A case of “unfinished business” and a greater perspective developed from being bedridden for weeks earlier this year fuelled Carter Gordon’s decision to return home to rugby union.
While some media outlets labelled Gordon an NRL “reject” earlier this week when the 24-year-old’s return to Super Rugby was confirmed, the truth is the Wallaby feared not being able to play any level of the game again when he lay in bed for weeks after being operated on.
The playmaker, who won plaudits for showing the courage to leave Super Rugby and give the NRL a crack just a year after making his Test debut, suffered a rare condition where he had a fluid leak in his spine.
Eventually, doctors decided to operate on Gordon and the setback not only kept him bedridden for weeks, but it delayed his high-profile move to the NRL.
“It was a pretty tough year,” said Gordon, who on Monday signed a new three-year deal with the Queensland Reds after being granted a release from his two-year deal with the Gold Coast Titans.
“Probably the toughest year I’ve ever been through in my career physically and mentally.
“I obviously suffered a spinal fluid leak in the early part of the pre-season and then it took a long time to fully diagnose it. We knew it was spinal fluid leak based on scans, but to actually get the procedure done, it took a little bit more than what we thought.
“Three months of being pretty much bedridden was pretty tough.
“Obviously, I’d like to thank my family and my partner, they were huge through that time.
“To be able to get the surgery done and then back on the field pretty quickly after it, I’m truly grateful.”
Carter Gordon’s brief stint at the Titans was plagued by a serious spinal injury. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
But there’s nothing like having something so familiar to you taken away to give you perspective and Gordon admits the time on the sidelines tested him in ways he could not have imagined.
“After the injury, it changed my perspective on a few things,” the playmaker said.
“I think looking at it now, it’s definitely something I wouldn’t want to give up.
“I’ve got the opportunity now to put my hand up and put my best foot forward and hopefully get a position to play in.”
The stint on the sidelines also saw Gordon, who was thrown in the deepest of ends in 2023 as he was picked ahead of idol Quade Cooper for the 2023 World Cup, a campaign that ended in injury and the Wallabies crashing out in the pool stages for the first time, reconsider what he wanted to do with his career.
“I think just having unfinished business in union [motivated me to return],” Gordon said.
“I think I was 22 when I last played for the Wallabies at the World Cup and just had one season there.
“I felt like I left a bit on the table and that was eating away at me a little bit.
“So the opportunity to come back came up [was too good to turn down] and I’m very excited to be able to take it and get back on board.”
Carter Gordon says being bedridden helped give him perspective. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
It’s not just more resilience that Gordon returns to rugby with, but a slightly new skill set.
Gordon said he had “no regrets” about his short stint in the NRL and believed he had come out of the 12 months at the Titans as a stronger defender.
“Defensively, I think they’re freakish athletes,” he said. “Being able to defend well in compromised positions is probably the main thing I picked up.”
While Gordon had offers to move overseas, the Queensland product never seriously entertained them, especially after having his first child.
And with Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt regularly keeping in touch with Gordon over the past 12 months, it became a no-brainer for the skilful back to return to Australian rugby.
“You know Joe, he’s a great bloke and he cares about his players,” Gordon said.
“I was lucky enough to be able to chat to him a few times and he would just check in and see how I was going, mainly through the injuries.”
In a fascinating twist of fate, Gordon’s sudden return to the Wallabies comes just days out before they play Eddie Jones’ Japan in Tokyo.
Carter Gordon and Quade Cooper at a Wallabies training session at Sanctuary Cove on June 29, 2023. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
For most of the Wallabies, it will be the first time they will have seen Jones since the coach infamously called time on his association with Australian rugby less than 12 months into his five-year deal in 2023.
Whether he plays remains to be seen, but Gordon, who was handed his debut by Jones, said he learned plenty from his whirlwind experience under the famous coach.
“I actually learned a lot from Eddie. He’s a great coach and he doesn’t pick up the gigs he does without being such a good coach,” he said.
“I think it was just a bit of a crazy year for everyone.
“He didn’t have much time with the squad, the squad didn’t have much time together and we were kind of just thrown into there and we were expected to perform.
“I think I learned a lot about myself in that time as a young kid coming through and they’re learnings that I’ll cherish forever and hold close.”
Carter Gordon in action against the All Blacks in Dunedin. (Photo by Peter Meecham/Getty Images)
And how did his first couple of sessions back in the Wallabies training environment feel?
“Honestly, I felt better out there than I thought I was going to feel first session back, so that’s good,” he said.
“I had a little run with the Reds on Monday night, so getting back into that team stuff is awesome.
“Obviously, I got those habits coming back. I probably wasn’t in rugby league long enough to fully break down those habits and build new ones.”
Gordon will compete for the No.10 jersey with his former schoolboys teammate Tane Edmed, with the duo the only specialist playmakers in the 34-man squad for the spring tour.
Christy Doranhttps://www.theroar.com.au/2025/10/17/unfinished-business-how-being-bedridden-changed-gordons-perspective-and-led-to-his-wallabies-return/‘Unfinished business’: How being bedridden changed Gordon’s perspective – and led to his Wallabies return
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