McQueen ready to rip in after neck scare
CHRIS McQueen would sit on his couch and feel the tingles. Then the tip of his thumb would go numb. He wasn’t moving. Doing absolutely nothing at all.
‘‘It was probably getting to a point where as much as I wanted to put it off for as long as possible, I just couldn’t say no to the surgery any more,’’ the Tigers recruit said of last year’s nerveracking neck operation that included a disc replacement and having another one fused.
‘‘[But] I don’t get the tingles any more and [any] numbness. I haven’t had any burners in my arm since then so it’s been a success.’’
Yet there is still that trepidation before he actually goes full throttle on the training paddock – or as he refers to it, ‘‘whacking someone’’. That will be the real test.
For now Tigers fans can breathe easy. Many were alarmed one of their prize recruits was coming as damaged goods as McQueen’s season unravelled after he put pen to paper to start the revolution in Tiger Town.
Amid the hype of Luke Reynolds, Benji Marshall, Russell Packer and Ben Matulino rolling into Concord, it’s easy to forget McQueen was the quiet signing, before his career came to a crossroads.
He missed half the season last year with the Titans after making his England debut and never contemplated retirement, despite seeking the opinion of others – including former Rabbitohs teammate Kyle Turner – about the perils of neck surgery.
McQueen insists his career will last longer now he’s had the surgery than it would if he hadn’t had it.
‘‘By the time I get out there and do that full contact, I’m comfortable with where I’m at,’’ McQueen said. ‘‘Personally, I’m not going to push myself to do anything I’m not comfortable with.
‘‘The surgeon’s given me the all clear to start ripping in and I guess it would be unnatural if you’re not feeling nervous, but I think after that first [collision] and I’m feeling comfortable ... it will be full steam ahead.
‘‘I had a three-month period where I did absolutely nothing in terms of physical exercise or anything. It is a bit different and it’s been a tough pre-season – they all are – but I’m feeling refreshed.’’
McQueen’s courting at the Tigers started with former coach GETTY IMAGES Jason Taylor and finished with current boss Ivan Cleary, who has impressed the former Queensland star on his second coming in Sydney.
‘‘He’s a bit different to some other coaches I’ve had in that he knows when to switch on and switch off,’’ the 30-year-old said.
‘‘When we’re out here on the field he’s got his coaching hat on, he knows what needs to be said and he’s an honest guy. But once we step off that field he knows how to unwind and have a joke and be a normal bloke.
‘‘The Tigers have done a great job recruiting and all the standards have been really high. We have quite a new team here and it will take a while for us to gel as a team. We’ll see where we’re really at [in the trials]. For me personally, coming off the back of neck surgery, it’s just about getting back on the field, getting fit and getting strong and amongst it with the boys.
‘‘I certainly want to play trials and I feel like I need to trial before round one.’’ The Sun-Herald