Aidan Corr slipped back into the GIANTS defence in Saturday's 41 point derby win over the Swans with a minimum of fuss and no fanfare, just the way he likes it.
A vital member of the GIANTS' backline, yet underrated by some outside the club, Corr made his first appearance at senior level since round 17 last year, when he succumbed to the effects of osteitis pubis.
It was a good week for the 24-year-old to return, with co-captain Phil Davis missing the clash with an ankle injury, and while Corr prepared himself for a showdown with superstar Lance Franklin, that didn't eventuate when the Swan was also a late withdrawal with hamstring soreness.
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Corr got the news from Davis just before the GIANTS' pre-game meeting, and admitted he wasn't exactly disappointed to find out Franklin was off the team sheet.
"I knew going into the game I was a sniff to play on him, and when Phil didn't get up it was game-on and I was ready to go, I was prepared," he said after the victory at the SCG.
"Sam Taylor and I were going to swap on him as a bit of a tag team to see if we could take him down.
"It was a sigh of relief, I'm not going to lie, because he's a great player, but we got back to business straight away."
Corr, who kept Sam Reid relatively quiet for most of the night, didn't have long to ease into his comeback game when he was crunched by an Isaac Heeney tackle in the opening term after being put under the pump by teammate Tim Taranto in the back 50.
"Tim probably owes me a beer for that one, it was a suicide handball," Corr said with a laugh.
"It was a ripper of a free hit, but it's all part of the game."
The round six derby had all the intensity of previous contests between the Sydney rivals and several scuffles broke out during the night, and Corr revelled in the physical nature of the encounter.
He was ecstatic to be back playing senior footy for the first time since he helped the GIANTS defeat Richmond in a thriller at GIANTS Stadium last July, before missing the rest of the season.
He was sorely missed, especially in the GIANTS' semi-final loss to Collingwood at the MCG when Jordan De Goey hurt the visitors, with Corr's mix of speed and power making him an ideal match-up for the star Magpie.
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After a long summer of rehabilitation, which took him to his birthplace of Ireland in a search for answers to his groin pain, Corr's slow recovery finally took a positive turn early this year, and after three games in the NEAFL, he finally returned against the Swans.
"The big one for me was missing the finals (last year), and if I could give up all those games I'd played before them to play finals, I would have," he said.
"You've just got to deal with it, it just takes time, we saw that with Joe Daniher last year when he had his issues with it.
"I had it from midway through the year and I was dealing with it, but it just became too much (after round 17).
"It was a slow build and I saw some specialists in Ireland and all those little things helped a lot.
"I wouldn't say it fast-tracked (my recovery) because it still took ages, but it is what it is and I'm happy I'm back playing."
