Former Cronulla Shark Nathan Stapleton says it has been four years since a 2022 rugby horror incident left him paralysed from the shoulders down, and he has built a new life through mindset, family support and patience—sharing how he even attended the birth of
Nathan Stapleton remembers the moment like a line drawn through his life—one tackle in 2022 and suddenly he was paralysed from the shoulders down. The former Cronulla Shark is now four years on from that horror incident. living with the reality of care that comes with every day. and with the work it takes to keep relationships strong when your body can’t do what it used to.
Stapleton spoke on Andy Raymond’s Unfiltered podcast, turning the spotlight away from the injury itself and toward the rebuilding that followed. He was left in the ICU after the incident, but just two months after suffering the injury, he was still able to be there for the birth of his second child.
“It’s huge mate, the hospital was so accommodating, behind the scenes the amount of work they put in,” Stapleton said. “Because I was stable but I was stable-ish, so to witness it, I will never forget it, I still get to see this and support Kate.”
He admits the days since have not followed a straight line. Stapleton still has good days and bad days, and he believes the difference is often tied to mindset.
“Everyone has a choice in life – is your cup half empty or half full,” he told Raymond. “I always try to find a positive in everything and it’s relationship building, that helps me massively day-to-day.”
He said there are things he missed out on, especially with life moving faster than his condition. “It’s a funny thing because there’s days that are bad and there are days that are good and there are so many things I missed out on. ” Stapleton said. “But there is so much I can still do and you know and life is all about moments especially having two young boys there’s so much they miss out physically but it’ amazing what my chair can do.”.
That chair has become part of the family rhythm. Stapleton described how he uses it to give his two boys piggybacks in a way that keeps them close. “We are four years down the track the boys were very young when it happened so they haven’t seen it any differently. ” he said. “My oldest said the other day said ‘I wish you didn’t play that game because we could have piggybacks’. so I said just stand on the back of my chair and I will take you for a ride.”.
For all the moments he still can create. Stapleton said the hardest days often arrive around the boys—when they’re wrestling. tumbling. or learning to kick a ball and he can’t take part in the way he wants to. “But he confessed that a lot of his bad days come when he is around his two boys due to the fact he is unable to play with them properly. ” Stapleton said. “A lot of my bad days comes with the boys like I am missing out on so much with them. especially with the support workers when they are wrestling and tumbling or teaching them to kick a ball.”.
His rebuilding, though, doesn’t start with the chair. Stapleton credited his mum as a major source of his positive outlook. “I get a lot of that from my mum she was a very positive person,” he said. “I was lucky to have that guidance in my life. she was always trying to find the good in people. the good in things.”.
He talked about how he tries to resist getting stuck in negativity. “No one likes a ‘Debby Downer’. Sometimes in life things dont go your way but im all about opportunity, just because something bad happens you have the opportunity to make it good.”
Care is now central to his day-to-day life. but he said it has taught him something he didn’t have before. “It’s just the resilience I think. all my day to day is explaining. if I want something done I have to explain step by step. ” Stapleton said. “It has taught me a lot of patience. I was never a patient guy. just get it done. but it has taught me a lot of patience and thinking a lot about others.”.
And as that patience grows, so does empathy—especially around what he might be asking from others. “Now I am a bit empathetic because I wonder if I am asking too much.”
Between the ICU and the births. between the chair and the missed playtime. Stapleton’s story isn’t framed as an escape from what happened in 2022. It is. instead. a record of how he keeps returning to the people he loves—and how. even with quadriplegia from the shoulders down. he continues to build moments he can still be part of.
Nathan Stapleton Cronulla Sharks NRL Unfiltered podcast Andy Raymond quadriplegic paralysed from the shoulders down ICU second child Kate support workers chair rugby tackle