Chris Houston says it felt like his first day at school as he took the first steps in mending his shattered NRL career on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old fringe State of Origin player's future was thrown into limbo last March when he was placed on drugs supply charges and stood down from the Newcastle Knights.

He was cleared of all charges by Magistrate Elaine Truscott 18 days ago, paving the way to re-sign with the club and rejoin his teammates as they resumed training for 2011.

"I've been welcomed back by the boys and the club on my first day and it's just good to be back doing something that I really love," said Houston, breaking the silence he maintained during the nine-month ordeal as he addressed reporters after training in Newcastle.

"I suppose it's like your first day at school, but that sort of got squashed straight away being back with the same group of guys."

Houston said he did not feel he owed the club anything but was sorry for his parents having to cope with what they went through and was grateful for the support of teammates.

"I don't think I have to pay anyone back. Obviously I stood down from the club because of the situation," said Houston.

"In the next two years that I've been re-signed for I'm going to do everything I can to play well and contribute to the team."

The second-rower revealed that the support of teammates and family was crucial in getting his career back on track after spending 10 months in rugby league purgatory.

"I felt sorry for my parents having to cop what they had to cop living back down the coast, but they knew how I felt and we're a pretty tight family."

"Being away from 25 of your good mates, and I suppose you work for 10 years to get where you are in the game, and it gets taken away pretty quickly.

"You've got 25 to 30 teammates as part of the club, but they're your mates outside of football as well.

"That's the thing about Newcastle, you all live in such a small place and you hang out not just at training but at social events, so their support has been outstanding.

"That's another plus about living in a one-team town, you've got a supportive community and everybody's been great."

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