Bulldogs winger Reimis Smith broke leg in such brutal fashion players vomited on field

IMAGINE a sound so bloodcurdling a bunch of rugby league players spewed their pre-game carbohydrates all over the WIN Stadium turf.

IMAGINE a sound so bloodcurdling a bunch of rugby league players spewed their pre-game carbohydrates all over the WIN Stadium turf.

Even more horrifying was the image that came after the sickening noise.

Canterbury flyer Reimis Smith had just suffered a gruesome injury during a NSW Cup match in 2016.

And no, the sound wasn’t him screaming in agony.

The noise belonged to Smith’s tibia and fibula, which had just snapped under the pressure of an awkward tackle.

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Reimis Smith suffered a horror broken leg in 2016. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Smith squirms uncomfortably as he recalls that cold winter’s Saturday afternoon in Wollongong. The sound that almost derailed his promising NRL career still rings through his mind.

“Yeah I heard they vomited, it echoed through the entire stadium, it was pretty crazy. I do remember one of the boys spewed straight away and the others were freaking out,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.

“When it happened I was in shock obviously but the green whistle helped me settle down a bit and numbed the pain.”

Only 19 years old at the time, the rookie winger remembered fearing the worst. He’d been called up to make his top-grade debut against Canberra earlier in the year by then coach Des Hasler.

“I just thought about all the hard work I had put in, I made my NRL debut that year and was hoping to get another run. It was actually only a couple of weeks after I made my debut so that was upsetting,” he said.

“That was going through my head, all that hard work was all of a sudden gone in an instant.”

That small taste of NRL football would then become his single motivation to return to the field.

Smith has been sensational for the Bulldogs since getting a mid-season call up. Picture: Brett Costello

“I was so determined to come back. After what I’d done in that year, making my debut and the rest of it, I thought there is no way I want to go out like this,” he said.

Smith required surgery to put his shattered left leg back together.

He still has a rod and three screws holding it all in place. He says they’ll remain there until they become a “hassle”.

Mostly he’s trying to avoid the three-month recovery required to get the metal removed.

The Mascot Jets junior is building a name for himself as a speedster and he only enhanced that reputation last Sunday when he streaked past Matt Dufty to score one of his three tries against the Dragons.

Smith pictured playing for the Bulldogs in the 2016 NSW Cup season.

Remarkably, Smith says he’s just as quick now as he was before the break thanks to a gruelling rehab program which included coaching from former sprinter Matt Shirvington.

“My leg was just skin because all the muscle had deteriorated. I had to learn to use that leg again and when I could walk again I was limping. It was bad,” he said.

“But I think I’m at nearly the same speed now. Matt Shirvington did a bit of work me, I took a couple of leaves out of his book and did stuff by myself like short drills and explosive drills that help build fast twitch fibres.

“It was a long journey but it was worth it now.”

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Originally published as Bulldogs winger Reimis Smith broke leg in such brutal fashion players vomited on field