KEEPING A STIFF UPPER LIPP
BLACKHAWKS young gun Jordan Lipp is less than a month away from realising his dream of joining an NRL first grade squad.
It’s a dream he almost gave up on 12 months ago.
Sitting at home after a second shoulder reconstruction in 12 months, the centre was adamant his fight for an NRL future had been dashed.
But Lipp refused to give in to his demons. With a close support network around him, the teenager fought his way out of his personal hell and back to the footy field.
It was that determination, coupled with a strong season at the Blackhawks this year, that made the Cowboys pull the trigger on the Young Gun and sign him to a two-year deal that will have him in their development list.
“Guys that come back stronger from those injuries at young ages are traditionally very resilient,” Cowboys head of football Micheal Luck said.
“We have a history with a couple of our young guys that have had a couple of reconstructive surgeries in Reuben Cotter and Mitchell Dunn. They are two of the toughest, most resilient and reliable guys in our squad.
“(Lipp) is a tremendously skilful player and he has proved that this year at underage. He is a great kid with a great work ethic. He has had a dual role this year training with the Young Guns and the Blackhawks, and he hasn’t missed a beat.
“The way he progressed during this year made him irresistible as a player.”
While he is excited to realise a dream, Lipp knows there is a lot of hard work in front of him when he arrives for pre-season next month.
After all, the 20-year-old has known nothing but hard work for the past two years.
He blew out his left shoulder in 2019, and spent six months on the sideline in rehabilitation, only to then rupture the other shoulder in his first game back.
“I had 13 months with one game in the middle,” Lipp said.
“I guess you could almost say I thought any hopes of going on further were gone.
“A young kid with two shoulder reconstructions, it is pretty easy to give it away. Just knowing the next game it could be the same thing. I thought I had prepared well to make my return and I did my other one. It is a long road to recovery.
“I had a good support crew around me, people just pushing me and it got me to where I am today.
“It is tough going in and doing your rehab every day and you can see your mates out on the field doing what you wish you were doing. But if you have got it there, you just have to work hard.”
While his hard work will come to fruition next month in the Cowboys’ first grade squad, Lipp has tried to push it to the back of his mind as he focuses on winning the big one with the Blackhawks.
Lipp has been extraordinary for the Townsville club in the Hastings Deering Colts this season, finishing the year with the most tries across the competition and scoring a double in their preliminary final destruction of Sunshine Coast last weekend.
“It’s my first year up here and I didn’t expect to be playing this late into the year but it is a great bunch of boys, and a good club,” Lipp said.