‘I was never coming back’: Foran’s journey from retiring at 25 to 250 games

Kieran Foran was 25. And he was gone.

The playing style that made him the game’s most fearless playmaker was lived twice as fast off the field.

A near-reckless disregard for his body when he dug into a defensive line was taken to punting and pubs, Foran’s home life and mental state crumbling to the point of an overdose and attempted suicide in April 2015.

So he walked. Away from Parramatta, away from an eye-watering, a near-$5 million deal, and away from rugby league.

“I’ve never spoken in too much depth about that decision,” Foran says.

“But at that point I was 25 and I was well and truly ready to not come back to the NRL.

“I was gone. When I walked away from the game, I was focused on fixing my life and getting on top of the chaotic mess that my life was then. Deep down, when I left Parramatta, I was never coming back.”

Foran eventually got on top of things and did come back, working part-time in retail and proving to the NRL Integrity Unit and the Warriors he was worthy of another shot.

Manly’s clash with Melbourne will be his 250th at the top level and his 103rd since first walking away seven years ago.

An unfortunate game of ‘hamstrings, shoulders, back and toes’ that covers only half of Foran’s injuries since ensured an early retirement was never truly far from his thinking.

“Once I made the decision to come back (in 2016) it was all about the fightback for me,” he says.

Kieran Foran’s injury woes at Canterbury had him considering retirementCredit:NRL Imagery

“It’s grown every single year since then. But during my horrible injury run at Canterbury, I definitely wondered a few times if I was done. The dislocated shoulder for the Kiwis (in 2019), coming back from a few injuries, working hard to get back then doing my shoulder two minutes into a Test match, that was one of a few periods at Canterbury where I was wondering if I’d even get another opportunity.”

Where once even the Storm weighed up taking a chance on Foran, by the end of 2020 it was only Des Hasler backing him in and ultimately bringing him back to Manly.

And Foran could finally stop fighting.

“There were periods at the Warriors and Canterbury where I did enjoy myself, but there was just so many injuries for me,” he says.

‘Outside of my family, no one has believed in me more than Des.’

“I was always fighting and it always felt that way for five years where I just couldn’t get things right no matter what I did. My body was failing me. Whether that was a by-product of how I played or how I lived when I was younger, it just all caught up with me. It’s tough to look back on those years.

“They should have been the best years of my career, instead I was fighting injuries the whole time. Coming back to Manly, I found that week-to-week enjoyment again.

“Outside of my family, no one has believed in me more than Des. When people have said they wouldn’t offer me a contract, Des has always believed that I’ve got something to offer.

“So you have a want and an urge to repay those people in your life, and I hope I’ve done that with Des over the past 18 months and over the next few months.”

Kieran Foran is headed to the Gold Coast after making the most of his Manly lifeline.Credit:Getty

Finally injury-free, playing alongside great mate Daly Cherry-Evans and acting as link man for Tom Trbojevic in one of the finest individual seasons in rugby league history last year, footy is fun once more for Foran.

Now 31, he isn’t wondering where his next game will come from. He’s turned Hasler’s lifeline into a fine Sea Eagles swansong and a two-year deal with the Gold Coast from next season.

Even if Foran’s shopping list of injuries over his career had only been halved, Thursday night’s milestone could easily have been the fabled 300-game mark.

An easy link to Trbojevic’s latest season-ender presents itself. Foran can comprehend suggestions Manly’s main man could be shifted from fullback in the name of preservation, but scoffs all the same, just as he has whenever something similar has been put to him.

“I would still recommend my way of playing,” he says. “It’s taught me a hell of a lot about life. It’s not always smooth sailing.

“As a kid I had a vision of what my career would look like and how I wanted it to go. It’s been nothing like that. It’s been twists and turns and highs and lows, but I’ve gained so much from that.

“It’s helped me through life and hopefully I’ve been able to help other people when they’ve gone through tough times or struggled at various points of their lives.”

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