he had another gear and I said, ‘What, reverse? You’re going that slow’.”
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Banter between teammates aside, there were shades of Inglis at his peak last weekend, as the 31-year old took an intercept pass and streaked down the field to score his first long-range try in over a year.
“I didn’t know what to do,” Inglis said. “I just caught the ball and started running.
“I haven’t seen myself in open space like that in 14 months so look it was great to get into some space and cross the line.”
Inglis’ 2017 was cruelled by an ACL injury that ended his season in round one against the Tigers.
He then publicly and bravely revealed he was struggling with mental health issues and needed a break from the game.
There was even some doubt about whether he’d be fit for round one this year.
But his performance in round seven proved his comeback is well and truly on track and he looks to be working his way back to the kind of form that made him one of the most devastating fullbacks in the competition.
It even has Johnston looking over his shoulder, knowing it won’t be long before Inglis comes searching for his No.1 jumper.
Inglis has been shifted out to the centres to ease him back into the rigours of the NRL.
“Greg is a freak and if he wants to go back to fullback I think he will,” Johnston said.
“But I’m pretty happy with how I’ve been going at fullback, happy with how we are going as a team and happy with him in the centres.”
The Bowraville Tigers junior lines up for his 250th NRL game on Thursday night against the Broncos at ANZ Stadium.
A milestone that he could easily never have achieved, revealing he was ready to walk away from rugby league for good at the lowest point of his struggles last year.
“There was dark days there where I thought about it [retiring] and I come very close to it,” he said.
“I even had conversations with the club about it. But I’m here now. You know as devastating as it was for myself I think about it as a positive.
“If I didn’t go through what I went through I would not have found out so much about myself. I’m glad I went through it.”
Inglis might be fit and firing now but he knows how quickly things can change in rugby league and won’t allow himself to think about the 300-game club.
“If I get there, I’ll get there,” he said.
“I’m happy where I am at the moment. It’s a great team here and a great club to be a part of.”