Steve Deane: The 10 greatest comebacks

Stacey Jones' return to the NRL is one of many remarkable comeback stories. Photo / Greg Bowker

In honour of league legend Stacey Jones' announced comeback with the Warriors next season, Steve Deane ponders the greatest comebacks of all time.

1: The Rumble in the Jungle - Muhammad Ali v George Foreman

On April 28, 1967, at his scheduled induction to the US armed forces, the undisputed, undefeated heavyweight champion refused three times to step forward at the call of his name.

"I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong," Ali famously said.

It was a stance that cost him his boxing licence and saw him sentenced to five years in prison. His successful Supreme Court appeal meant he never served time but he did lose his boxing licence and what should have been three of the best years of his career.

When he eventually returned to the ring, a couple of scratchy warm-up wins preceded a first career loss, to Joe Frazier, and then another to Ken Norton, who broke his jaw. But the self-professed "greatest" defeated Norton and Frazier in rematches to set up what would become the most famous sporting upset of all time - the Rumble in the Jungle victory over big, bad George Foreman, which saw him reclaim the WBA and WBC heavyweight belts.

2: C'est magnifique - Lance Armstrong v cancer

On October 2, 1996, the good but far-from-great American cyclist was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which had already spread to his lungs, abdomen and brain. He underwent brain surgery, had a testicle removed and endured an alternative form of chemotherapy designed to avoid damaging his lungs.

Simply surviving such a brush with death would be enough for most people but Armstrong returned to professional cycling in 1998 with renewed vigour.

In 1999 he won the first of a record seven consecutive Tours de France - a run of success that earned him worldwide adulation and girlfriends such as Sheryl Crow and Kate Hudson.

But being a poster boy for cancer recovery hasn't saved Armstrong from accusations he cheated by using EPO. Armstrong maintains that, despite being the most tested athlete in history, he never tested positive for a banned substance. Earlier this year he announced he would return to cycling "in order to raise awareness of the global cancer burden".

But his comeback is already tinged with controversy as Armstrong is refusing permission for the blood samples from his 1999 Tour victory to be re-tested for EPO, which wasn't detectable at the time.

3: Nightmare becomes a dream - Josh Hamilton v cocaine

"To let you know how far I've come, let me tell you where I've been. Not that long ago, there were nights I went to sleep in strange places praying I wouldn't wake up."

Those are the opening words of crack addict-turned-baseball superstar Josh Hamilton's account of how he plumbed the depths of despair before staging a recovery that warmed hearts all over America.

The first pick in the 1999 Major League Baseball draft, Hamilton received a US$3.96 million signing bonus from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. His problems began when some buddies convinced him to blow the lot on drugs and booze. Failed drug tests, bans and sackings followed.

Three years and eight failed stints in rehab later, Hamilton kicked his habit. After a comeback season in Cincinnati, he was traded to the Texas Rangers where he became the first player to win back-to-back player of the month awards in the first two months of the season. He crowned his comeback by smashing a record 35 homers at the Home Run Derby.

"I've been called the biggest surprise in baseball," he said. "How many people have gone from being a crack addict to succeeding at anything?"

4: Grilling the doubters - George Foreman v Father Time

Almost 20 years after losing his title to Muhammad Ali in the Zaire Jungle, 45-year-old preacher and grill salesman George Foreman knocked out Michael Moorer to become the oldest heavyweight champion in history.

So distraught was Foreman at losing to Ali in Kinshasa that he retired.

His first comeback two years later was a disaster. After running out of puff and losing a 12-round decision to Jimmy Young in Puerto Rico, Foreman claimed he had endured a near-death experience.

His second comeback began in 1988 with a string of victories before, in 1991, he challenged Evander Holyfield. He went the distance, staggering Holyfield several times in the middle rounds with sharp jabs and clubbing combinations before the younger man's superior conditioning saw him close out the fight on points. At the final bell Foreman hugged Holyfield and said: "You're a great fighter".

5: The Air up there - Michael Jordan v baseball and the Utah Jazz

On March 18, 1995, Michael Jordan announced his return to the NBA with a two-word press release: "I'm back".

After dominating the basketball landscape for a decade and taking the concept of sports star marketing to dizzying new heights, No 23 had earlier shocked the sports world by chucking in the hoops to pursue a career in baseball. He eventually gave up the idea, returning to basketball.

Many questioned whether Jordan - who had led the Chicago Bulls to a three-peat of NBA titles from 1991-1993 - would be able to recapture his skills. It didn't take long for doubts to be erased, with Jordan leading the Bulls to another three-peat from 1996-1998. In the final game of the 1998 finals against Utah, with his team trailing 86-83 and 40 seconds left on the clock, Jordan scored from a lay-up, stripped Karl Malone and sank the winning basket - a perfect end to his career.

