ANTHONY MINICHIELLO wants to get down and dirty - early.

"I've been in this position before, coming back from a lay-off, so I know what to expect," said the Roosters fullback on the eve of his return from an eight-week absence in today's blockbuster against Manly at Brookvale Oval.

"The first game, you get more nervous than usual," he said.

"That'll happen again. You get a couple of games under your belt and away you go. Your confidence goes up and your game goes back to what it used to be pretty quickly.

"But you can't help being nervous the first time back. You want the ball early. If you can't get the ball early, you want to make your first tackle as soon as you can. The nerves fly away after that. The longer it takes you to get involved, the more you stress."

The former Test No.1 has had two operations on his back. He doesn't need to be told that back and neck injuries carry the undertones of potentially serious and life-changing consequences.

The greatest of greats, Minichiello's former NSW and Australia teammate Andrew Johns, had to quit the game he loved because of his damaged neck, but Minichiello is adamant he would no longer be playing unless his long-term health was virtually guaranteed.

"I did get really worried, but now I pretty much know this injury inside-out," he said.

"The only damage I can really do is down my leg - the sciatic nerve. You can't paralyse yourself with this.

"It's not like a neck injury, where you have to be really careful about doing some serious damage. This is just the sciatic nerve, so I know I can push myself.

"I'm not too worried at this stage about the after-footy stuff. It's not as serious as most people think. People think of back injuries, and they do think the worst. But I know I can't do any damage to my spinal cord.

"There were all these rumours a while ago about me retiring, but it never even entered my mind."

Minichiello is running straight into what should be a brutal clash at one of the best venues in the NRL, Brookvale Oval.

The hill will be packed because Sea Eagles followers detest every little thing about the Roosters, and the Roosters supporters don't have that far to drive to let their own feelings be known.

Even with Origin duties robbing the clash of Minichiello going head to head with the man who has pinched his NSW fullback jersey, Brett Stewart, there are mega-clashes galore.

Brent Kite versus Mark O'Meley up front. The Roosters halves pairing of Mitchell Pearce and Braith Anasta, firing like loaded weapons, taking on Matt Orford and Steve Menzies.

With the harrowing probability of all-Sydney clashes being reduced in the future, here's hoping these two clubs are not part of the cull.

Minichiello's trademark play, the one that won him Origin and Test jumpers and the Golden Boot award in 2005 as the best player in the world, is the cannonball run while returning a kick.

That trademark is followed by his other one, the cannonball run when he can smell a hole to jet through.

He admits to playing in pain these days, and throwing himself into the fray is probably not what most doctors would advise a patient with a dud back, but he couldn't care less.

Gun-shyness or any thoughts of self-preservation won't be a problem.

"I just want to get out there," he says. "It's hard not being part of it all. I have to do a lot of my own training away from the boys.

"I only run every second day, so they might be having a ball session but I'm swimming laps.

"Swimming and boxing, that's where I have to get a lot of my fitness from these days. That can be tough.

"I love training, and I want to rip in with the boys, but I can't always do it. I really want to be a part of it all."

Minichiello's expectations amount to the most basic aspirations: a solid game, and a win.

"I'm probably not going to set the world on fire," he said.

"All I know is that it's important I do my job at the back. I've been good for a couple of weeks, but there's no point rushing anything."

Except getting involved as quickly as humanly possible after 3pm at Brookie today.