Just over a year ago, NSW debutant Mitchell Barnett feared he had played his last game of football.
“I was pretty close to retiring,” Barnett recalled.
For the second time in his career, the Warriors forward suffered a neck injury that had the potential to be a career-ending one. The first occurred while playing for Newcastle in 2020. A regulation tackle with his left shoulder early that season left a stinging pain in the right one.
The issue was only corrected after a surgery described as an anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, a procedure that included the insertion of a bone graft to relieve the pressure on the nerves.
With his C6 and C7 vertebrate fused together, Barnett was able to resume playing without further incident, until he was the victim of a crusher tackle against the Cowboys in round three of last year. Representing his state was the furthest thing from his mind at the time.
“My elder son, he was just over 12 months old then,” Barnett said. “We were over there and I was in a lot of pain. Some of the advice I was getting from surgeons was probably pushing me [towards retirement] …
Mitchell Barnett has overcome adversity to debut for NSW.Credit: Getty Images
“It was crazy. I wrestled with it, because I was training every day and it just wasn’t getting better. I got myself to a state where I could play footy again, and I was playing and it was impacting my life off the field with the pain. Even just turning left and right driving a car. So I made sure I got through to the end of the year, played in a prelim, we had a good year as a club.
“The turnaround, playing Origin now. Everyone has their ups and downs in rugby league. Connor Watson, what he had to deal with [regarding injury]. Everyone has their story, and I’m just following my feet and happy to be here.”
Mitchell’s comeback story could have the ultimate ending if he is part of a rare Blues win in a decider at Suncorp Stadium. The 30-year-old is the only unforced change to a NSW side that was totally dominant in game two, coming in at the expense of Manly backrower Haumole Olakau’atu.
In a rare moment of reflection, as he prepares to make his interstate debut, Barnett stated: “What a turn around.”
Mitchell Barnett’s form for the Warriors has earned him a NSW Blues debut in the Origin series decider.Credit: Getty Images
“It brought up a lot of pain and nerve things again, just symptoms,” Barnett said of the second neck injury. “They weren’t going away. All the scans showed I had a non-union fusion. It was stable, but there was movement in there and hadn’t been fused properly.
“So there was a big gap between the vertebrae. They re-did the surgery, and I have a lot more bone growth now so it is fused together. It has relieved the pain.
“I had a couple of specialists look at it. There were a couple of options I could have taken. I had time off, but it didn’t really improve it. The second one I could have had another surgery where they went through the back, but I ended up opting for another one, which was the first one I had, where they go through the front. It was a great outcome for me.”
Barnett, arguably the most dominant forward on the field during last weekend’s loss to Canterbury, wants to make an impact off the bench against the Maroons.
“Obviously, the excitement is there, knowing you can live out a dream,” he said. “And the opportunity at hand to win for your state up at Suncorp, I am really looking forward to it.”
Meanwhile, Luke Keary has dropped out of the NSW Origin extended squad and been replaced by Sydney Roosters’ teammate Joseph Suaalii.
Keary has been playing and managing pubic bone stress, and while he is not expected to miss any game time – he could have played Origin III if required – the chance to rest during the bye round was beneficial.
Blues officials stressed Suaalii’s late addition was not tactical, and he would not leapfrog Matt Burton for 18th-man duties.
Bradman Best was the only injury concern with hamstring tightness, but he will train Saturday.
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