IT was the hollow, crunching sound that ultimately ended Jack Lewis' 2019 NSW State Cup campaign.
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Lewis was on the attack for Port Macquarie during their 4-3 semi-final victory over Wallsend on December 8 when took the line on and attempted a miracle round-the-corner pass as he fell.
The pass fell short of the mark, but left the 24-year-old lying prone on the deck just in front of the tryline on field three at Tuffins Lane.
Play was held up for more than five minutes which enabled all the necessary precautions to be taken.
"It was like a hollow crunching sound and I'd never heard anything like it before and straight away I knew that it didn't sound good," Lewis recalled.
"I was thinking 'I might just move to see if it's all sweet' and when it started grabbing and there was a little bit of pain I knew something wasn't awesome."
Fortunately, doctor Kay Coleman was one of the first on the scene with a simple message - don't move.
"I could still feel all my limbs and everything and there were no pins and needles so I wasn't too sure what to do," Lewis said.
"Everyone was telling me not to move and I guess I've never been in a situation like that before, so I didn't really know how to react."
Lewis is now on the road to recovery and knows things could have been far worse, but his first instinct was to keep playing as the Makos progressed to a rare mixed open final where they were beaten 5-4 by Eastern Suburbs.
"I really just wanted to make sure I got to play in the final that afternoon; that was all that was going through my head," he said.
"To be in that situation numerous times before where we hadn't made it through the semi-finals and at this point we had, I wanted to get on the touch field.
"But at the same time I just knew I had to do what I was being told to do and take all the precautions to make sure everything was sweet."
He admits it was disappointing not to be able to contribute in the final against a team he regularly plays for in the Sydney competition most weeks.
"At the time I wasn't happy at all because I was missing the final, but looking back now I'm pretty happy to be able to play touch footy again on another day," he said.
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