Dragons prop Hame Sele has opened up about a heart scare he experienced during a game last season.
During Round 23 against the Bulldogs, Sele was pulled from the field, fearing he was having a heart attack.
Now, three months later, he reflects on that frightening moment when he thought his "chest was caving in" and struggled to breathe.
Prior to the game, Sele had been suffering from flu-like symptoms, unaware that a much more serious condition was developing.
“It was obviously a scary moment; I thought I was having a heart attack on the sideline,” Sele told The Daily Telegraph.
“(Zac) Lomax scored, and when I got up to celebrate, I suddenly felt this weird pain. I told the doctor that I needed some pain medication.
"It all happened really quickly. I felt like my chest was caving in with a sharp pain.
"I was lucky that Raymond Faitala-Mariner noticed what was happening; he was sitting next to me and called the doctor over.
"They rushed me into the sheds. It was crazy. It was just a scary experience. I was in so much pain; I had never felt anything like it before. I thought I was going to collapse; the pain was that bad.”
The 27-year-old was rushed to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with pericarditis, an inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart, which explained his symptoms before the game.
“A couple of weeks before that, I had been sick with fevers and feeling weak,” Sele said.
“The night before the game, I started experiencing chest pain and felt a bit off, but I didn't tell the doctor because we had a game to play the next day.
"After the game, I had a pain level of about 5 out of 10 in my chest. They thought maybe my ribs were inflamed from coughing.
"I had X-rays, and everything came back fine. There was nothing we could do, so I played against Canterbury.”
After the incident, Sele was told he would miss the rest of the season. However, he has recently begun his own training sessions and will join the rest of the Dragons squad when pre-season begins again.
“I kind of thought my career was probably over,” Sele admitted. “I'm lucky they conducted all the necessary tests to find the cause of the problem and told me it was a quick and easy fix with the right medications.”
Sele has played 83 games in the NRL and has appeared in 11 matches for the Dragons since joining the club in 2024.