Weekend Read: Mose Masoe and Dayne Weston share their stories to future NRL stars
Mose Masoe was told he may never walk again, while Dayne Weston’s life spiralled into a dark place. Both former players shared their stories with future NRL stars.
Mose Masoe stands quietly in the corner of the room, crutches leaning against the wall, while a highlights reel of his biggest hits plays on the big screen.
The room is packed with the cream of the country’s teenage rugby league talent, all watching on in stony silence.
Many of these kids will sign multimillion dollar contracts with NRL clubs at some point in coming years but right now, they are learning about something far more important – life, how it can change in a moment and how important your teammates are when that day arrives.
The footage shows Masoe trampling over an opponent and the silence is broken by an audible gasp. The highlights come to an end and another former player Dayne Weston, a man who had his own struggles during a career that took him to four NRL clubs, hands the floor to Masoe.
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Masoe tells them that at one point in his life, rugby league was all he cared about. It took priority over everything else. His cup, he said, was only filled with one thing.
Then he suffered a knee injury and he realised he had to change. He focused more on his wife and children. He found other outlets. He became a better teammate.
It meant he was better equipped to handle things when disaster struck four years later – in 2020, he was told he had very little chance of ever walking again after suffering a serious spinal injury while attempting a tackle in England’s Super League.
“One thing I will say is always check on your teammates,” Masoe told the room of teenagers, who are playing in the national all-schools championships at Moreton Daily Stadium.
“When I was in the hospital – I was in hospital for 100 days and seven weeks of that was lying flat on my back. I couldn’t move for that seven weeks.
“The lesson I learned in rugby league was to talk to people and tell them how I feel. It was a frustrating time but the best thing was my teammate listened.
“I am really close to my teammates – they are like my brothers. It really helped me get through my injuries. They were there in my darkest days.
“They were feeding me, they were clothing me. My teammates were always there and I will always love them for that.
“That is one thing I will tell you – check on your mates. There is always someone there who is willing to listen.”
One of the kids innocently asks whether Masoe can feel anything. Another asks where he found the mental strength to walk again.
He says when the doctors told him there was a chance – albeit a slim one – that was the sliver of hope he needed.
Weston chimes back in. He has a hell of a story himself. Weston played 80 games in the NRL with Cronulla, North Queensland, Penrith and Melbourne.
On the surface, he was living his dream. Scratch that surface and his life was becoming a nightmare. He tells the kids that he would head home from training and plan how to end his own life.
His wife would ask him what was wrong. He saw multiple doctors who told him he had clinical depression. He didn’t believe them.
He went to a dark place. He headed to England to play in Super League. One day, his wife took the kids on a break and called to say she wasn’t coming back.
Weston retired, returned to the Gold Coast and went through a divorce. He didn’t seek help. Drugs and alcohol were his coping mechanism.
It got to a point where he planned to take his own life. Fortunately he survived, decided to confront his demons and emerged from the other side.
“I now know that everything that has happened in my life has happened so I can be here today to help other players, help kids like yourself get to the point where I was so caught up in rugby league that it nearly got me to not being here, to leave my two kids behind,” Weston said.
“All because I wouldn’t speak up. So guys, if I give you any advice in football, we need power in your guys talking.
“We need you guys to be vulnerable and draw strength off that. Be that shoulder, be that guy who will see something in your teammate and ask the question.
“Sometimes it will take 12 or 15 times to ask the question. If it takes 15 times and then they open up, then it is worth it.”
Weston feels comfortable talking about his life because he knows he can change lives. His story, like that of Masoe, is a cautionary tale for this group of 15 and 18-year-olds.
Rugby league is important, but it isn’t everything. Talk to each other and share your stories. Weston and Masoe have and they hope it is making a difference,
Maybe to one of the kids in this very room.
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