Brisbane Broncos winger Deine Mariner came perilously close to losing his right leg before emergency surgery saved both his limb and his career. The 23-year-old’s reaction upon waking from surgery was priceless: he was simply relieved to see his leg still attached.
“To be honest, I didn’t think about it too much because when I woke up, I saw my leg still there, so I was like, ‘Oh, it’d be pretty bad if I woke up and my leg wasn’t there’,” Mariner said. “But I didn’t think of it even after. I know people were saying that I could have (lost it), but I didn’t. So, you know, I’m just pretty lucky to be in this position.”
Six Surgeries to Save His Leg
Mariner was speaking at Broncos headquarters after undergoing six surgeries at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. The procedures were necessary to stabilise his leg so he could fly home to Brisbane. He had developed compartment syndrome in his right thigh, a condition that restricts blood flow and can lead to amputation if left untreated.
“They’ve never seen it before in the thigh. It’s pretty common in the shin I think, but even the doctors were saying that they’ve never seen this before,” Mariner said. “So, you know, it’s just one of those bad luck situations. But I’ve accepted it, so it’s fine.”
The Nightmare Unfolds
The rare condition escalated after the Broncos’ round-nine loss to the Sydney Roosters at the Sydney Football Stadium. Mariner, a 2025 premiership winner, initially thought he had sustained a cork and played through the pain. However, at 2:30 am while lying in bed at the team hotel, he realised something was seriously wrong.
“That’s when I really started to feel a lot of pain and I couldn’t move,” he said. He immediately called team physio Luke Anning and team doctor Matt Hislop. “They actually gave me the early diagnosis of the compartment syndrome, which I had never heard of before. They rushed me straight to hospital, so I was pretty lucky to have Luke and Matt with me. I got rushed into surgery, so I didn’t really get to understand what was happening. All I knew was that there was a lot of pressure on my leg at the time.”
Positive Outlook and Recovery Goal
Despite the ordeal, Mariner said he is in a “good headspace” and is targeting a return to the field this year. “I think we’re looking around the eight-week mark,” he said. “It gives me a bit more hunger to get back out there. I will always back myself to get back to my best footy, but right now I’m just focused on recovering well. It’s just about getting my leg to fully bend. At the moment it’s stuck a bit, so once that opens up, I’ll be able to start moving again. That will be my main focus the next couple of weeks.”
Mariner’s outstanding attitude is helping him through the difficult recovery process. “I tried to look at the bright side of things. You know, I was still breathing. I’m still alive,” he said. “And I think being in ICU, I saw a lot of other people that don’t get a second chance, so I was pretty grateful to obviously have my leg.”
