"We had players who never played again after that game."
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Recently appointed Central West Blue Bulls coach Andrew Corcoran was in charge of the Boorowa Goldies the day former NRL player Nathan Stapleton was injured in a near fatal tackle that left him as a quadriplegic.
Nearly a year on from that devastating moment, Corcoran has opened up about the day that changed so many lives.
"It was a devastating time. It was a traumatic incident and it has affected me and still affects me mentally," Corcoran said.
![Nathan and Kate Stapleton and their sons Harry and Angus now call Young their home. Picture supplied.
Nathan and Kate Stapleton and their sons Harry and Angus now call Young their home. Picture supplied.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/YN4FA67iw2pXwXjwm2vmnJ/0da3a236-ee89-4b67-8808-88a5ed73036a.jpg/r0_0_1721_968_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"It's healthy to talk about it, because it impacted so many people. Obviously there's Nathan and his family, but you had a 15-year-old playing on the day who had never played a game of rugby before."
Boorowa forfeited the following game against Grenfell, but took to the field once again just two weeks after Stapleton's injury.
"That was pretty emotional really. We went from a club of young blokes who wanted to have a crack, enjoy things and get on the beers to basically going into survival mode and just trying to get the club through the year," Corcoran said.
"We were talking about whether we were even going to play the season. Every half-serious injury after that, everybody stops that little bit more than they did before.
"You could tell the players were nervous. There's a bloke who got lifted past the horizontal and everybody just stopped. Everyone had the jitters for a while."
The Goldies would go on to make the semi-finals that season, a result not many would have expected given what the club had gone through.
While Corcoran said he didn't necessarily learn anything from the incident, it did make him stop and think.
"I guess what it has made me realise is it's just a game. It doesn't really matter that much in the scheme of things," he added.
Having just gone through more heartache in one season than many coaches would face in a lifetime, some might wonder why Corcoran decided to add the role of Central West coach on top of his position with Boorowa for 2023.
![Andrew Corcoran. Andrew Corcoran.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/YN4FA67iw2pXwXjwm2vmnJ/7252b2d2-3115-4755-82bf-ca6763a3b1d9.jpg/r0_0_1536_2048_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
For the man affectionately known as Cheese, it was a chance to regain his love of the game.
"I was considering having a break from coaching after this year," he said.
"Because I wanted to leave it in a decent way before I had a break, (the Blue Bulls job) was a good opportunity to freshen me up with my coaching I think."
In saying that, he is determined to make this year as enjoyable as he can for his players.
"I want to put focus in blokes rocking up to training, having fun, playing a style which they enjoy and take the shackles off a bit. That's where my coaching has gone since that day, that's where my coaching has gone because of it," he added.
"It's exciting to start a new season to be honest and try to bring the fun back."
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