Rabbitohs halfback Adam Reyonlds' earlier-than expected return from appendix surgery wouldn't have happened unless he was able to convince his coach he was 100 per cent right to go, the halfback said after guiding his side to a 38-18 win over the Sea Eagles at Lottoland.
Reynolds' calm head and steady boot were badly missed by the cardinal and myrtle in a dire opening round loss to Wests Tigers but coach Michael Maguire wasn't prepared to risk the State of Origin halfback pulling out mid-game at Manly.
Reynolds also credited club medicos for managing his return to on-field action just two weeks after having his appendix out.
"I felt good – it's a credit to the medical staff," Reynolds said.
"They got me moving pretty early and got me over it quicker than expected and I couldn't feel any better through the stomach.
"We always put our faith in their hands and the majority of the time they come up with a result.
"I went and saw the surgeon and he was happy with how I'm going. I progressed pretty quick actually, I was moving around fairly early, he was happy where i was at and I was fully confident coming out and playing this game.
"If I wasn't 100 per cent I wasn't going to come out and it's a credit to 'Madge' (Magiure) as well. He said 'if you're not 100 per cent you're not playing'. I've got full faith in the medical team and they got it spot on."
Reynolds played a key role in the win, kicking for a match-high 308 metres, forcing three drop outs from kicks, creating two line breaks and setting up a try while slotting seven goals from as many attempts.
Reynolds said while he is happy with the comeback there are still areas he wants to improve still.
Pressed on his clutch kicking game he added: "it's a big part of the game these days and if you watched the game last week Parramatta forced a lot of line drop outs and scored points off the back of that so that was one of our key focuses to get in there and build a bit of pressure and take some juice out of the big boys through the middle for Manly, and lucky enough we came up with the result."
Maguire seemed happy with his halfback's return in his post-match press conference.
"I gave him a fair bit of credit at the back end of the game (for controlling proceedings)," Maguire said.
"He's learned a lot but now he's become a leader, he's become a really strong presence inside our team.
"He's come back from appendicitis after two weeks and that doesn't just happen, he's done a lot of work in the background to get himself back into the team and be ready to go so it's a real credit to him and I thought he did a great job for us."
