THE cheek of it. Even on the wrong side of the sideline, as he has been for two years, Wendell Sailor found inspiration even after the indentation.

"He was saying it's a bit of a speed bump, rather than a mountain to climb," said St George Illawarra football manager Neil Lovett. "He's been over the mountain already. This comeback isn't going to be as hard as that one."

His current comeback lasted just 35 minutes, before the player who gives cheek as good as anyone had his own broken. The fairytale over before it really had a chance to begin. Hello Sailor, yet alas, goodbye oh so soon.

"He was really upset, obviously," said Lovett, who was with Sailor through the second half, before he was taken to hospital with his wife and two children. "He's looked forward to today for a long time. He said to me that he was very disappointed that after two years out of the game, he couldn't finish his first one."

Words are an important part of Wendell's world. His words in the lead-up to his return match from a two-year drugs suspension against Brisbane even had his former - and future - coach Wayne Bennett cracking jokes after he had watched his side lose.

Asked if he felt sorry for Sailor, Bennett replied: "No, it's just footy. It happens mate. He'll be right. He'll be back, larger than life. He's just got to wait a few weeks. He would have been talking himself up into the third Origin if he'd have played the full night tonight. It'll stop him talking about himself."

And then more … "The Wendell factor didn't affect us this week. We didn't talk about Wendell. He was doing all the talking anyway. We couldn't get a word in."

Even on the field, too. His opponent, winger Denan Kemp, admitted he also struggled to get a word in under the weight of Wendell's particular brand of vocab.

"Yeah, he had a fair bit to say," Kemp laughed. "He let me know that I wasn't going to run the ball at him, that he was waiting for the kicks, with a few other flavoured words in there. But I really respect him. It was a great experience to be against him."

And up against the livewire Kemp, Sailor showed he can still play - and importantly, still defend, even after four-and-a-half seasons in rugby union as well as his two-year sabbatical. However, it was a tackle that ended his night, when Sailor threw himself off his right wing and collected David Stagg's elbow.

He played out the half, but was clearly troubled. The swagger he brought to WIN Stadium was reduced to something closer to a stagger. It had all begun so promisingly, too. Last out from the dressing room, he settled himself into the corner where he attracted a few soft drink bottles when he was playing against the Dragons, not for them. Left hanging twice in the first set, Sailor had his first touch of the ball in an NRL game since 2001 three minutes in. Brisbane back-rower Ashton Sims, trying to make his own impression against his old club, flew at him and almost knocked himself and Sailor out, then skipper Corey Parker held on to him too long and referee Ben Cummins blew his whistle, proving Sailor can attract penalties like he can publicity.

For most of the next half hour or so, there were more high-fives than hit-ups. His involvements were scarce. He tried to find his way into the game, but the game failed to find him for much of it - a far cry from much of his previous rugby league career. There were signs of old (or is that young?) International Dell, the larger than life - and yes, in these tight St George Illawarra jumpers, he is even larger nowadays.

But if you can't keep a big man down, what does it mean for a bigger man? He's waited too long for this return to let a four-week break, literally, spoil it. "It's just a quiet confidence he's got in his own ability," Lovett said. "A determination to achieve what he set out to do, to make a mark in the NRL.

He doesn't just want to play in the NRL. He wants to play well."