Twelve months ago, Jesse Colquhoun was sitting on the sidelines after rupturing his ACL. Now, the Cronulla Sharks forward is 80 minutes away from helping guide his side to an NRL Grand Final.
After defeating the Sydney Roosters and Canberra Raiders in back-to-back weeks, the Sharks will now face their most difficult challenge yet, taking on a red-hot and healthy Melbourne Storm in Victoria.
While the spine of William Kennedy, Braydon Trindall, Nicho Hynes and Blayke Brailey have all been immaculate in recent weeks, another player has also been able to take his game to another level after starting the season in reserve-grade.
In his fourth season with the club, Jesse Colquhoun has been able to stand up in the absence of captain Cameron McInnes, but his journey to first grade hasn't been the easiest.
Only playing 27 matches - 17 of them being in 2025 - the lock suffered consecutive foot injuries before rupturing his ACL in his return to the field during last year's campaign.
"To go from missing the start of the year with an ACL and then to work my way back in, it's pretty surreal," Colquhoun told Zero Tackle.
"It's always tough. You always have those personal battles behind closed doors, but we are such a strong club here and have such strong connections, which makes it easy to get through, especially those tough times.
"Everyone's here to pick you up and keep you going.
"I'm sure with a lot of the boys, they wouldn't be here without their family, and I'm the exact same. They drive me to training, pick me up when I can't drive and do everything for me."
Preparing to face an impressive forward pack that includes State of Origin duo Stefano Utoikamanu and Trent Loiero, and international representatives Eliesa Katoa, Shawn Blore and Tui Kamikamica, Colquhoun is ready for the challenge.
A competitive person by nature, the 24-year-old admitted that he never had any doubts that he wouldn't return to the field despite multiple long stints on the sidelines.
"I never had any doubts that I wouldn't return because I'm so competitive," Colquhoun said.
"Every day I was pushing as hard as I could to get back as fast as possible, and sometimes that's my own detriment, but if I had any doubts, I wouldn't be here right now.
"Being so competitive and wanting to get back, I think that's what enabled me to keep going, especially with the back-to-back injuries."
