There's been no hiding a real sense of excitement within the playing group this week.
We've lost Braddy [Bradman Best] for up to a couple of months which is a real disappointment for not only him but all of us but the return of Mitchell Pearce, Hymel Hunt and hopefully Kalyn Ponga certainly does a whole heap to lift the mood in the place.
There is no doubt a lack of confidence, simply from not having some of our most important players, has played a big part in many of our below par performances this season and to a certain degree, is why we are where we are on the competition ladder.
But to see Pearcey back out there for the first time in ages on Tuesday in amongst the boys, getting his hands on the footy and K [Ponga] as well doing a little bit with the team brought a smile to everyone in the place.
Pearcey's on-field leadership and drive will be enormous for us. Just his energy and the way he does everything at 100kph is infectious. He'll do wonders to lift our tempo and intensity and help get us on a roll.
The same with K if he is given the all clear later in the week to resume. He'll bring a lot of confidence to the boys around him as well as be a huge threat on his own.
Those two in particular are two of the best players in the comp and add to them the experience of Hymel out wide and what he brings with his tough, strong carries and just his reliability will be huge for us right now.
It's definitely created some excitement which doesn't surprise me and I reckon it's going to spill over into our performance on Saturday against the Warriors at home.
They are a good side the Warriors. Browny [coach Nathan Brown] has had them going real good and they will present a big challenge, particularly as they'll be looking to bounce back after last weekend's loss to Melbourne Storm.
They have an outstanding talent at the back in Reece Walsh who I've watched a fair bit since he's come into grade and I love the way he plays. Their pack is also strong with [Addin] Fonua-Blake back in there. So we won't be under-estimating them, that's for sure.
I'm really looking forward to getting back out there as well. Two weeks off suspended was never ideal but I feel fresh, I've given the knee a bit of time to improve and I'll be raring to go.
I'll be coming off the bench with the Safs starting which is a bit of a new challenge for me. I haven't come off the bench since a game against Canterbury after Origin in 2019 but I'm not going to change too much.
I'll just get out there when I get the call and rip in and make sure I make all my tackles and give it my all.
This is a huge game for us given the ladder and where we sit. We need to start stringing some wins together starting with the Warriors.
