After two years in the dark, Wendell Sailor was finally back in the spotlight again yesterday.
Once a hero in the eyes of many rugby league and rugby union fans, Sailor had been banished from the field in disgrace when he tested positive for cocaine while contracted to the NSW Waratahs in May 2006.
It had been known for some time that the former Wallabies star was to return to the NRL with St George Illawarra.
And, with the 33-year-old's ban expiring at midnight on Sunday, the Dragons were able to at last parade their star recruit.
Wearing a St George Illawarra polo shirt, Sailor walked into yesterday's press conference at the Steelers Club, his million-dollar smile beaming.
As he sat in front of the media scrum with club chief executive Peter Doust and coach Nathan Brown, the jovial banter flowed.
"It's been a while since I've seen a crowd this big," Sailor admitted.
"I'm looking forward to playing with the Dragons and also Shellharbour for the first couple of weeks.
"I'd like to thank Brownie and the Dragons for giving me the opportunity to come back and put things right and to finish on my terms.
"I'm very excited. I'm a young 33-year-old - I feel like I'm 18 or 19. I couldn't wait to get the gear on and I can't wait to meet the guys."
It had been a long journey since he made his debut with Brisbane in 1993, the year the Broncos beat St George 14-6 in the grand final.
When the conference was over, Sailor made the short walk across the road to WIN Stadium with all the enthusiasm of one of his trademark runs to the try line.
He emerged from the Dragons' players tunnel and into the light of the field wearing the famous Red V for the first time.
Sailor happily passed the football with Dragons players Josh Morris and Ben Ellis as the vision rolled and camera shutters clicked frantically.
Then the time had come to get down to business on the training field; he looked the part as he completed sprint, agility and tackling drills.
Sailor had toiled away on his solo mission to stay fit during the enforced lay-off and also trained with former NRL players Jason Steven and Colin Ward.
After a glittering career, the dual international admitted there were times during his two-year ban when he questioned whether he would ever play a game of football again.
"A lot of times in those two years you have regrets and you just want to move on ... there were some dark days there, days when I didn't think I could probably come back," he said.
Sailor will take his next small step to an NRL return on Saturday night when he lines up for the Shellharbour Marlins in the Jim Beam Cup.
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