IT'S hard to put into words how good it feels to be back on a footy field, passing a ball around with my Newcastle Knights teammates.
I think it's safe to say none of us will ever take it for granted again.
The six weeks when we weren't allowed to train together was a strange experience for all of us, but the boys worked hard in isolation to make sure they didn't let their fitness levels drop.
We had a really tough pre-season and then won our first two games, so we're not about to let all that go to waste.
Everyone stayed connected and kept communicating during the isolation period, encouraging each other to stay focused and keep putting in the effort.
We knew that eventually we would get the green light to resume our season, and when that happened we had to be ready to hit the ground running.
That seems to have come around pretty quickly.
On Monday we had a meeting to discuss all the new biosecurity rules and regulations and they gave us 24 hours to digest the information.
Then on Wednesday we returned to restricted training, in groups of eight players and two coaches.
Hopefully next week we can step it up a bit and start doing some contact training.
Obviously May 28 has been marked down as the date that the competition will restart and we want to pick up where we left off when the season was suspended.
As a group, we've spoken about how this is our chance to do something really positive for the community during a tough time.
Right around the world, there is virtually no sport being played and people are missing it.
The NRL will be the first code to resume in Australia and hopefully we can provide some entertainment for the people watching us on TV.
We want to help put smiles on faces and get everyone talking about how good it is that the footy is back, and maybe for 80 minutes we can help take their minds off the coronavirus.
Naturally we'd rather have our fans in the stadiums, and fingers crossed they will be able to return later in the season.
But we know they'll be tuning in and cheering for us in their lounge rooms and that support means a lot to us.
Playing without crowds is just one of the challenges all teams will face this year and I really think the strongest teams mentally will be the most successful.
We're going to have to deal with a lot of situations that take us out of our comfort zone.
There's no point complaining about it. We just have to deal with each issue and make sure when we turn up on game day, we're as well prepared as we possibly can be.
Judging by what I've seen at training this week, I'm really confident that will be the case.
The boys all looked fit and had a spring in their step. There was a real sense of excitement about all being back together again.
But first and foremost we know we've got a job to do.
