Sterlo: Story behind the injury that cut short Tigers forward Simon Dwyer's NRL career

STERLO takes a look at the heartbreaking story of Simon Dwyer, who's NRL career was cut short by a horror injury. Video

Simon Dwyer

SIMON Dwyer's life changed forever in July 2011.

At that early stage of his NRL career, the Wests Tigers forward was considered one of the brightest prospects in the game. But after attempting what looked to be a regulation tackle on Canterbury prop Michael Hodgson, Dwyer was left on the deck, never to play at the elite level again.

After a change of direction from Hodgson caught Dwyer in an awkward position, the contact made on his neck and shoulder did irreversable nerve damage.

Dwyer didn't give up hope, having radical surgery to give himself a chance of getting on the field again.

The Tigers have supported his long journey through rehab, but it now looks as if a miracle recovery is too much to ask.

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Click on the video at the top of the page to watch part of the Simon Dwyer feature, to air on Sterlo tonight. Tune into Sterlo LIVE on Fox Sports 1HD, from 7.30pm (EST) tonight!

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Dwyer's story has touched the hearts of many a rugby league fan, and on Thursday night his injury nightmare will be examined in depth by Sterlo, in a feature to be run on the Fox Sports rugby league show.

The detail is eye-popping.

Simon Dwyer

"They took nerves from my back, my diaphragm and my forearm - also the left side of my neck, and they re-directed them all into my shoulder and hoped they would grow," Dwyer tells Sterlo.

"Nerves grow an inch a month, so they needed to grow from where they got put in my shoulder, all the way down to my fingertips. So it's just a bit of a waiting game."

Looking back on the incident when Dwyer went down, his young teammate Aaron Woods remembers thinking it was nothing more than a bit of a head knock.

"I was actually on the bench at the time. I only thought he got knocked out - I didn't think it was too serious," Woods said.

And while coach Mick Potter wasn't at the Tigers when Dwyer was injured, since arriving at the start of this season he has seen the impact it's had on the club.

"It was potentially a good tackle and he just got the player in the wrong position. It's a real tragedy for him. He was such a bright prospect."