It was late on a Thursday night, the 16th of May to be precise. Melbourne had just scraped a narrow 24-22 victory over the Tigers, but while the team celebrated victory, the result was the last thing on one man’s mind. A dejected figure sat in the change rooms, hunched over, tears streaming down the face. A man by the name of Christian Welch.
Welch had been taken from the field with a suspected ACL tear earlier that night. He’d torn it just two years earlier, an injury that robbed him of a 2017 NRL Premiership with the Storm. There was no contact to the knee, not a figure laid on him, yet a simple ‘pop’ ensured Welch thought he’d played his last game of 2019.
Just a week before Origin teams were named, Welch’s name had been thrown into a stack of predicted line-ups for the Maroons. Instead of achieving his dream of representing his state, Welch’s career had been turned on his head.
But in one of the most heartwarming turn of events in the NRL this year, Welch posted on social media the next day revealing that he’d ‘bought about 12 lotto tickets’ after scans revealed fears of a ruptured ACL were misdiagnosed, and a meniscus tear would only hamper him for 4-6 weeks.
It was a rugby league miracle.
And just 23 days after his injury, Welch made a surprise return against the Warriors, running for a lousy 137 metres off the bench.
And now, less than two months after he believed his season was done, Welch is preparing to suit up for his maiden Origin game, going from a rehab room to rep footy.
It’s a jersey he’s had to earn.
Welch has been 18th man on multiple occasions for Queensland, and is the longest-serving member of the Emerging Maroons Squad.
He’s no stranger to big games though. While he didn’t feature in Melbourne’s victorious 2017 Grand Final, he did play in both the 2016 and 2018 deciders. While neither handed him a premiership ring, it did hand him big game experience.
And he won’t let anyone down on Wednesday night.
Welch is the man that takes the tough carries, doesn’t miss tackles, he’s Queensland’s Mr Reliability.
He bought a dozen lotto tickets for a ‘lucky diagnosis’, but Welch doesn’t need luck. He’s worked hard to get here, no aspect of luck about that. And the moment he steps onto ANZ Stadium in a Maroon jumper, he’ll show the rugby league world why.