Last night Jonny Lomax picked up the Harry Sunderland Award. An award for a superb Grand Final display but also, one feels, a deserved accolade for the accumulation of five fantastic seasons where he has been the beating hard of an amazing St Helens team.
It could have been so very different though for the St Helens number six. Lomax burst onto the scene in 2010 and by 2011 he was starting a Grand Final in the halves and the future looked bright.
He shifted to fullback and then the injuries began to mount up. He suffered three ACLs one which was complicated by an infection, and he decided to pack the game in.
After picking up the Harry Sunderland Award last night he said: “At the minute I’m pretty much speechless going back to 2014, 2015 three ACLs and an infection I did think I was done I didn’t want to go through it again but thankfully I have fantastic people around me.”
He would later go on to elaborate admitting that he told his dad he was done before breaking down into tears: “To be totally honest I did. I told my dad I was done, I broke down into tears.
“I got the surgery but having kids I didn’t want to just be kicking a footy around and hitting the deck so I got it done but didn’t see myself doing the rehab.
“Got an infection which didn’t help and then you end up doing the rehab anyway for ordinary life and I felt good and obviously the return went well. But I had decided in my head emotionally that I was done.”
Saints thanks will be so grateful that he did find the will to return and that return went well because not only last night’s Grand Final win but the previous three too have been founded on what he brings to this amazing team.
He’s been on an amazing journey which last night reached an amazing zenith.
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