More cheers and less tears for Frei in 2022
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Norths Devils forward Brendan Frei started 2021 with a train-and-trial with the Brisbane Broncos, but spent most of the year sidelined with a knee injury.
Last year saw his little brother Jackson Frei make his NRL debut for the Warriors and his beloved Devils win the Cup premiership with a hard-fought win over Wynnum Manly Seagulls.
It was a year of high highs and low lows for Frei.
The 25-year-old, who injured his ACL in Round 7 against the Central Queensland Capras, said there were so many reasons to be happy during the year, but his injury meant he missed out on things he would have loved to be involved in.
It has been nine months since Frei has run out and he is eyeing a Round 1 return.
"I’d never done an ACL before so I wasn’t sure what it was... I knew it wasn’t good," Frei said, adding there were tears.
"As they were doing the test on the sideline, I could tell by the physio and doctor’s face, when they both looked at each other, that there was something definitely wrong... I just guessed it was an ACL... once they told me it was, it was obviously pretty heartbreaking.
"Last season I did the Broncos pre-season, managed to get the trial game in, which was good, started the season off, and we were doing really well as a team, and then just unfortunate after Round 7, that the ACL decided to take a break.
"Round 1 this year is definitely the aim... give or take, I'll be smart with it... but Round 1 is definitely the goal. We’ll see how it goes. It’s a week-to-week basis."
Frei said he was driven to go deep into the season, having missed out on being in the team to take out the competition on grand final day.
"Believe it or not, when I saw the boys run out onto the field for grand final, I honestly cried... it was heartbreaking knowing I couldn’t be out there on the field," Frei said.
"But at the same time, I was still so proud of how good they were going, what they’d done and what they accomplished.
"It was just another 80 minutes for me. That definitely brought a tear to my eye, seeing that grand final.
"As much as everyone says you’re a part of that grand final team, it’s just not the same when you don’t get to lift that trophy up in your jersey. I want to hold that trophy up, again, but this time in a jersey. And boots on."
Frei said he still counted seeing the Devils win as a high, as he did with seeing “little, bigger brother” Jackson made his NRL debut.
"Growing up, we were literally attached at the hip," Frei said of Jackson, who is two years younger.
"We shared a room with each other... we were playing footy against each other... any sort of game you can think of, we versed each other in.
"He was always bigger than me so it was always a very competitive edge. It wasn’t like I was a dominant bigger brother. He was bigger than me so I was the underdog most of time.
"When I saw him make his NRL debut, it honestly felt like my debut. I couldn’t have been prouder. Again, I shed a tear watching him run out onto the field. I couldn’t believe it. It felt like I had just made my NRL debut. Happy tears.
"More good tears than bad tears."
Now, with 2022 here and his rehab going well, Frei - whose ultimate goal is to play in the NRL - is determined to rip in and have more reasons to cheer.
"Rehab… it’s actually been good progress so far.... there hasn’t been too many setbacks," Frei said.
"It’s been smooth sailing so far and I’m looking forward to that return.
"I really want to win the grand final again. That’s the whole reason we’re playing in this competition, at this level. You don’t play to participate, really.
"We obviously lost a couple of good players, but I still think at the same time, we’ve gained a couple of good players. We’ve still got our main core, we’ve got our main coach (Rohan Smith), which is probably the most important ingredient to the recipe.
"I definitely think we could be a threat. We have a major chance of winning this grand final and I have every right to believe we can do it again.
"I’m confident in my knee. Everything is tracking well. Fingers crossed, less tears this year."
Norths Devils will face Townsville Blackhawks in Round 1.
Match: Blackhawks v Devils
Round 1 -
home Team
Blackhawks
14th Position
away Team
Devils
1st Position
Venue: Jack Manski Oval, Townsville