Pity he stuffed it up three years later in a failed comeback with the Washington Wizards.

6: A poster child for reformed burnouts - Jennifer Capriati v child burnout

A "poster child for burned out sports prodigies" - as the Chicago Sun-Times called her - at 13 Jennifer Capriati was already a match for most grown women.

She turned pro before her 14th birthday, knocking out four seeds in her first tournament, only losing the final. Three months later, she became the youngest semifinalist at the French Open, a feat she emulated at Wimbledon the following year.

The next year she won the women's singles gold medal at the Olympic Games in Barcelona but shoplifting and marijuana convictions followed soon after she quit the tour. An attempted comeback in 1994 lasted just one match but in 1996 a second attempt saw her begin a steady rise that would culminate in the World No 1 ranking.

7: Doing it by 'Alf - Allan Langer v New South Wales

When the champion Brisbane, Queensland and Kangaroos halfback quit the Broncos mid-way through the 1999 season, a truly great career looked to have ended. With 240 first grade games, 30 State of Origin matches and 23 tests to his name, the jaded Langer seemed to be a spent force.

With Super League still serving as a retirement home for washed up NRL stars, it was no surprise to see Langer take up a contract with Warrington Wolves the following year. Nor was it a surprise when Queensland coach Wayne Bennett recalled the ageing Langer from England for the deciding match of the 2001 Origin series - outright shock was more the reaction, with pundits queuing up to label it pure desperation.

Phil Gould was moved to question the depth of Queensland's football talent given they had to "bring back 35-year-olds to win". Langer's return, however, was a triumph as the oldest player to play Origin football set up two tries and scored one himself to lead Queensland to victory.

A year later he was lured back to the Broncos for one final season and again appeared in the Origin series, being named man-of-the-match in the third and deciding game.

8: Rough welcome for the tourists - Kevin Skinner v South Africa

Widely regarded as one of the toughest - and best - props New Zealand has produced, Skinner's return from the wilderness to "sort out" the Springboks' front row in 1956 is the stuff of legend.

As a 17-year-old Skinner broke into senior rugby with Dunedin club Pirates, but the rugged southerner took the next year off to concentrate on boxing, claiming the Otago and New Zealand heavyweight titles. On his return to rugby he broke into the Otago team and in 1949 the 21-year-old was selected for the All Blacks tour to South Africa.

He become a fixture in the team, racking up 61 appearances before retiring in 1954 to concentrate on his grocery business. In 1956 he took up a farming position in Waiuku and turned out for the local club and Counties.

With the four-test series against the Boks tied 1-1, legend has it Skinner was brought in to beat up the tourists' front row. In the third test in Christchurch, the story goes that Skinner started at tighthead, demolished his opponent with a liberal dose of illegal play, and then switched sides at halftime to repeat the effort on the Springbok tighthead.

9: Criticism not too much to Bear - Jack Nicklaus v the sceptics

Widely regarded as the man who took golf from a sport played by badly dressed rich folk to a spectator sport for the masses, the Golden Bear dominated golf for two decades. After picking up his first major, the US Open in 1962, Nicklaus picked up 16 more in 18 years. He won all four majors at least three times and notched over 100 professional wins.

But by 1986, the 46-year-old had won just two tournaments in five years. Before the Masters, a journalist said Nicklaus was "done, washed up, through". Nicklaus was enraged. "I kept thinking all week, 'Through, washed up, huh?' I sizzled for a while. But then I said to myself, 'I'm not going to quit now, playing the way I'm playing. I've played too well, too long to let a shorter period of bad golf be my last'."

On the back nine of the final round he shot a 6-under 30 to storm to victory and claim his sixth green jacket.

10: With a little help from my friends - Dara Torres v Mother Time

At 33, Dara Torres was the oldest member of the US swim team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Having sat out the 1996 Olympics, the freestyle sprint specialist's five-medal haul was hailed as a remarkable comeback.

This year in Beijing, when at 41 she became the first female swimmer beyond the age of 40 to compete at the Olympics, her three silver medals were greeted with deep suspicion. Many observers could not believe that a swimmer who first broke the 50m freestyle world record in 1981 could still be going strong 27 years and the birth of a child later.

Before she got near the pool, Torres was hounded by accusations of illegal substance use. But her success probably had more to do with her limitless financial resources, life of relative leisure and body-image issues.

In preparation for Beijing, the former bulimic's entourage included a head coach, sprint coach, strength coach, two stretchers, two masseuses, a chiropractor and a nanny, at the cost of at least US$100,000 ($178,000) per year.

Before races, the stretchers would spend 20 minutes limbering up the former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model's body. Nice work if you can get it.