‘Millimetres from being left a quadriplegic’: How Tigers debutant defied doctors

Javon Andrews is excellent at pickleball. He was a state representative touch footballer. When he was a kid, he loved watching league stars Shaun Johnson and Greg Inglis.Andrews is also lucky to be walking, let alone making his NRL debut for the Wests Tigers on Saturday, after fracturing two vertebrae during a game in Queensland five years ago.Javon Andrews trains with the Wests Tigers this week.Wests TigersPlaying for Logan Brothers in 2021, Andrews slammed head-first into an upright, with doctors convinced the injury would deny him playing league again.“I got tackled into the post, and my head went through the gap of the padding where the velcro was,” Andrews told this masthead this week. “I was only millimetres from being left a quadriplegic.”Andrews, 19, will wear the No. 7 jersey against Canberra on Saturday as the Tigers try to keep their slim finals hopes alive at GIO Stadium.Coach Benji Marshall used the same venue to hand Lachie Galvin his NRL debut at the start of the 2024 season. Late last year, following a Tigers loss to the Raiders, Marshall pulled Heamasi Makasini aside in the visitor’s sheds to inform him he would be debuting the following week.Javon Andrews lines up a kick for Queensland in last year’s under-19s State of Origin game.NRLThe club has been in the headlines yet again this week after Adam Doueihi’s shock withdrawal from the team after he was told he would be moved to lock to accommodate Andrews.Doueihi – the Tigers’ regular halfback this season – was unimpressed that he, rather than the Parramatta-bound Jarome Luai, was the one who was being told to make way.But Tigers fans will be eager to catch a glimpse of the highly rated Andrews in action“I’ll always back myself and ability – I’ll always put my best foot forward and go after it,” said Andrews, after a starring performance in the NSW Cup at Belmore on Sunday.Adam Doueihi won’t play for the Tigers this weekend.Getty Images“If I get the call, I’ll go out there for my boys and go hard; I’ll go out and try to get the job done. Every day I feel like I put my best foot forward.“Benji keeps telling me to stay consistent, keep backing your skill, and if you get your opportunity, be ready. I like how Benji talks to everyone, how he communicates, and just his presence.“[As for Luai], he’s the best person ever. He’ll always look after you, especially if you’re his mate. He’s always trying to make you better at training, and challenging you, which makes you better. I’m contracted at the club until 2028. If they want me for longer, then perfect.”Andrews did not put a foot wrong against Canterbury in reserve grade, with opposition hooker Gordon Chan Kum Tongsaying: “He’s talented, man. I was telling him after the game, ‘you’ve gone hard, and you’ll get your [NRL] opportunity soon’. I’m expecting big things from him. When he’s got the ball in his hands, he’s a threat. He’s got a really good footy IQ.”Darius Boyd was another big admirer, and said if it was not for Andrews, his Queensland under-19s team does not win their Origin game against NSW last year. Andrews was man of the match.Coby Black, the one-time Broncos halfback prodigy who has since joined the Raiders, failed a head injury assessment, which meant Andrews had to run the show the final 20 minutes against the Blues.“And if Javon isn’t there, we don’t win that game,” said Boyd, who coached the junior Maroons to a 23-22 victory. “Once our halfback went down, he did all the kicking, set up a late try, and kicked a conversion from the sideline.“That game featured the best 34 kids in the country in that age group, and he was close to man of the match. As much as you say it will be a baptism of fire on Saturday Javon won’t be overawed by the occasion. He’s very calm.”From our partners