For Isaac Ulberg, the Hunter Wildfires' clash against Sydney University at No.2 Sportsground on Saturday is more than just a return to the Shute Shield for the Maitland winger. It coincides with the anniversary of his father Ed's heart transplant, marking a full-circle moment for Ulberg and his own health struggles.
Ulberg's father spent eight months in the Heart Unit at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney in mid-2024. Initially, Isaac moved to Sydney and signed with Sydney University to be closer to his dad while dealing with osteitis pubis, but he never played for the Students.
"Dad was on the transplant list, went in and the heart was not suitable," Ulberg said. "Time was going by and I was not enjoying being down there and I wasn't getting any better with my own injury. I made the call to come back. He stayed and ended up getting the transplant. Everything's good now. It was 12 months on Thursday since the transplant."
Ulberg required a second surgery on his groin and returned for the final few games in second grade last season. "I was definitely not myself. Very underdone," he said. "In the middle of 2024 I had a workplace injury. I skinned my shin. It's been a big two years. I wouldn't change it believe it or not. It gave me a different perspective on life. After seeing what dad went through—he was on life support and spent eight months in hospital—the setbacks I had, it makes them small compared to what he went through."
Now fully fit, Ulberg is aiming to return to the form that earned him a place on the Shute Shield team of the year in 2023. He missed two matches with a hamstring issue and earned a recall after a standout display in a 29-27 win over Gordon in second grade last round, replacing Brendan Plummer.
Wildfires director of rugby Darren Coleman praised Ulberg's resilience. "Isaac had a couple of really good seasons in 2022 and 2023. He was scoring tries for fun and doing really well. Since then, he has been through a lot of family stresses and health issues of his own. He had a really complex groin issue. He has stuck at it and we are really happy to see him get a shot this week. He gets in the game and goes searching for the ball. He is not the biggest, strongest, fastest but he has a high work rate and good footy sense."
The Wildfires are coming off an embarrassing 66-54 defeat to Gordon in which they conceded 10 tries. Ulberg is the only change to the backline. In the forwards, Jono Downes comes in at loosehead prop and Eyda Haisil gets a chance at openside breakaway, with TJ Talaileva moving to blindside.
"The players knew my feelings on Saturday afternoon," Coleman said. "We reviewed it pretty honestly, like you always do. We just have to park it and get on with it. Funnily enough, our tackle percentage is really good. We are sitting third in the league on tackles made percentage. Everything we feared around their speed and their ball movement was what they delivered. We have really focused on our defence this week, but more our system and our movement. To be in the right places and making the right decisions. You've got to get on with it. You can't smack a kid five times for the same thing, five days in a row. You have to move on and try and get them up."
