Stevie Ward may not have been the one scoring the tries and garnering the plaudits during Leeds’ Super League Grand Final victory on Saturday, but he is more than deserving of his time in the spotlight.
For all the talk of high-profile rugby league players and their off-field indiscretions in the week leading up the Old Trafford showpiece – in which Leeds defeated Castleford 24-6 – Ward is a shining example of everything that is good in rugby league: the warriors who put their bodies on the line just for a chance of success. Yet it could have easily been so different for a player who has already experienced enough ups and downs to span an entire career.
Ward, now 23, received widespread acclaim for his public acknowledgment of his depression in 2015, after a serious knee injury ended his chances of playing in that season’s Grand Final for Leeds. In all, he missed nearly a year of action but returned arguably a better player than before.
A little over a week ago, Ward was facing the same heartbreak all over again. The forward dislocated a shoulder in their play-off semi-final victory against Hull to such a severe extent that it required surgery to be put back into place. For 12 hours Ward lay in a hospital bed with his shoulder out of its socket, all but accepting his season was over. This time, however, the conversation was much more serious for a player who had endured much mental strain when it comes to serious injury.
“There were moments in the early hours of Saturday morning when I was giving in. I was giving in and moving on. I didn’t think I could go through another process, coming back from injury and missing a final. I had to face sitting on that bed for another seven hours and the morphine wasn’t touching it.
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“I thought: ‘Can I go through another process of coming back from injury and doing this?’ I spoke to the coach, to Gary [Hetherington, the chief executive] and mentioned it to them, that I didn’t know if I could do this again.”
The following seven days, though, would offer evidence of why Ward should be revered for his courage. After the operation, Ward committed himself to playing in the Grand Final – even through immense pain, if he had to. And Ward not only played – he played the full 80 minutes, one of only a handful of players to do so at Old Trafford. “There was always a danger of making it worse,” he admits. “But it was all or nothing. To have it ripped away from you, there was absolutely no hesitation in my mind – it was all or nothing. I obviously had to prove my fitness but I wasn’t missing it.”
The elation and emotion that nights such as Saturday provide are made for people like Ward.
A lifelong Leeds fan who fulfilled a childhood dream as they lifted the Super League trophy for a record-extending eighth time, he will now be at the forefront of a new era for the Rhinos in 2018 and beyond. The departure of their long-serving duo, Danny McGuire and Rob Burrow, after the Old Trafford match leaves the door open for a new leader to emerge through the pack: Ward was identified by McGuire in the post-match briefings as one of the ideal candidates.
His mental and physical toughness make him an obvious choice to succeed the Harry Sunderland Trophy winner McGuire.
“He’s special, isn’t he,” Ward said. “He picks the night to come out and prove how good he is … ‘Magic Mags’. For him to say that about me is lovely, but that’s all to come out in the wash. Who knows what will happen?”
That decision will be made in the coming weeks as the celebrations from Leeds’s latest Old Trafford triumph begin to die down. However, as the Rhinos’ hierarchy begin to plan for life without McGuire and find the right man to succeed him, there cannot be many better contenders than the inspirational Ward.
His attention will now turn to England’s squad announcement for the World Cup, though it appears he may be given the winter off to rest up and allow him to fully focus on Leeds’s attempt to defend the title next season. Among the men likely to be in Wayne Bennett’s 24-man squad, which will be revealed on Monday, are the uncapped Ben Currie and the St Helens hooker James Roby.