Deine Mariner was in danger of losing his right leg before it was saved by emergency surgery, so when he woke up in hospital his first reaction was priceless.
“To be honest, I didn't think about it too much because when I woke up, I saw my leg still there, so I was like, ‘Oh, it'd be pretty bad if I woke up and my leg wasn't there’,” the Brisbane winger said.
“But I didn't think of it even after. I know people were saying that I could have (lost it), but I didn't. So, you know, I'm just pretty lucky to be in this position.”
Mariner was speaking at Broncos HQ after six surgeries at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital to get his leg in condition to fly home from Sydney after suffering compartment syndrome in his right thigh. The syndrome is a condition that restricts blood flow and can lead to amputation if untreated.
“They’ve never seen it before in the thigh. It's pretty common in the shin I think, but even the doctors were saying that they've never seen this before,” Mariner said.
“So, you know, it's just one of those bad luck situations. But I've accepted it, so it's fine.”
The rare condition escalated after the round-nine loss to the Roosters at Sydney Football Stadium, when the 2025 premiership winner came off and then went back on after initially believing he had sustained a cork.
At 2.30am, in bed at the team hotel, he knew he had a problem and rang team physio Luke Anning and team doctor Matt Hislop.
“That’s when I really started to feel a lot of pain and I couldn't move,” he said.
“They actually gave me the early diagnosis of the compartment syndrome, which I had never heard of before.
“They rushed me straight to hospital, so I was pretty lucky to have Luke and Matt with me.
“I got rushed into surgery, so I didn't really get to understand what was happening. All I knew was that there was a lot of pressure on my leg at the time.”
Six surgeries later the 23-year-old said he was in a “good headspace” and targeting a return this year.
“I think we're looking around the eight-week mark,” Mariner said.
“It gives me a bit more hunger to get back out there. I will always back myself to get back to my best footy, but right now I'm just focused on recovering well.
“It's just about getting my leg to fully bend. At the moment it's stuck a bit, so once that opens up, I'll be able to start moving again. That will be my main focus the next couple of weeks.”
Mariner’s outstanding attitude will help him get through.
“I tried to look at the bright side of things. You know, I was still breathing. I'm still alive,” he said.
“And I think being in ICU, I saw a lot of other people that don't get a second chance, so I was pretty grateful to obviously have my leg.”
