Sea Eagles back-rower Jamie Buhrer says he's loving life back on the field after injuries saw him spend the bulk of the past two seasons on the sidelines.
The Hills Bulls junior has had a horror run of injuries of late, suffering serious knee injuries in 2014 and 2015, followed by a broken jaw at the Auckland Nines this year and a broken thumb in his first NRL game back in Round 4.
But it's been smooth sailing since, with Buhrer reeling off eight straight games to help the Sea Eagles turn their season around.
Despite the recent setbacks, the 26-year-old told NRL.com injuries were part and parcel of the game and he wasn't immune from having to spend time on the sidelines.
"I'm feeling really good. In fact, I'm not even thinking about it," Buhrer said after Manly's 20-12 win over the Rabbitohs on Monday night.
"I've put a fair few games together in a row, and the way I see it, that's what I'll be doing until the end of my career. I've had a bit of bad luck – everyone goes through that – and now I'm back playing footy and doing what I love.
"I was speaking to Adam Reynolds out on the field, and they've been struck down by a lot of injuries as well this year. It's just bad luck, and that's rugby league.
"You have a look at the teams that are flying high at the moment and they've had some good luck with injuries. Some years you have it, and some years you don't, and we haven't had it so far this year.
"But our destiny is still in our hands, and that's a lot more than we can say about a few other teams."
After three wins on the trot the Sea Eagles have stormed back into finals contention, but they can ill afford a slip up in the next six weeks.
The equation is fairly simple for Manly, with the 2011 premiers needing to win five of their next six matches to avoid a repeat of last year's disappointing ninth-place finish.
The Sea Eagles face the Newcastle Knights this weekend before they head to Parramatta to face an Eels side with nothing to play for in 2016.
It's the sort of draw most teams dream of at this stage of the season, but Buhrer said any notion of the Sea Eagles just having to show up to claim another two wins was far from a fait accompli.
"It's good that we've made a start on it, but the teams we're playing over the next couple of weeks have nothing to lose," he said.
"Newcastle have got a lot of good, young players that are looking to make a name for themselves, so we can't clock off against them.
"Speaking to a few boys in there, it's amazing what a few wins can do to a dressing room.
"Everyone's bouncing around in there and they're excited, and so we should be. We've worked really hard to get here, but we've got a lot of hard work left to do because we're still looking to play finals footy."
