Footy star makes incredible decision after shocking battle with killer disease that forced him out of the game for 14 years

Former Newcastle Knights halfback Ryan Stig is targeting a remarkable footy comeback 14 years since his last NRL appearance after winning his battle with a disease he thought would kill him.

Stig, 34, played 13 first-grade games in 2011 and appeared to be on the rise as a crafty halfback.

But his career was turned upside down the following year when he was diagnosed with Lyme disease, a potentially fatal condition caused by the bite of a tick carrying harmful bacteria.

Desperately searching for answers, Stig ended up in Mexico, Switzerland and Germany, where he had hyperthermia treatment, which subjects patients to high temperatures in an attempt to kill off cancers and infections.

‘They knocked me out and heated up my body to 42 degrees and kept me in that stage for eight hours,’ he recalled.

‘I felt that radical treatment was the turning point and I have been slowly getting my life back ever since.

‘I’ve worked so hard on my health and I still eat organic.’

After he was given the green light to return by doctors, Stig featured in two reserve-grade games for the Knights this year.

Stig, 34, played 13 first grade games in 2011 with Newcastle and appeared to be on the rise as a crafty halfback

Sitg’s career was turned upside after he was diagnosed with Lyme’s disease in 2012, a potentially fatal condition caused by the bite of a tick carrying harmful bacteria (he is pictured, this year)

But NSW Cup isn’t enough – now Stig wants to play under Adam O’Brien and alongside Kalyn Ponga and Bradman Best.

‘A few years ago I was more worried about whether I would live or die – I never dreamed I’d play league again,’ he told Wide World of Sports.

‘I’d put the game in the bin and just wanted to live for my family. So to get back onto the field was something very special.’

After the likes of Jackson Hastings, Jack Cogger, Tyson Gamble, Will Pryce and Phoenix Crossland all failed to nail down a spot in the halves this year, Stig can sense an opportunity.

‘I’d like to do an NRL pre-season and see what happens,’ the one-time Australian Schoolboys representative said.

‘Yes, I’m 34, but I don’t feel it because I have played very little footy the past 14 years.

‘I feel I have a lot to offer the younger guys at the club and all I’m asking for is a crack.’