“Learning to walk again, by the time I left hospital I could get into a decent walk again but that took a fair while, a few weeks there to get back to my normal self.

“‘Lucky to be alive’, was what the doctors told me.”

Merritt’s recovery and return to the public eye is a sight for sore ones at South Sydney.

The Rabbitohs are currently in the midst of a low similar to those Merritt experienced for much of his early career.

As quiet off the field as he was enterprising and electrifying on it, his try-scoring feats endured throughout the first decade of the 2000s, most memorably bagging an NRL-topping 22 tries despite Souths slumping to the 2006 wooden spoon.

“To hear what happened to him and see him here after making a full recovery, it’s unbelievable,” Indigenous veteran Cody Walker said.

“He epitomises what Souths is about. He’s a fighter, he was always in [the] game when he was playing, always floating around the footy, he broke records at the club.

“He had the hairstyle like Ronaldo the soccer player, he was just one of those players. I still remember the field goal he kicked that day at the SCG from the scrum line (delivering a last-second win over Wests Tigers in 2009), just crazy plays that not many could do.

“He’s a local junior, grew up in Waterloo, and that’s just what the club’s about.”

Merritt’s collapse and life-threatening ordeal triggered waves of inquiries and well-wishes, not just from South Sydney and local rugby league circles but right across the game.

His involvement in this year’s Indigenous Round celebrations carries similar weight for the one-time flying winger with 237 NRL appearances and 154 tries to his name.

“It stopped me in my tracks for sure, but I’m just grateful, grateful to be breathing again,” Merritt said.

“I’ve just been slowly getting back into life and just appreciating every day that I’ve got. Just being a father to my kids, that’s what I’m focusing on and taking advantage of that. I’ve got five: two 19-year-olds, a 15-year-old and two nine-year-olds.

“The support I had: it was pretty overwhelming. The hospital room was packed out a lot of the time when I was in there. I can’t say how much I appreciate that support.

Loading

“I can’t remember that first moment when I came to, I was in a different world, but I remember all the family with me.

“To be back at the club now and helping to hand out a medal with Eric Simms’ name on it (awarded to the man of the match on Saturday night), he’s one of the greats for this club and the game. That’s a really special moment for me and I’m really looking forward to it.”

NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now