But, that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

The larger than life Territorian and brilliant sportsman was fighting an internal battle he did not even realise he was losing.

A BOY WITH A RUGBY DREAM

Born and raised in Darwin, McManus, aged 24, has been a rugby tragic and player since he could walk.

Making numerous merit, state and representative sides as a junior, McManus was scouted by the ACT Brumbies in 2017 for their under-18s Development Squad.

The centre would remain in the capital for the next five years.

After the club he had debuted for as a first grader fell out of the competition, Eastern Suburbs, McManus stuck to his guns, moving clubs, once again making his way up the grades to the First XV at the Queanbeyan Whites.

“I stayed in Canberra a bit longer than I anticipated,” McManus said.

“I’m so happy I did stick it out, as winning that premiership with the Whites is something no one can ever take from me.”

‘LOSING LOVE’ FOR THE GAME A SIGN OF SOMETHING MORE

While visiting his partner Courtney Tamati’s family in Queensland, McManus woke up at 3am with excruciating stomach pain.

McManus was rushed to hospital and was told he had “severe gastro”.

Believing the doctors, McManus and Courtney flew back to Canberra.

Still violently ill, McManus had his blood taken.

Nothing showed up.

Another doctor told the Territorian not to worry, even deciding against a faecal sample.

“The doctor told me not to worry and that I was probably just overreacting,” McManus said.

“He even said to my face, not to worry about not doing a faeces sample as he didn’t want to ‘do that’ to the people in the labs.”

Fighting to have his symptoms taken seriously for more than a year, he was left at a loss.

“Most of the time I was actually in Canberra I probably was sick. I had bleeding in my stool for quite a while,” he said, holding back tears.

“I also started to constantly feel super fatigued, unmotivated and no longer really caring about rugby or much else in my life.

“I became very apathetic to everything.

“But doctors always put it down to something else.

“Basically, I was misdiagnosed.”

THE DAY EVERYTHING CHANGED

Too ill to continue his rugby pursuit and nearly 4000km from home, McManus and Tamati moved to Darwin.

It was there McManus finally heard aloud the words he was desperately dreading.

“When I got called into the doctors, (I was told) to sit down and (heard) the words ‘you have cancer’ … I didn’t even cry at the time,” he said.

A month after the diagnosis, McManus received major abdominal surgery, the first attempt to eradicate the cancer.

Another blow was dealt when it was discovered he had Stage 3 cancer which had already spread to his lymph nodes.

“Hearing that was another shock to the system, but something I had to take on the chin and deal with,” he said.

“That’s what this journey was, it was just never-ending bad news.”

McManus recalls the immediate reaction from members of his family as the most gut wrenching of his life.

“They were talking to me as if I was already gone,” he said.

“It was like they were already grieving.

“I don’t believe they ever thought I wouldn’t make it – but it was tough hearing (my) loved ones’ immediate reactions on the phone.”

CHEMOTHERAPY HORRORS

“I never thought, not at 23 years old, that I’d ever need chemotherapy,” McManus said.

“I thought the surgery was hard, (but) it was nothing compared to what I went through with chemo.”

Though he was aware of the possible side effects, McManus said nothing could have prepared him for his first chemo session.

“I felt like a vegetable, like I’d just woken up from a coma after that first round,” he said.

“In the car going home I made the mistake of drinking cold water, which felt like razor blades down my throat, which made me cry — which then felt like razor blades in my eyes.

“The drugs also left me suffering from both constipation and diarrhoea which was just a cruel twist after going through numerous major stomach surgeries.”

McManus quickly saw his muscular figure waste away in front of his eyes as a result of the chemo.

This became so traumatising for McManus that he couldn’t bear the thought of people seeing him in such a state.

“I was scared to leave the house,” he said.

“I didn’t recognise my own reflection.”

This played on his already low mental health.

“I went from being quite a confident young guy, playing footy, always in the gym, and people would often compliment me about my figure,” he said.

“Switching from that to being too scared to go to the shops, too anxious to go anywhere was so difficult personally.

“Things that never used to bother me, quickly turned into triggers.

“Words such as ‘chemo’ became triggering and even going to the doctor or thinking about going to the doctor became very anxiety inducing.

“It’s not a fear, but a trauma.”

FAMILY IS EVERYTHING

For McManus, he believes family is everything.

If not for his family, he says he is confident he would not have pulled through.

His mother and his partner have been by his side from the beginning, with other family members doing what they could.

Tamati went above and beyond for McManus; moving across the country to be with him, regardless of what the outcome could be.

“Courtney moved up to Darwin with me; I’m the only person she knew initially,” McManus said.

“So that meant more than anyone could imagine.

“She has been with me through this journey from the start and never complained about our situation once; even washing my armpits when they got stinky.”

McManus moved back in with his mother upon returning to Darwin, and picked up a job with his brother-in-law.

He was even able to reconnect with an uncle who was also going through his own cancer battle.

“Family was very important to me in pulling through, and I know how difficult it is to have someone in your life go through this.

“They mean more to me than they will ever understand.”

NEW LEASE ON LIFE AND LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

Now a cancer survivor, McManus has gained a very different outlook and approach to life.

No longer taking the small things for granted, he wants to use his ordeal to create change.

“I still have absolutely no clue why I got cancer,” he said.

“No one has been able to figure it out and it’s just another thing that I’ve had to live with, another unknown that’s played on my mind, but I’ve got to keep moving forward.”

The rugby player raised nearly $20k at the start of the year for bowel cancer research and has since become a Bowel Cancer Awareness spokesperson.

“I’m proud of the man this ordeal has made me into,” he said.

“I don’t want to scare people about the prospect of cancer, but at the same time I do.

“The number of Australians that are diagnosed and die each year from bowel cancer is crazy.

“And there’s a misconception that it only affects people 40 and over. However, the number one killer for Australians aged 25-44 is bowel cancer.”

McManus will now need to have his bloods taken every six months, and have a colonoscopy once a year for four years.

On top of these regular check-ups, McManus has to endure the lingering side effects of chemotherapy for the rest of his life.

“The prospect of having children is something I’ve always wished for,” he said.

“Now that dream is no longer a certainty.

McManus is also determined to return to the field for the upcoming NT rugby union season.

Desperate to don the yellow and black of his childhood club the Darwin Dragons, the mere thought of playing rugby is an emotional one.

“I’ve envisioned running back onto the field for my first game so many times,” he said.

“Just talking about it makes me emotional.

“There’s nothing like playing sports and competing and busting your guts out on the field for your mates. I can’t wait till I’m fit enough to get back out there.”