NRL 2024: Dragons star Hame Sele opens up on terrifying moment he was rushed to hospital during NRL game

Hame Sele thought he was having a heart attack on the sideline of a Dragons NRL game last season. In his first interview since, Sele opens up on the terrifying ordeal and reveals his journey towards returning to the field.

A terrified Hame Sele felt like his “chest was caving in” as he struggled to breathe while sitting on the sidelines during a St George Illawarra game in August.

Almost three months on, Sele is finally able to reflect on the terrifying ordeal where his immediate health – and possibly his career - hung in the balance.

Sele had been struggling with flu-like symptoms in the lead-up to the round 23 clash. Little did he know there was something more sinister happening inside his body.

It came to a head after Sele left the field, having played the opening 21 minutes at prop for the Dragons against Canterbury at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.

“It was obviously a scary moment, I thought I was having a heart attack on the sideline,” Sele said.

“(Zac) Lomax scored and I got up to celebrate and I just felt this weird pain all of a sudden. I told the doctor that I needed some pain medication.

Hame Sele is helped into an ambulance after suffering chest pains.

“It just happened really quickly. I felt like my chest was caving in with a sharp pain. I was lucky that Raymond Faitala-Mariner noticed it. He was sitting next to me and called the doctor over.

“They rushed me into the sheds. It was crazy. It was just a scary experience.

“I was telling them I was in so much pain and I had never felt pain like this before. I thought I was going to collapse, the pain was that bad.”

Sele was taken by ambulance to St George Hospital, where he was diagnosed with pericarditis – the sack around his heart was inflamed.

It explained the pain he had been suffering in the lead-up to the game against Canterbury.

Hame Sele said he was experiencing pain prior to the Bulldogs match. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

“A couple of weeks before that I’d been sick with fevers and feeling weak,” Sele said.

“I had the sweats at night and a bad cough. The week before (the Canterbury match) we played Melbourne.

“The night before the game I started feeling chest pain and I was feeling a bit weird but I didn’t tell the doctor because the next day we had a game to play. After the game I had a 5/10 pain in my chest…they thought maybe the ribs were inflamed from coughing.

“I had X-rays and it came up that everything was fine. Nothing we could do so I played (against Canterbury).”

Hame Sele is looking positive for a return to the field in 2025. Picture: Jane Dempster

Sele spent four nights in hospital and was told his season was over.

Sele has been cleared to resume training in the past month and has been doing his own sessions. He will join the rest of his St George Illawarra teammates when pre-season resumes later this month and will be able to do full contract.

“I kind of thought my career was probably over,” Sele said.

“Lucky they did all their tests to see what was causing the problem and told me it was a quick and easy fix with the right medications.

“I’m lucky to come out on the other side fit and healthy. They’ve told me I will be all right.

“I’m trying to find my feet again.”

Originally published as NRL 2024: Dragons star Hame Sele opens up on terrifying moment he was rushed to hospital during NRL game