In 251 NRL games across 13 seasons, Dale Finucane prioritised others before himself, putting his teammates and club ahead of personal ambition.
When it was time to set standards at training, the Sharks co-captain was driving younger teammates. During games for the Sharks, the Bulldogs, the Storm and NSW, he made the hard yards and tackled fearlessly, showing little regard for his body.
Last Thursday, he finally put himself first, deciding that it was time to retire from the game he had loved since he was a boy growing up in Bega after suffering repeated concussions.
Finucane had spent three weeks agonising over the decision after his wife Maddie had encouraged him to visit medical specialists after failing an HIA against the Tigers in round three and subsequently suffering from blurred vision.
“My wife particularly, she doesn’t like me seeing me come off the field for concussions at any time,” Finucane said. “But I just think that I’ve had a number [of concussions] over the last couple of years that obviously – they’ve accumulated over time. I just think that the number was getting quite high, into the double digits of those no-return-to-play concussions. That concern for where I was at currently was the cause for getting medical advice.”
Sharks co-captain Dale Finucane with partner Madelyn Kennedy and children Tommy 2 and Freddy 4 announces he’s retiring from NRL football due to concussions at 32.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
Finucane was also aware of a number of high-profile retirements from the NRL including players like the Roosters’ Boyd Cordner and Jake Friend. Alongside seeking medical advice, Finucane spoke to several current and former players.
“I think I exhausted every avenue, I spoke to some current players, I won’t name them just in case they wish not to be named,” Finucane said. “I spoke with some current players and some guys who have recently retired and along with some other guys who had a lot of concussion issues throughout their career … having those conversations probably helped form my thought process around making the decision.
“I think in combination with the medical advice, speaking with those past and retired players, obviously the coaching staff and our performance staff as well, as I said there was no decision to be made at the end of the day, it was pretty definitive.”
In making the right decision for himself and his young family, there was still a part of Finucane that needed to keep the team front of his mind.
Aware that the Sharks had an important home game against the Cowboys last Sunday, he kept the news away from his teammates, so they could focus on the game without any distractions in what was Braden Hamlin-Uele’s 100th game and Sam Stonestreet’s debut. He waited until the game was over and let the team know shortly ahead of the official media announcement on Tuesday.
Dale Finucane at Shark Park after announcing his medical retirement.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
Coach Craig Fitzgibbon spoke at Shark Park on Tuesday, surrounded by the playing squad and staff who had come in on their day off to farewell a very popular man.
Finucane’s two-season stint at the Sharks may have been brief in comparison to those at the Storm – which featured two grand final wins – or at his first club, the Bulldogs, but the coach said his impact will live on at Cronulla.
“It’s one of the most significant [signings] I think our club will ever make, I think a lot of viewers judge by the 80 minutes, but as far as the way you want to carry yourself as a professional sportsman, rugby player and professionalism, just being a great man, I feel like he’s delivered it spades,” Fitzgibbon said.
“Even up to today, he was so concerned about ‘Stoney’s’ debut and Braden’s 100th that he held back that information, he just had to put the club first … Our club will never forget his time here.”
Dale Finucane speaks to the media after announcing his medical retirement.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
Fitzgibbon visited Finucane’s home to speak to his wife while he was going through medical tests to assure her that her husband would not play any football until he was medically cleared.
The former NSW Origin representative acknowledged his wife’s role in helping him decide to end his decorated playing career as he looked down at her and his two sons, Freddy and Tommy, who were dressed in Sharks jumpers with their dad’s name and No.13 on the back.
“She’s been an absolute rock through this whole process,” Finucane said. “She’s been at the forefront of wanting to put my health first before anything else, and I guess over the last few concussions that I’ve suffered she’s probably shown a lot more worry about the frequency in which I was getting them, and potentially maybe how easily I was getting them.
“So while I’m disappointed to finish, I’m grateful that she was adamant about getting all of this stuff done and going through the process of seeing neurologists, along with the advice from the club.
“As I said there was no decision to be made at the end of the day, it was pretty definitive.”
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