Meredith was holidaying with a handful of his Panther teammates in Kuta at New Year when he became seriously ill after being bitten by a snake.

“I had no idea what was wrong with me,” he said yesterday.

“I thought it might have been some of the home brew over there but that night I got pretty crook with cold sweats and muscle cramps and aches and that stuff.

“My veins went black and glands were swollen up so it was a bit of a worry for a while.”

The 20-year-old went to a doctor the following day after discovering a red mark on his leg and was told he had been bitten by a snake.

He was immediately put on anti-biotics and antihistamines.

“I didn’t even see a snake, let alone think I had been bitten by one,” he said.

“The language barrier between me and the doctor wasn’t great so he couldn’t tell me what sort of snake it was.

“I was pretty much back to normal after two days though.

“My leg was pretty ugly for a while but other than that I was alright.”

Meredith went for his first run on Wednesday and will resume training with Lavington next week.

The lightly framed ruckman and key position player said his first task would be trying to regain the weight he had lost during the holiday.

“I probably haven’t got five kilograms to lose,” he laughed.

Meredith was one of the big positives to emerge for Lavington last season, with the athletic utility playing 19 matches including a near best on ground performance against Wangaratta Rovers during the finals.

“It was good to play senior footy last season and I’m looking forward to getting back into it,” he said.

“Hopefully we can all keep improving.”