A host of players spent 2025 on the sidelines, but have returned in fine form this year.

Injuries are part of rugby league, that much is for certain, and the way players come back from those injuries can be career defining.

Two of the group even played Origin this year in a true mark of their efforts recovering.

The group have made 2026 the year of the comeback, and Zero Tackle runs the rule over the best of the lot today.

Ryan Couchman and Dylan Egan 

2026 has been a forgettable season on the field for the St George Illawarra Dragons, but the emergence of their young froward pack including the return of Ryan Couchman and Dylan Egan from ACL injuries gives fans something to look forward to in 2027 and beyond.

After only playing 7-minutes of the Dragons opening match last season before suffering a torn ACL, Ryan Couchman has made a major comeback in 2026.

Having started the year as an interchange rotation through the middle, Ryan has been made the lock position his own in the second half of the season, averaging 45 tackles and 124-running-metres since being handed the starting role.

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 31: Ryan Couchman and Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga of the Dragons and team mates celebrate victory after the round 13 NRL match between Brisbane Broncos and St George Illawarra Dragons at Suncorp Stadium, on May 31, 2026, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 31: Ryan Couchman and Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga of the Dragons and team mates celebrate victory after the round 13 NRL match between Brisbane Broncos and St George Illawarra Dragons at Suncorp Stadium, on May 31, 2026, in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

In Round 11 of the 2025 season Dylan Egan too suffered a ruptured ACL, keeping him sidelined for the remainder of the season.

At the time, just eight games into his NRL career, now former Coach Shane Flanagan revealed "He's not just a really important player for us this season and into the future, he's a wonderful young man at the start of his NRL career and a very popular player within our group" when speaking to Dragons media about Egan's injury.

Since returning in round 10 of this year, Egan has been a permanent feature on the edge for the Dragons where he has averaged 42 tackles per game.

NRL Rd 6 – Dragons v Titans
WOLLONGONG, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 11: Dylan Egan of the Dragons celebrates with team mates after scoring a try during the round six NRL match between St George Illawarra Dragons and Gold Coast Titans at WIN Stadium, on April 11, 2025, in Wollongong, Australia. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

After both impressing in this rejuvenated Dragons forward pack, both Couchman (2030) and Egan (2029) have signed long-term contract extensions with the Club.

When talking on his extension Egan expressed that the young group are "very motivated to bring this great club back to where we reckon they belong."

These decisions has came off the public backing from their head coach Dean Young who believes that many of these forwards have potential to make representative level football in the future.

After the joint-venture claimed their maiden wooden spoon, 2027 and beyond signals brighter times for the club with a young forward pack and their well-documented recruitment drive.