It was more the sound, rather than any actual pain, that told Asi Mafi something was wrong.
The West Brisbane Panthers forward went down clutching at her leg after being tackle in Round 3 of the Holcim Cup, initially thinking it may have been a cork.
But the sound told her something different and scans have revealed she suffered a broken fibular. Mafi now also has to wait for further scans to see if there’s been any other damage done to her leg.
“It actually feels fine, my leg... it’s weird, but I have to wait to see what the MRI says next week when I go in," Mafi said.
“I have had three scans so far – the first one, they did the x-rays and it showed it was a clean break… and then I went into my appointment last week and I had to do a pressure test to see if I could put weight on it and they gave me the moon boot.
“But they said 'we might have to do an MRI to see if there is tissue or ligament damage'.
“(They said) ‘you can try and put a bit of pressure on it, but nothing too full on’.
“It was my fibular… it was literally straight though, but I didn’t feel anything, that’s the thing.
“I heard a click, but when you get tackled, my knees are getting old, so I thought it’s my knees just cracking, but we both (the tackler) heard it click when I was in the tackle, but I didn’t think much of it ‘cause I thought I just had a cork or something.
“I haven’t broken a bone before, so I don’t really know what it’s supposed to feel like, so I thought it was a cork and I was like ‘it’s alright, I am okay’ – and (the medical staff) were like, ‘do you want the buggy?’ and I was like, ‘it’s okay, I will walk off’ – but I should of got it,” Mafi said with a laugh.
While the representative forward needs to go in see a specialist next week for another consultation to find her full prognosis and method of recovery, the break alone will mean some enforced time on the sidelines with her feet up.
“I tried to stay off it for the first week – because I don’t want to rush into it, because I want it to be done properly and healed up properly and make sure I am doing the right recovery,” Mafi said.
"So that first week I did just rest it, I did everything they told me to and I didn’t try to be all superhero and go to training and all this stuff, I just wanted to rest it and keep it up.
“I was in a wheelchair that whole first week because I didn’t want to put any pressure on it at all and this week I thought I would see if could move around a bit more, which I was able to, which was good.
“Even with the boot off as well, it think it’s all mental, I am like, ‘I can’t do it, I can’t do it’, but … to be on the safe side, I want to keep this boot on as much as possible.”
The experience has also taught her to be better at accepting help; with friends, including from opposing teams, reaching out to her since she sustained her injury.
“I am really independent, so I like to do everything myself, so even in the first week, I was doing stuff myself, I had the wheelchair here and was just wheeling myself around, even showering,” Mafi said.
“But I had a mate (Sian Lavea) who came to (check in with me), she plays for Easts Tigers, but she came and brought me food and I was in the wheelchair and I made her push me around.
“But that’s the good thing about the women’s game, we might be in different teams and everything, but we are all still close, we all have mates in every single team. But when it comes to game day, we are all so competitive against each other.”
This competitiveness and camaraderie is what makes it hard for Mafi keep away from rugby league; with last year’s SEQW Division 1-winning captain making the trek out to Pizzey Park last Sunday to support the Panthers in their Round 4 games of the Holcim Cup.
“Last Sunday was the first time I went out; I went out to watch the girls because I wanted to watch the girls and it felt good,” Mafi said.
It is also hard to keep someone who is normally always on the go away from physical activity, with Mafi playing Australian Rules Football during the Holcim Cup pre-season as well as regularly lifting weights in the gym.
“I went to the gym last night and I did upper body... that was good, I felt it,” Mafi said.
“You can put your feet up to the side, so it was literally just upper body.
“(But it has been) so weird, I work two jobs as well, so I was so used to working night shift, I work night shift at the airport and during the day I was working with the NRL – we were back into work as well with the game development officers – so I was just starting back and I am so used to training, I always go to the gym.
“I rarely sleep; so it’s weird now, I am actually in bed, enjoying some rest.
“But at night, I can’t force myself to sleep so I am just trying to find something to do, I think I watched every ‘Judge Judy’ episode on YouTube.
“I have literally watched ‘Judge Judy’ and ‘Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares’; I think I have watched every single episode – and there’s a lot of that.”
As for taking suggestions on what to watch now as she continues her rest and recovery?
“Bring it on!”
One thing she will continue to watch is her team mates and her friends in the Holcim Cup; with Mafi sharing how impressed she was with the standard of the competition and the way it had helped unearth some young stars.
“It’s been so crazy this whole year, but everyone is just excited they still have an opportunity to play and we are still able to do the things we love to do,” Mafi said.
“Unfortunately I am out, but it’s been so good, the standard of footy as well, it’s getting higher and higher and even the juniors coming through, they are killing it; the under 18 girls have been killing it against some of best women in the game as well, it’s been exciting to watch.
“That’s what I have enjoyed the most – watching these junior girls, in every team as well, they are standing up and they are standing out as well, so it’s so good to watch that.
“(For the Panthers) we have Makenzie Weale, she’s been playing well and Takiyah (Nagas).
“(But the fact) we have still got the opportunity to play has been good, we just have to put in the effort I guess.
“It’s been so intense, it’s going to be tough for the selectors for Queensland and for the NRLW, there is so much talent out there.
“It’s only been four or five weeks, and that’s a lot of talent to try and watch.
“Hopefully, next year isn’t as rushed as everything is now, and we get to have a full season from start to end.
“I just want to make sure I am properly looking after myself and rehabbing well and just ready for what next year brings and hopefully next year isn’t as crazy as this year.”
