Kieran Foran has been lauded as the “pound-for-pound toughest bloke in the NRL” as the Gold Coast Titan prepares to play his 300th game.
The 34-year-old — who becomes the first player to mark the milestone wearing a Titans jersey when they take on the St George Illawarra Dragons at WIN Stadium — has always drawn plaudits for his on field bravery.
Foran features heavily in compilation videos of the NRL’s biggest hits – on the receiving end – but more often than not he has bounced straight back up.
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“Is there a tougher playmaker? Who digs into the line consistently like that bloke?” NRL 360 panellist and Daily Telegraph journalist Dean Ritchie asked on the show this week.
“Pound-for-pound I don’t think there’s a tougher bloke in the NRL.”
The 2011 Manly Sea Eagles premiership player’s body has paid the price over the journey for his brutal style of play.
Foran has battled serious hamstring, knee, shoulder, toe, ankle and pectoral injuries across his career that has spanned five clubs – Manly, Parramatta Eels, New Zealand Warriors, Canterbury Bulldogs and Gold Coast.
He has also had his fair share of off-field battles.
A relationship breakdown, gambling problems and a suicide attempt in 2016 played out publicly while at Parramatta which led to him stepping away from the NRL.
Foran was able to rebuild his life before, last November, he was confronted with his stepson Logan Steinwede taking his own life.
The silver lining has been that the New Zealand international has since taken it upon himself to regularly check-in with his younger teammates to change the culture in rugby league regarding mental health as the connection with the sport has been pivotal for him.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to, I guess, stay in the grind of it for so long,” Foran said.
“Moments like this and milestones, you’re able to reflect on your journey. I did walk away in 2016. I certainly thought my time had sort of come and gone as an NRL player.
“I guess it took a lot for me to come back into this journey and keep persisting but at the end of the day, I knew that’s what was best for me. Since then there’s been plenty of challenges to overcome.”
The NRL 360 panel – composed of Ritchie, Braith Anasta, Paul Crawley and Gorden Tallis – were full of praise for Foran’s perseverance.
Sunday’s clash will be his 18th game of the season and despite his injury woes, if Foran plays three of the remaining four home-and-away games this year he will have taken the field at least 20 times in each of the past four seasons.
“What a warrior he has been for our game,” Anasta said.
“He mentioned challenges and the injuries that he’s faced. He’s had such a great career. At times it’s been tough for him because of the injuries and form slumps but he just powers through.
“You come into work on Saturday – I think it was Super Saturday in here – and they reckon he was limping around because he just gets up every week and just delivers on the field. But his body, he is definitely struggling but he powers through it.”
Tallis also identified the physical toll Foran has endured but he could not speak more highly of his leadership for the Titans.
After losing their first six matches of the year, Gold Coast have won eight of their last 14 matches including three of their last four, and Foran – who has captained the side since Tino Fa’asuamaleaui’s ACL injury in Round 3 – has been crucial to the side’s turnaround in form.
“When he walks around after a game it’s horrible. It’s like he’s been hit by a car,” Tallis said.
“He limps around but for the young kids to see what he puts his body through every week to get on the field. That’s leadership right there.
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“He’s been amazing for the Gold Coast Titans – for those young kids. When he plays they’re a much better side.”
Meanwhile, Crawley recalled the strong impact Foran made on the league early in his career.
In the 2011 premiership season with Manly, Foran scored a career-high eight tries for the season as he and Daly Cherry Evans formed a deadly halves pairing.
“He’s been doing it for so long. I love Kieran Foran,” he said.
“The way that he exploded onto the scene in that 2011 season when him and Cherry-Evans were just kids and they went all the way.
“And he just did everything at a thousand miles an hour when he came through the Stewart brothers and there were some moments in his career where he had injuries and other off-field issues.
“But he’s fought back from that and he’s gone up to the Titans and he’s picked himself up again and he’s playing great football. And he’s just been a credit to the game the whole way through.”
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