Premiership winner Ethan Lowe suing NRL for $1 million over crusher tackle injury
Premiership winner Ethan Lowe is suing the NRL for $1 million over a career-ending crusher tackle that has impacted his day-to-day life.
A former State of Origin back-rower who played over 140 first grade games across stints with the Cowboys and Rabbitohs, Lowe is still dealing with the after-effects of a seemingly innocuous incident in the 2020 season.
Lowe was tackled by Herman Ese'se while playing for South Sydney, backing into contact before being crushed under the weight of his 107kg frame.
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In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, the 33-year-old reflected on the incident which ended his rugby league career.
Ethan Lowe during his time with Souths. Getty
"Straight away, I felt a numbness, a pins and needles sensation throughout my whole body, mainly on my left side but into my right side as well," Lowe said.
"I figured it was pretty serious and thought it would be the end of it. I just knew it would be the last time I would play footy."
Lowe has taken his matter to Federal Court, with the NRL's insurer after they denied him compensation, alleging he is ineligible.
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He was told by the insurer - Lloyd's of London - that he did satisfy their conditions of complete paralysis. Lowe has been diagnosed with "permanent hemiplegia" which means his condition will not improve over time.
"It's got to here [Federal Court] and I haven't had the mental bandwidth to do much else. All my focus has been on this. I'm quite isolated at the moment dealing with the insurance claim," he told the Herald.
Ethan Lowe during his sole Origin appearance in 2019. Getty
"I've had to deal with it for four years and it's part of my everyday life now. But everything I have to do, I need to fully concentrate. It's draining mentally.
"It took a while, but it dawned on me when we were going through this and we had to start fighting for it, this is about me, but it's also bigger than me."
Months after Lowe's initial injury, the NRL introduced a crackdown on crusher tackles.
South Sydney offered Lowe a job in 2021, which was set to be the final year of his playing contract, before the ex-Maroons forward moved into a role with Tabcorp.
