Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Corey Harawira-Naera has finally received the news he has been waiting two years to hear: there are no medical, legal or regulatory impediments to an NRL return.
“I think there would be tears, to be honest,” the Kiwi forward said of the prospect of resuming his footballing career.
“It’s been a journey. For some it’s been a short two years, but for me it’s been pretty bloody long, to be frank. To have an opportunity, I have butterflies just thinking about it. I’m ready.”
Harawira-Naera’s last game was on May 27, 2023. On that fateful night, in a clash against South Sydney, the Canberra forward suffered a seizure that threatened to prematurely end his career.
Since then, the 29-year-old has undergone a battery of tests, administered by some of the nation’s best medical minds, in an effort to determine two things: why it happened, and whether he is capable of playing again.
While it has proven impossible to determine the cause of the incident, Harawira-Naera last week got an answer to the second question. He has been cleared to make a comeback.
Corey Harawira-Naera is poised to make an unlikely NRL return.Credit: Getty
Should an NRL club try to lodge a contract for Harawira-Naera, the governing body has no reason not to register it.
“We’ve gotten to a place where I can start looking ahead and planning to get back on the field,” he said. “Knowing in the back of my mind that there’s a chance of getting back on the field, I felt lighter straight away. A whole lot of heavy head noise subsided pretty quickly.”
Not long after Harawira-Naera suffered the seizure, his manager, George Mimis, out of concern advised him: “If you were my son, I’d tell you to hang them up.”
But at the request of his client, Mimis explored every available avenue to determine what life on and off the field could look like.
“Initially when it happened, I didn’t think I’d be OK with hanging up my boots without knowing if I could play again or not,” Harawira-Naera said.
“Everyone was telling me to give up because it was so unprecedented and no one has been through something like this before in rugby league, [but] I didn’t feel content giving up without trying.”
Harawira-Naera eventually learnt that the combination of medication and the installation of an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) – a small, battery operated device implanted under the skin in the armpit to monitor and treat life-threatening heart arrhythmias – effectively ensured there are no heart issues.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s been pretty taxing. Mainly mentally,” the former Panthers and Bulldogs forward said of his time in limbo.
“Sometimes you just want to have an answer instead of not knowing. I couldn’t plan ahead, I didn’t know what I was doing next week for a good two years in a row.
Corey Harawira-Naera taking a hit-up just before the incident in 2023.Credit: Getty
“There was no deadline to work towards, that was the biggest drainer of my energy. Is it done? Am I chance? Do I hang the boots up?”
Ultimately, Harawira-Naera doesn’t have to. While he was waiting for the good news, there was another question that had to be answered: do I really want to play footy again?
“I had a really good chat with one of my mates … No one had asked me how much you really want to play before,” he said.
“I dwelled on that for a good couple of weeks, watched just about every game those weekends, and thought, ‘Damn, I can still play this, I can still contribute to a team’.
“I’ve just got to get myself in peak fitness and buy into a team’s protocols or values. Watching games and how I can contribute to a team, I’ve still got confidence in myself.
“I’ve just got to get to a place that will allow me to get back to my best and have enough time to do that.”
There is little Mimis hasn’t seen during his time in rugby league. He has helped guide the careers of some of the most influential figures in the game, but a Harawira-Naera comeback would be one of the highlights.
“He is one resilient human being,” Mimis said. “I have goosebumps [thinking about it]. I have a tear in my eye now.”
Harawira-Naera believes the unexpected sabbatical may prolong his career.
“It is how I look at it,” he said. “These are the years when you start carrying niggles and injuries that you play through. I’ve had a fair bit of time off. Managing the niggles I had at this age is definitely going to help get back onto the field.”
When the incident first occurred, Harawira-Naera’s son Elijah was so traumatised that he gave away rugby league. Now seven years old, he has returned to the game. If a club still believes he can add value, so too will his father.
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