How NRL supercoach Wayne Bennett inspired Alex McKinnon to take control of his life after the depressed and injured former star became a reclusive SHUT-IN following his devastating neck injury
Former NRL star Alex McKinnon has revealed how a blunt phone call from supercoach Wayne Bennett lifted him out of a depressed and reclusive state.
McKinnon was just 22 in 2014 when his life changed forever instantly.
He was left a quadriplegic following a horror tackle when playing for the Newcastle Knights against the Melbourne Storm.
Former NRL star Alex McKinnon has revealed how a blunt phone call from supercoach Wayne Bennett lifted him out of a depressed and reclusive state
After scans confirmed McKinnon had fractures to his C4 and C5 vertebrae – and would spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair – the talented backrower had plenty of demons and dark days.
Anger, frustration and sadness were feelings McKinnon endured every day, before a phone call from Bennett changed his mindset.
‘He asked me what I was up to,’ McKinnon recalled in a revealing interview with former NRL player Denan Kemp on his Bloke In a Bar podcast.
‘I put it back on Wayne, I asked how he was (at the Broncos), I was deflecting.
‘Then he said to me, start f***ing doing something (with your life). ‘What happened (injury) is devastating, but it is time to move on.
‘Find some actions in your life.’
![Anger, frustration and sadness were feelings McKinnon endured every day after he became a quadriplegic, before a phone call from Bennett changed his mindset](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/01/27/04/67025559-11682153-image-a-46_1674793324149.jpg)
Anger, frustration and sadness were feelings McKinnon endured every day after he became a quadriplegic, before a phone call from Bennett changed his mindset
![The horror tackle in 2014 against the Melbourne Storm changed McKinnon's life forever](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/01/27/04/67024371-11682153-image-a-47_1674793383944.jpg)
The horror tackle in 2014 against the Melbourne Storm changed McKinnon’s life forever
A candid McKinnon told Kemp it was ‘the kick up the arse he needed’ at the time, and from that moment on he refused to wallow in self-pity.
He decided to educate himself by reading extensively and getting out of his comfort zone.
![Bennett encouraged McKinnon to stop feeling sorry for himself and to 'find some actions in his life'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/01/27/04/67024427-11682153-image-m-49_1674793447082.jpg)
Bennett encouraged McKinnon to stop feeling sorry for himself and to ‘find some actions in his life’
While walking the dog or mowing the lawn were now off the table, the father of three found new life hobbies.
He is currently studying psychology at Newcastle University, having spent almost a decade involved in recruitment at the Knights.
McKinnon was also co-ordinator of the club’s elite pathways program.
Bennett, meanwhile, will coach the NRL’s 17th – and newest – franchise the Dolphins based at Redcliffe in Queensland this season.
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