Mr Tenacious: How Gold Coast Titans star Kieran Foran pushed through the pain to chalk up 300 games in the NRL

Gold Coast Titans star Kieran Foran sees a milestone even bigger than his 300th NRL game, which he will play against St George Illawarra in Wollongong on Sunday.

Simply put, it’s the 100 games he has played since suffering a career-ending shoulder injury while playing for New Zealand in 2019.

The halfback’s journey to his milestone game on Sunday is perhaps the most remarkable of all the other 52 men to have achieved the feat in the NRL.

He was one of the NRL’s toughest players upon his debut in 2009. At 21 he won a championship at Manly and as a Parramatta he had a high profile surrounding personal problems.

For years, Foran’s career seemed to be on the brink of an early end, until 2019, according to many, would be his last setback.

“I am very grateful and proud of that,” said Foran.

“It’s just staying in the fight. If this could be an example or a message to anyone out there, it’s that good things can come if you stay in the fight.

“If you’re willing to persevere when things aren’t going your way and you’re up against it, you can get through it.” “My career is proof of that.”

The Kiwi international won an NRL championship with the Sea Eagles in 2011, before enduring personal tragedies while playing for the Eels (pictured)

What makes Foran’s journey to 300 games even more remarkable is that there have been reports of a medical emergency more than once halfway through his career.

They first arrived from Canterbury in 2018 when Foran was struggling with shoulder, hamstring, back and toe injuries, and returned the following year after he suffered a dislocated shoulder while playing for New Zealand.

Foran has said he has never had concrete discussions about early retirement, but he is the first to admit that in private he had doubts about whether he would be able to return from his dislocated shoulder in 2019.

“Initially, after those two major surgeries, the main thought was that the shoulder would be in bad shape,” Foran said.

“They weren’t sure how I was going to play any further. They said, ‘We’re not sure if my shoulder can handle the rigors of the NRL anymore.’

‘There were times when I came home from training, after the fourth or fifth surgery, and the noise was getting louder and louder, and I had moments of doubt.

‘I was 26 or 27 or 28 and my body was just falling apart. Just from sheer wear and tear and not taking care of it like I should have done in the early stages of my career.

“I would say to my wife, ‘Is it worth continuing if I’m not playing the football I want to play? Is my body going to get back to where I need it to be?’

Foran credits his wife Karina for providing much-needed balance in life away from the rigours of the NRL

Foran has done that and much more.

And remarkably, it appears he is further from the end at his 300th game than he was when he played his 200th four years ago.

The playmaker has signed a new contract for 2025 and sees no reason why he could not continue playing under Des Hasler at the Gold Coast after that.

He is playing smarter now than he was five years ago and is making the most of the lifeline Hasler handed him at Manly in late 2020.

Foran is also now able to train more than he was five years ago after realising that a conservative approach to his workload was causing a number of problems.

This year has also been the 34-year-old’s best in almost a decade, scoring more tries than in any season since leaving Manly at the end of 2015.

“You learn to play with more time and wisdom. It’s allowed me to take better care of myself,” Foran said.

‘My life and football experiences have made me a completely different person and player.

‘When I compare myself to the past, I feel like I’m a much more complete player now than I was in match 100.’