Gunnedah rugby league product Hayden Loughrey will make an early return from shoulder surgery this weekend.
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At the end of 2017 National Youth Competition, Loughrey went under the knife and he expected to miss the first four to five rounds of the reintroduced NSW Rugby League Jersey Flegg competition.
However, after sticking to his rehabilitation program following the reconstructive surgery on his shoulder, Loughrey will line up for the Newcastle Knights at halfback on Saturday at Cessnock Sportsground against Manly.
“It’s good. I got cleared by the surgeon for round one and I’ve been doing full contact and full field sessions,” Loughrey said.
To get to this point, Loughrey put in a lot of hard work.
“Pre-season was pretty tough – more so conditioning and fitness. Getting strength in my shoulder and all around my body,” Loughrey said.
“I was in a rehab group. Me and a couple other boys were getting flogged every session while the other boys were doing skills work.”
Loughrey will go into the round one game without a trial match under his belt.
The former Farrer student isn’t worried about his shoulder, though.
He said the hard yards at training had put him in good stead.
“I’m pretty confident because of the training I’ve done and testing it out at training has really helped me,” Loughrey said.
The Jersey Flegg tournament is a 12-team competition, with 11 NSW teams along with the New Zealand Warriors, and the season will run for 21 rounds over a 25-week period.