‘All I’m asking for is a crack’: Former Knights star’s bid for return after 14-year exile

It’s been 14 years since he last featured in the NRL, but former Knights playmaker Ryan Stig is gunning to make a return to first grade.

Stig, 34, made his NRL debut with the Newcastle club in 2011, playing 13 games and emerging as one of the most promising halves in the competition.

However, his career was halted by Lyme’s disease in 2012, a potentially fatal condition that is caused by the bite of a tick carrying a harmful bacteria.

Stig took time away from the game before returning to football in 2024, playing two reserve grade games for the Knights, revealing to WWOS he almost game rugby league away.

“A few years ago I was more worried about whether I would live or die – I never dreamed I’d play league again,” Stig said.

“I’d put the game in the bin and just wanted to live for my family. So to get back onto the field was something very special.

“I was blind in one eye, my nervous system was shot, as well as my immune system – there may have even been some brain damage.”

Following his diagnosis, Australian doctors were at a loss as to how to cure the talented five-eighth.

Sitg, doing his own research, then wound up in Mexico, Switzerland and Germany, having “hyperthermia treatment” that proved to be the “turning point”.

So now, with Newcastle’s halves situation up in the air, Stig could be an outside chance of returning to the top grade.

Jackson Hastings, Jack Cogger, Tyson Gamble, Will Pryce and Phoenix Crossland all featured in the Knights halves in 2024, but no one was able to cement a spot.

“I was crook all those years and worked so hard on my health – I still eat organic – and kept saying ‘I’m gonna get back’,” he said.

“So playing NSW Cup last season was a big step and I feel fit and strong again.

“I’d like to do an NRL pre-season and see what happens. Yes, I’m 34 but I don’t feel it because I have played very little footy the past 14 years.

“I feel I have a lot to offer the younger guys at the club and all I’m asking for is a crack.”