He's been eyeing a return to the hardwood, but Hawks swingman Dan Grida could probably turn his attention to the Tour de France given the amount of time he's spent in the saddle as he pushed for an NBL return.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On the comeback trail from a second ACL tear, Grida was firing on all pre-season cylinders when an untimely hamstring tear again wrenched the handbrake on his plans.
It meant yet another frustrating stint on the sidelines, and plenty of time on the stationary bike, but he's set to make his scheduled return on the other side of the FIBA window.
He's had his fair share of false starts, but he's confident the body's primed to make his presence felt.
"I feel really good physically," he said. "My shot feels great, getting up and down [the floor] has been a lot of fun at practice, just because I've been watching it for so long.
"The game fitness is coming, there's obviously nothing like actual games. I can ride on the bike for hours, do sprints or whatever.
"I reckon I've done a virtual Tour de France while I've been sitting out this year, but being down in a [defensive] stance for 40 minutes is a very different story.
"I've got these two weeks to prepare for it and I'm so pumped to play and hopefully provide a bit of punch from the bench."
While his absence over the past two seasons has been underrated, the Hawks have never been in more dire need of the 23-year-old's hustle-first attributes amid a seven-game losing streak.
While coach Jacob Jackomas and club medical staff will no doubt be keeping him on a short leash, Grida has no intenation of merely dipping his toe back in the NBL pool.
"I only have the one gear so that's probably what I'm going to do," he said.
"I'm going to come out and play as hard as I can just like I always have. Playing like that is what makes me good.
"I like to think I play with a lot of energy so hopefully I can come off the bench and really bring that spark, lift the boys up with me, hopefully make some exciting plays and get the crowd involved.
"I think that's exactly what we need right now, a bit more energy, a bit more effort at the defensive end, get on some loose balls. That sort of thing will be huge for this group going forward.
"Jacob and the medical staff have been really good letting me ease back into this and, by the time we play, I'll be in great shape and ready to go."
It's a welcome return for Jackomas, but he will not be demanding too much too soon from a player the club is still planning to build its future around alongside the likes of Sam Froling and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk.
"We've got to be careful," Jackomas said.
"In a normal situation he probably would've played the last two games, but he's coming out of a two-year injury where he's done his knee twice and then did his hammy pretty bad.
"Yes, we do need him, and our plans at the beginning of the year were [to have] him.
"It was unlucky that we lost him because he is our energy guy. We had a big plan for him to be that, but as a club, and for the sake of the kid, he will help us, but we can't rely [too much] on him.
"We have to ease him into this thing and make sure he is a hundred per cent ready to go before we start playing him massive minutes."
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say.
Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Illawarra Mercury website.
Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.
Mitch Jennings
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
Sports writer. Sport is my passion, rugby league my first love.
