Kurt Donoghoe went to grab his nose and could not feel anything.
The Dolphins’ hooker then joked about the need to urgently settle down with a partner in case he broke his nose a second time.
In one of the greatest displays of toughness in rugby league’s modern era, Donoghoe broke his nose in the eighth minute of Thursday night’s game against the Bulldogs, had club doctor Peter Hackney snap it back into place – the gruesome footage was captured on live TV – before somehow returning to the field and scoring a try to cap a remarkable 44-8 upset win over the NRL ladder leaders.
Donoghoe, 23, could not bring himself to look at the big-screen TV inside Accor Stadium after he clashed heads with Bulldogs’ playmaker Toby Sexton, and realised his nose had been jammed sideways.
“I just remember going hard for a tackle, I reeled out of it, I put my hand on my face and I couldn’t feel my nose,” Donoghoe said.
“I felt the bone was across my face. I’ve never broken my nose. I was a bit nervous.
Cop that: Toby Sexton collides with Kurt Donoghoe.Credit: Getty Images
“I didn’t see [the big-screen TV]. I didn’t really want to look in the mirror when I came back in.
“He took his time because he was also trying to do the HIA test.
“I just told him to hurry up and put it back in because I didn’t want to wait any longer.
“It went back in pretty well. But I heard a couple of cracks. It was pretty painful.
“When I walked to the sheds, I thought I was done for the night. When I sat back down, I realised people had gone through a lot worse and played through a lot worse.
“I thought it wasn’t that big a deal. [Former representative winger] Blake Ferguson looked like he copped a few [broken noses].
“It kept bleeding the whole game, and I was breathing out of mouth the whole time. It’s pretty blocked now. It’s still bleeding, but nothing is coming out of it.”
Swipe left: Kurt Donoghoe and his busted nose after the game
Commentators joked about Donoghoe and how he might struggle to find a new partner.
When asked about being in a relationship, Donoghoe, who conducted the interview in the sheds while holding a bloody towel to his nose, said: “Unfortunately not. I’ll need to find one [partner] quickly.”
Donoghoe, who grew up in Newcastle, was not the only Dolphin to overcome pain against the Dogs, with centre Herbie Farnworth forced to spend two days in hospital on an IV drip for an infection to a cut. He only flew to Sydney at midday on Thursday.
Donoghoe rolled his eyes when asked about Farnworth and said: “We don’t need to encourage Herbie. We’ve heard about it enough already. We’ll hear about it all week.”
Farnworth started to feel ill on Tuesday and said: “I got home and I had a massage booked and I was a bit crook, and had to cancel it. I knew I was crook if I had to cancel my massage, then made the call with the club to go to hospital and go on the IV.
“I probably didn’t think I was going to play, but once I got on the right IV, I started feeling a bit better.”
The Dolphins head into the bye round with five wins and seven losses, while the Dogs will remain on top of the ladder, regardless of the remainder of the weekend results.
Canterbury were off the pace all night, had 11 players missing through injury, suspension and Origin duty, but still should have done better.
The Dogs were unlucky to be denied a try to Jake Turpin because of a forward pass, which could have got them back to 20-14, but they were beaten by a team that wanted it more. Canterbury also head into the bye after an excellent 9-2 start.
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