But he still had a smile on his face at St George Illawarra training at WIN Stadium after sparking the Marlins to a stunning 30-22 victory in his comeback game on Saturday night.

Sailor admitted he had plenty of bumps and bruises out of his first game back after a two-year drug ban.

"This is the sorest I've woken up on a Monday morning (in a while)," he said.

"It hasn't been too bad, the (ham)strings are a bit tight, but (I'll) have a bit of (recovery) work here.

"I had a bit of a black eye and a fat lip but you've got to expect that."

Sailor again declined to put a time frame on his NRL comeback yesterday, but is likely to line up for the Dragons in a round 13 clash against his old club Brisbane at WIN Stadium.

He said his two-try performance for the Marlins in the Jim Beam Cup on Saturday night, where they came from 22-0 down at half-time to win, was a "good starting point" for his return.

"I think another couple of weeks," he said.

"My timing on the ball was a bit slow, but I was just happy to get on the ball and just run."

Admitting to some pre-game nerves, having not played rugby league since switching to rugby union in 2001, Sailor said he wanted to focus more on positional play in the upcoming game against the Western Reds at Ron Costello Oval.

"Everyone knows I can hit the ball up," he said.

"But I wouldn't mind getting two or three passes wide and putting a bit of footwork on and hitting the ball at speed out wide."

Sailor became heavily involved in Saturday night's game after a quiet first half, including a late try where he darted from first receiver to score from about 15m.

Minutes earlier he scored from a kick to his wing to level the scores.

The 33-year-old former Wallabies, Kangaroos and Queensland State of Origin star said he had his doubts during the game that his fairytale comeback would eventuate.

"At 22-0 I was thinking other things," he said.

"I thought the journos are going to have a field day with this, (saying) you should have just retired."