Christian Nicolussi From: The Daily Telegraph June 17, 2011 12:00AM
IT WAS denied by Wests Tigers at the time, but Gareth Ellis confirmed for the first time yesterday that a rushed return to England last month allowed him to cope with homesickness.
Ellis said he did not realise at the time how much he needed to be re-united with family in Yorkshire as he struggled to overcome an ankle injury.
Not only did he appreciate the time off from the Tigers to fly halfway across the globe with wife Rachel and son Isaac, Ellis reckons it refreshed him mentally and allowed him to attack the back half of the NRL season with a renewed enthusiasm.
"Originally when Tim said to me, 'you'll be out for four to six weeks' and 'why don't you go home and have a break?', I thought, 'no, I'll stay home'," Ellis said. "I'm paid to play footy and paid to sit in a rehab room like everyone else.
"But I ended up thinking it would be a great opportunity to get home, break the rehab cycle and freshen up.
"Unintentionally you get segregated from the team because you're not training with them.
"I missed home a bit and my family, the people you bounce off when things aren't going so well. It was hard when they were so far away.
"But I've come back with a spring in my step."
Ellis has enjoyed two games back and produced an amazing flick pass for Benji Marshall in New Zealand last Sunday, which sparked a late second-half revival to help the Tigers win 26-22 over the Warriors.
Now the Tigers are eyeing a third straight victory when they face Melbourne at Leichhardt on Sunday.
Ellis said it was time for the Tigers to win and win pretty.
"We've only had a couple of games where we've played well and came off field and thought, 'we've played well'," Ellis said.
"We played some games where we won and didn't play well. It's not a bad thing because if you can scrape together some victories, it's a great attribute to have. Now it's come to the point in the season where winning is everything, but you also want to play well and play consistently."
Ellis and the Tigers were stranded across the ditch until Tuesday because of the volcanic ash air chaos.
However, many at the club believed the extended stay would only strengthen team harmony.
IT WAS denied by Wests Tigers at the time, but Gareth Ellis confirmed for the first time yesterday that a rushed return to England last month allowed him to cope with homesickness.
Ellis said he did not realise at the time how much he needed to be re-united with family in Yorkshire as he struggled to overcome an ankle injury.
Not only did he appreciate the time off from the Tigers to fly halfway across the globe with wife Rachel and son Isaac, Ellis reckons it refreshed him mentally and allowed him to attack the back half of the NRL season with a renewed enthusiasm.
"Originally when Tim said to me, 'you'll be out for four to six weeks' and 'why don't you go home and have a break?', I thought, 'no, I'll stay home'," Ellis said. "I'm paid to play footy and paid to sit in a rehab room like everyone else.
"But I ended up thinking it would be a great opportunity to get home, break the rehab cycle and freshen up.
"Unintentionally you get segregated from the team because you're not training with them.
"I missed home a bit and my family, the people you bounce off when things aren't going so well. It was hard when they were so far away.
"But I've come back with a spring in my step."
Ellis has enjoyed two games back and produced an amazing flick pass for Benji Marshall in New Zealand last Sunday, which sparked a late second-half revival to help the Tigers win 26-22 over the Warriors.
Now the Tigers are eyeing a third straight victory when they face Melbourne at Leichhardt on Sunday.
Ellis said it was time for the Tigers to win and win pretty.
"We've only had a couple of games where we've played well and came off field and thought, 'we've played well'," Ellis said.
"We played some games where we won and didn't play well. It's not a bad thing because if you can scrape together some victories, it's a great attribute to have. Now it's come to the point in the season where winning is everything, but you also want to play well and play consistently."
Ellis and the Tigers were stranded across the ditch until Tuesday because of the volcanic ash air chaos.
However, many at the club believed the extended stay would only strengthen team harmony.
