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“Never an option to give up”: Cody Ramsey’s opens up on inspirational return
Sam Kosack • March 10th, 2025 5:31 pm
It's not often much attention is paid to a reserve grade game, but the Dragons and Bulldogs curtain raiser had one very special reason for fans to tune in.
After two-and-a-half years out of the game, Cody Ramsey quietly returned to rugby league as he ran out onto Netstrata Jubilee Stadium in the Dragons’ NSW Cup opener, playing fullback in his side’s 34-26 victory over the Bulldogs.
It’s a remarkable achievement for a player who, in late 2022, was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a serious bowel illness that threatened to end his young career.
Doctor’s told Ramsey he would never play again, but the 25-year-old was never going to let his illness be the end of his time in the NRL.
“I got told I was never going to play again so now I treat all my training sessions and every game I play now like my last,” Ramsey told Crunch Time NRL.
“I’m not as nervous as I used to be because in my eyes it’s my last game, I’m just happy to be out there and my family get to watch.
“My daughters were never going to watch me play but I came back and worked hard so I'm just happy I get to come back each week.
“My mental (health) was up and down but I had my partner and then I had a baby on the way when I found out there was a high possibility, I’d never have kids again after the surgery.
“I was kind of rattled for a bit. Me and my partner tried and tried, and we found out a week before my major surgery. Once I knew I was having Mia, my daughter, it just shifted into a state where she’s coming so you need to be right.
“There was no option to not be right. From then on anything that happened, if there was a hiccup… everything I do is for my family and my girls. There was never an option to give up and there still isn’t.”
Ramsey revealed he knew something was wrong in late 2022 when he returned to Dragons’ pre-season.
“I knew something was wrong because I’m fairly fit and I well prepare myself for the pre-season and I'm usually one of the fittest at the Dragons," he said.
"I was at the back of the pack doing running and everyone knew something was wrong because that’s never where I am, and I physically couldn't run any faster. My stomach wouldn't allow me.
“Within three or four days, I was in hospital and then seven weeks later I got my whole large bowel removed.”
Ramsey excelled in his return to footy, running for a game-high 180 metres, with a try, try assist, and two line breaks to go with it.
The Dragons’ NSW Cup side next play the Rabbitohs in Wollongong on Friday night ahead of the first-grade clash.
Image courtesy of St George-Illawarra Dragons
