Nearly twelve months ago, Sam Stephenson was forced to give up on his rugby league dream after being forced to medically retire due to a serious neck injury.

Having grown up playing alongside the likes of Cooper Bai and Zane Harrison, Stephenson had long been regarded as a player destined for a bright future in the NRL.

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A member of the Gold Coast Titans development roster in 2025, Stephenson had already built an impressive resume including selection in the Australian Schoolboys squad and representing the Under-19s QLD Maroons on two occasions.

But, just as his career appeared ready to take the next step, he was forced to confront an unexpected reality – life after rugby league

“I never thought that would happen. It didn’t hit me straight away. It probably didn’t hit me until about two weeks afterwards, and I didn’t really know what to do,” Stephenson told foxsports.com.au.

“As every rugby league player does when they retire, they don’t really know what to do when they’ve known rugby league their whole life, so it was a tough one.

“I just started working heaps and found love in hanging with my mates and my family.”

Queensland U19s centre Sam Stephenson. Picture: NRLSource: Supplied

The sudden change from a promising rugby league prospect to forced retirement came after Stephenson suffered an injury during a QLD Cup reserve-grade match for the Tweed Seagulls

While he was initially unaware of the severity of the issue, he began experiencing worrying symptoms.

“I was just playing a game for the Tweed Seagulls and copped a whack to the side of the head, and my hands and arms went pins and needles for like two weeks,” he said.

“I’ve never even heard of it before this and I went in on Monday morning to do my medicals at the Titans and they sent me for a scan and found out that afternoon that I had a few bulging discs in my neck.

“I didn’t find out until a bit later that my spinal canal was actually more narrow than normal.”

Stephenson was diagnosed with congenital cervical stenosis – a condition where a person is born with a narrower-than-normal spinal canal in the neck, leaving less space to protect the spinal cord.

While many people never experience symptoms and may never know they have the condition, it can significantly increase the risk of serious spinal cord injuries following heavy contact in collision sports.

Sam Stephenson in action for the Australian Schoolboys against France under-19s. Picture: Gold Coast Titans Facebook.Source: News Corp Australia

Now, working as a support worker and as a PE teacher, the former Under-19s Origin centre is determined to use his experience to raise awareness and encourage greater preventative measures across rugby league.

“I think they should be scanning players so they can understand the risks of playing this game.

“Obviously injuries happen, but some of these things can be preventable and to also raise awareness.”

Having experienced the devastating consequences firsthand, Stephenson believes the NRL should follow the lead of the NFL and introduce more comprehensive screening procedures to better protect players.

“The NFL’s been doing it for a while now,” he said.

“They scan all their players before they’re allowed to step on the field and there are statistics out there that one in every 13 collision sport athletes have congenital cervical stenosis.

“In rugby league, that’s one in every team or two in every squad. The NRL should be looking into it for the welfare of these players.”