JETS young gun Lachy Bayliss is out to make up for lost time - four months to be precise.
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Instantly, they gave the Jets attack a fresh, dangerous look.
Bayliss, 21, was on cloud nine.
Then he felt a niggle in his groin early in the second half against the Mariners in round five.
Osteitis pubis was the diagnosis.
"It can either be a one-week or 12 months," Bayliss said.
Bayliss landed at four months.
He returned, playing nine minutes off the bench in the 1-0 loss to Adelaide last round.
"I started the season well and had a pretty unfortunate injury. I missed four months of football. Initially, I didn't think it would be as long as it was.
"It has taught me a lot of resilience and other stuff you have to get through when you are injured.
"It certainly was very frustrating. I had a few setbacks and didn't feel 100 per cent. My performances at training weren't that great.
"It took a good month-to-six weeks to ease back into it. You don't want to overload it straight away. If you go from doing nothing to full training straight away, it will get you
"I feel like I have had both extremes. I have gone through the real highs and lows of football. Now, that I can move and feel good in my body, I can give 100 per cent."
After a weekend off due to FIFA international break, the Jets are away to Melbourne City on Saturday.
"The week off was really good, I was able to get a lot of minutes in the in-house game," Bayliss said. "The in-house games are pretty brutal. Everyone wants to win. Everyone flies into tackles. The ball doesn't go out and is constantly moving. You are running more than an actual game."
Bayliss is on a scholarship which expires at the end of the season, leaving him five games to earn an extension.
"I want to show everyone what I can do, and hopefully I can do that in the next five weeks," he said.
"If I'm playing well, I'm sure the rest will come.
"It was good to be back in the team last game and get some minutes. I need to build on that."