Robert ‘Dipper’ DiPierdomenico forced to wear nappy after urinary retention surgery

Footy toughman Robert ‘Dipper’ DiPierdomenico has opened up about suffering a health scare that forced him to wear a nappy.

Hawthorn premiership hero Robert “Dipper” DiPierdomenico has suffered a health scare he said was worse than any footy injury.

The renowned tough man who famously played on with broken ribs and a punctured lung in the 1989 grand final, has revealed he underwent surgery for urinary retention, a painful condition that caused him to urinate 30 to 40 times a day and forced him to wear a nappy.

After enduring the condition where the bladder fails to completely empty, DiPierdomenico is urging men to get their health checked — and not put up with the constant suffering he did.

“Fortunately it wasn’t cancer or my actual prostate, but a lot of my mates were worried about me because of my so-called leakage,’’ DiPierdomenico said.

“I thought silly men like me just put up with the pain, we all think we’re invincible. A punctured lung could have been my last game, but this was worse than any footy ­injury.

“The worst is when you’re walking around the chemist looking for nappies and trying to hide it.

Robert DiPierdomenico said he was glad his health scare wasn’t cancer.

“We talk about men’s health all the time. The pain got so bad I went to emergency, and the persistence of the doctors fixed me up quick.

“I had an operation in April and every now and then I face a challenge, but I’m OK. I just wish I’d got it looked at earlier.”

DiPierdomenico, 64, said he would now recount his tale of illness at events and sportsmen’s nights to remind men to get checked.

He often speaks at The Good Blokes Society lunches which promote men’s health awareness.

“We’ve lost EJ Whitten and many others so it’s just important to get the prostate and all areas checked,’’ DiPierdomenico said.

“Talk about it to your wives and girlfriends and partners. I feel great, and touch wood everything is going well.

“If I could open myself up and give myself a body clean-up I would have liked to go back to age 38-40.”

Father of two DiPierdomenico, who starred on I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! last year, said he’d had one of the busiest years of his life post-Covid.

“I’ve never been more busy or popular in my life,’’ he said.

“I’m not quite sure what it is but I’ve got three shows, so next year is full of filming – Dipper’s Backyard BBQs, Dipper’s Destinations, and Dipper’s Big Rigs, about trucks and trains. The last two weeks I’ve been to Uluru and Hanging Rock, and Sydney twice.”

DiPierdomenico played 240 games for Hawthorn from 1975-1991, winning five premierships and the Brownlow Medal in 1986.

A member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame, his bravery after the hit from Geelong’s Gary Ablett in 1989 is part of footy folklore.