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Panther Luke defies odds
By James Hooper
February 24, 2005
The Daily Telegraph
http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,12355248-23214,00.html
PROMISING Penrith forward Luke Swain has overcome the possibility of life in a wheelchair to re-emerge on the NRL radar with the Panthers.
A late night wrestle with teammate Trent Waterhouse seven months ago left Swain fearing his career could be over after the Penrith back-rower
dislocated two vertebrae in his neck.
Swain, 23, required a bone graft from his hip to strengthen his neck and was in a brace for six weeks.
Doctors feared the Panthers forward, who also had four teeth knocked out in the grand final rematch against the Roosters last April, may never
play again.
But in an incredible display of determination and strength, Swain returned to the playing field last Saturday night in the Panthers' 44-20 win over
Newcastle in Bathurst.
"It went excellent. I was pretty nervous before the game but everything went off without a hitch," Swain said.
"The doctors reckoned I wasn't far off being in a wheelchair. The whole thing was a life changing experience.
"There were a lot of nerve problems. "I couldn't do much at all for a long time. "The funny thing was my neck has not even been sore. Not once."
Penrith will travel to the Gold Coast on Friday where Swain will feature in a trial match against the Sydney Roosters at Carrara Stadium on
Saturday night.
Coach John Lang rated Swain's performance against the Knights as extremely competent considering the amount of time he spent away
from intensive training.
Lang believes Swain will continue to improve over the opening rounds of the competition after overcoming the career-threatening neck problem.
"He's very fortunate he has a strong neck," Lang said. "I was pleased that he was able to get all the functioning back.
"To be able to play football again was a bonus.
"He didn't miss a beat the other night. "I was pleased when I saw him make his first tackle and take his first hit-up."
Panthers teammate Waterhouse is a much-relieved man after struggling to come to grips with possibly ending Swain's promising football career.
Waterhouse, who was one of Penrith's standout stars over the second half of last season, praised the commitment shown by Swain.
"It was a big relief for me to see him back out there playing again and especially to see him come through a game unscathed," Waterhouse said.
Swain is hoping to challenge Waterhouse for a starting berth in the Panthers back-row once the regular season begins.
"That's my goal for this year but it's going to be really tough because I've got three internationals in front of me in the back-row," Swain said.
.
Panther Luke defies odds
By James Hooper
February 24, 2005
The Daily Telegraph
http://foxsports.news.com.au/story/0,8659,12355248-23214,00.html
PROMISING Penrith forward Luke Swain has overcome the possibility of life in a wheelchair to re-emerge on the NRL radar with the Panthers.
A late night wrestle with teammate Trent Waterhouse seven months ago left Swain fearing his career could be over after the Penrith back-rower
dislocated two vertebrae in his neck.
Swain, 23, required a bone graft from his hip to strengthen his neck and was in a brace for six weeks.
Doctors feared the Panthers forward, who also had four teeth knocked out in the grand final rematch against the Roosters last April, may never
play again.
But in an incredible display of determination and strength, Swain returned to the playing field last Saturday night in the Panthers' 44-20 win over
Newcastle in Bathurst.
"It went excellent. I was pretty nervous before the game but everything went off without a hitch," Swain said.
"The doctors reckoned I wasn't far off being in a wheelchair. The whole thing was a life changing experience.
"There were a lot of nerve problems. "I couldn't do much at all for a long time. "The funny thing was my neck has not even been sore. Not once."
Penrith will travel to the Gold Coast on Friday where Swain will feature in a trial match against the Sydney Roosters at Carrara Stadium on
Saturday night.
Coach John Lang rated Swain's performance against the Knights as extremely competent considering the amount of time he spent away
from intensive training.
Lang believes Swain will continue to improve over the opening rounds of the competition after overcoming the career-threatening neck problem.
"He's very fortunate he has a strong neck," Lang said. "I was pleased that he was able to get all the functioning back.
"To be able to play football again was a bonus.
"He didn't miss a beat the other night. "I was pleased when I saw him make his first tackle and take his first hit-up."
Panthers teammate Waterhouse is a much-relieved man after struggling to come to grips with possibly ending Swain's promising football career.
Waterhouse, who was one of Penrith's standout stars over the second half of last season, praised the commitment shown by Swain.
"It was a big relief for me to see him back out there playing again and especially to see him come through a game unscathed," Waterhouse said.
Swain is hoping to challenge Waterhouse for a starting berth in the Panthers back-row once the regular season begins.
"That's my goal for this year but it's going to be really tough because I've got three internationals in front of me in the back-row," Swain said.
.
He only has Kiwi written all over him as to show which parts of the body he is going to use to damage them. :lol:
