Rugby league is one of the most physical sports on the planet – players putting their bodies on the line week after week, with little to no self-welfare, striving for glory.
Only a small group get to say they accomplished all they wanted to and retired when they were ready.
Most unfortunately don’t get to call it a day on their terms. They may have ticked all the boxes, but knew they still had more to give.
Or they were a young star, still on their way to reaching rugby league greatness, but their bodies and the medical world had other ideas.
So far this season we have seen three legends of the game retire due to injury. On Monday, Boyd Cordner stepped away from the game due to numerous head knocks and concussions. Earlier this year, Jake Friend had to make the same call for the same reason. And Brett Morris called it a day after tearing his ACL.
While all three players had nothing left to prove, they would still be playing today if it wasn’t for injury.
Many others have had abrupt endings to their careers. Some had reached the highest peak, and others were still on their way to the top.
Alex McKinnon was a hard-working second rower who played for the Dragons and the Knights. He represented New South Wales in the Under 20s State of Origin, as well as the Junior Kangaroos. While playing for the Knights against Melbourne in 2014, at only 22 years of age, McKinnon was hit in an illegal tackle which left him quadriplegic.
Sam Burgess was one of the toughest enforcers in the modern era, playing 182 games for South Sydney and representing England on the world stage, always as a dominant presence. He was a vital part of Souths’ 2014 grand final win against Canterbury, showing his toughness by playing with a fractured eye socket that he received in the first minute of the game. Burgess announced his retirement in 2019 after numerous shoulder injuries, and having surgery that resulted in an infection that stopped him from getting back to his best.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Andrew Johns won two grand finals with the Newcastle Knights, represented NSW in 23 games and Australia in two World Cups. The eighth Immortal accomplished more than most could dream of, but his career was cut short in 2007 at the age of 32. After a long list of injuries – the most famous being a punctured lung that he played with during the 1997 grand final – Johns finally had to wave the white flag due to a bulging disk in his neck that could have caused major spinal damage had he continued to play.
It would have been wonderful to see just how far Taniela Tuiaki could have gone. A lightning-fast winger, he played three and a half seasons with the Wests Tigers, broke records for most tries scored in a season by a Tigers player, and was named Dally M Winger of the Year in 2009. Unfortunately, after missing the whole 2010 season due to an ankle injury, Tuiaki had to admit defeat and retire.
Canterbury, Parramatta and Wests Tigers hard man Jarrod McCracken also skippered his beloved New Zealand, but his long and successful career was cut short in May 2000 in a game against Melbourne, from a spear tackle by Marcus Bai and Stephen Kearny. McCracken later successfully sued both players and the club over the tackle.
Jharal Yow Yeh was destined to be a superstar. A vital player in Brisbane’s attack, he was also selected for Queensland and Australia by the time he was 22. But in 2012, the young winger went up to catch a cross-filed bomb, landed poorly and suffered a devastating compound fracture to his ankle. Ten operations and two years later, despite so much determination to get back on the field, Yow Yeh succumbed to the injury and in 2014 announced his retirement – a devastating way for a certain future champion to end his career.
It’s always sad to see players retire – fronting the media with tears in their eyes, telling the world they are giving up the game they love – but you feel so sorry for those who have had the decision made for them. When their heart just couldn’t argue with the rest of their body anymore.
Whether they are remembered as royalty, or the young player who had such a bright future ahead of them, it must be so hard to live with the question of ‘what if’, sitting at the back of their mind.
Offloader
Guest
When you’re third man in tackling and rarely take the defensive line on when running the ball it’s fairly easy to not get injured.
andrew
Roar Rookie
Makes you wonder how Cam Smith got to 400 games without serious injury. That'll be one hard record to get near let alone break in the NRL.
Danielle Smith
Editor
That's it KK, having the head highs and foul play getting stamped out of the game can only be a positive thing for keeping players playing longer.
Danielle Smith
Editor
Totally agree Paul. You hope that advice/preparation/courses etc are offered to the players through the clubs for life after footy. They all can't be coaches and commentators.
kk
Roar Pro
Lady League, There are scores, even hundreds, of players from all grades who have been forced to retire early because of injuries. The players rarely admit to any regrets. The wives tell a different story of health and financial problems, many still unresolved. The steps to reduce foul play may reduce early retirements considerably.
Paul
Roar Guru
This piece highlights just how critical it is Clubs work with players and their support members to make sure the player has something to look forward to when they have to stop playing. As others have mentioned, the average life expectancy of a "normal" NRL career is only 50 or 60 games, so being prepared for the next stage of life is critical. Seriously hard to do though for a young fella who's only known footy all of their 20 odd years.
Danielle Smith
Editor
Ha! Thanks Andrew01. Yes, you are right with Greg Inglis, Adam Ritson, and there was also Matt Gillett and Michael Morgan - so many more I could have added.
Danielle Smith
Editor
That's right Nat, there would be so many up and comers that never had the chance to play at top level due to a very early injury.
Andrew01
Roar Rookie
You forgot Greg Inglis who had his career cut short by injury and.... ohh wait.... never mind. Seriously though, good list. Taniela Tuiaki is a name I had not thought about for a few years. Adam Ritson is another who was all the rage as a young front rower. Given the current climate I am suprised hasn't been targeted by the media for comment (unless he has signed something in his law suit against the Raiders to say he won't). Every club has that kid who was going to be something and injury ruined what could have been. I recall Danny Sullivan coming through the Eels system as a young backrower with a "skys the limit" tag and winning their rookie of the year award around 2001/2002 before doing his knee missing a year, getting a second chance with the Warriors but only getting through one game.
Nat
Roar Guru
I was going to say 'good list' but that doesn't seem right? The start of a long list of quality players and let's be honest, only the very few get to retire on their own terms. Isn't the ave first grade career 50 - 60 games? That's just the guys who make it, how many guys have devastating injuries playing park footy? I've personally seen everything from compound fractures to broken necks in my playing days. Conversely, I look at the Sam Burgess scenario. Some players are more bogged up than an old ute by the time they retire/d. For the reasons above, a very short career window the players will happily comply unaware they will barely be able to walk by the time they are 40yo. Clubs will keep a great player on the park as long as they can but I wonder if that crosses a moral line from a medical standpoint? Much like the concussion debate I suppose.
Max power
Guest
Taniela Tuiaki - he was not lightning fast
Tony
Roar Guru
Rugby league certainly chews them up and spits them out, and career ending injuries don't discriminate between either rookies or legends. The intensity of the modern game makes me wonder how many more 200 + game players we'll see in the future.