Rising star Pauli Pauli has revealed he never thought he would play rugby league again after a serious pre-season car crash.
The 22-year-old Newcastle forward dislocated his hip in a seven-car pile up on the M1 in January as his NRL career flashed before his eyes.
"I thought I was never going to play football again," Pauli told AAP.
"For about five weeks after the crash in my head I wasn't really mentally or physically ready to play football again."
Pauli's Subaru Liberty was written off in the late-night crash as 10 people - including the 48-game NRL player - were rushed to hospital.
He spent the next two weeks there following the crash, but returned to training immediately upon his release.
"I still didn't know if I was going to get back out on the field though," he said.
"I was just training, hoping I would get back running again."
Two months later, his dedication paid off.
He has been nursed back to fitness by the Knights, and is yet to play in their first-grade side.
Pauli has spent the past five weeks in reserve grade, and says he is now feeling far more confident with his hip.
Now, less than four months after the crash, he has been named to make his senior representative debut as part of Brad Fittler's City Origin side alongside James Tamou and Paul Gallen in Mudgee.
"They're the players we used to watch when we were little," Pauli said.
"I just want to learn a bit more about the game.
"These guys have been in the game for a while now. For someone the age of me it's good to pick up a few skills."
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