Former NRL athlete Nat Wood has courageously shared his struggle with thoughts of suicide after being diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

At 53, Wood reflects on his extensive career, during which he played 215 top-tier matches across Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. His diagnosis came approximately 18 months ago, shedding light on his ongoing battle with the illness.

Disturbingly, Wood recounted experiencing over 30 knockouts throughout his career, often suffering at least two significant head injuries each season.

In recent years, other rugby league figures, including renowned NRL icon Wally Lewis, have disclosed their own battles with CTE, a debilitating brain disease currently lacking a cure.

Medical experts associate CTE with repeated head trauma, with symptoms manifesting as mood swings, short-term memory issues, and confusion.

These symptoms are known to progressively worsen over time and can emerge long after the initial head injuries have occurred.

Rugby league great Nathan Wood (right) has opened up on being diagnosed with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)

Wood is now looking to help raise funds for the Sydney Brain Bank in a bid to either find a cure for CTE or slow the disease down.

‘About 18 months ago I had a pretty poor CTE diagnosis, which I’ve kept pretty dark,’ Wood told SEN1170.

‘The only reason I found out about it is that it was a mate of mine who I played with in the UK Nick Fozzard. I saw him on Facebook copping a bit of a bag from the press and supporters.

‘I touched base with him to ask: “What was going on?” And he said: “I’ve got a really bad report on my findings in my X-rays, MRIs and everything like that. I’ve posted it and I’m getting a bit of backlash.”

‘I was just ringing to give him a bit of support and see if he was alright. I asked him what the symptoms were and I said: “I’ve had that for ages”.

‘He’s like: “Ah you should get tested”. And I said: “I don’t want to know”. He was like: “You’ve got to know!”

‘I was like: “Why?” and he said that there was no cure for it.’

Wood explained at the time that he wanted to go on with life without thinking about the illness.

Wood enjoyed a glittering career in rugby league, making 215 first grade appearances for clubs across Australia and the UK. However, he claimed to have been knocked out over 30 times in his career

Wood revealed that he was 18 years old when he was knocked out for the first time while he was playing footy for the South Sydney Rabbitohs. He explained that he temporarily lost his sight as a result of the horrific head knock 

‘I ended up getting all these tests done and I got a pretty poor result in a lot of things. I got 133 scans, 108 of them were abnormal.

Wood revealed that he was 18 years old when he was knocked out for the first time while he was playing footy for the South Sydney Rabbitohs. He explained that he temporarily lost his sight as a result of the horrific head knock.

‘I played first-grade footy since I was 18, my first really bad concussion I went to sleep and lost my eyesight. I was in intensive care for two days, went completely blind and had to have a year off footy and start from scratch. That was my first real bad concussion and that was in U21s for the Souths. And then once I came back I had to start fresh. I went to the Tigers and just started from then.’

‘In those 20 years until I retired from footy, I probably got knocked out twice a season.

‘I tried to play above my weight and you know the chances of coming through that unscathed are pretty much zero.’

Wood returned to the footy pitch a season later, but revealed he was forced to start from scratch. He’d join up with the Balmain Tigers, before going on to enjoy stints at Sydney City, New Zealand Warriors. Later in his career, he’d also play for Wakefield and Warrington.

After hanging up his boots in 2005, the former hooker revealed that he struggled with mental health issues, due in part to his CTE diagnosis, ongoing surgeries due to an accident at work and twice-weekly migraines.

Wood revealed to The Daily Telegraph that it led him to contemplate doing the unthinkable.

Wood (pictured carrying the ball) explained that his CTE symptoms, coupled with other issues, led him to wanting to take his own life 

‘I kept having the same thoughts about how I would kill myself and I hated that I couldn’t get it out of my head,’ he told The Daily Telegraph.

‘They were shit thoughts and I just couldn’t understand why.

‘I felt like a weak bastard or soft c**k because I was brought up to cherish life.

‘If dad knew how I was thinking, he would say: “You f…ing idiot, why are you thinking like that?” I used to think: “How do people kill themselves?”

‘It was alarming.

‘I would also think: “What the f*** is going through my head?”’

Wood explained that he was ‘going to dark places’ and ‘couldn’t control his thoughts’.

‘The last thing I want to do is die. I love my family, but I was just finding it impossible to stop having these thoughts and that made me feel super guilty,’ he added.

Wood revealed that he tried to tell his mother that he had been diagnosed with CTE but she responded saying that he had forgotten he had already told her eight months ago

‘I have never been a person to think about doing something stupid, but I was contemplating how I would kill myself,’ he explained.

Thankfully, he has broken out of that rut, explaining that he is keeping ‘proactive’ and is focusing his energies on improving himself.

While he has kept his diagnosis largely under wraps, Wood opened up on how he broke the news to his mum, Wendy.

‘This is the funny side of the story,’ he told The Daily Telegraph.

‘For eight months, I had been wanting to tell mum and dad. I love dad that much but he has Parkinson’s so he’s on medication and I didn’t want to add to his stress.

‘Last week, Mum and I were walking to the car and I finally told her: “I’m all good but I got tested for CTE and I got a pretty bad report”.

“She said: “Are you serious? You told me that eight months ago”.’

Wood laughed as he recounted the moment.

‘It was actually funny. Wendy is the rock of our family. She lives in a house full of broken noses and forgotten promises,’ he said.

The former Tigers star is now undergoing hydrogen therapy, a new form of treatment that he believes is helping to alleviate the symptoms of CTE.

Hydrogen is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Wood explained that the molecule is able to enter the brain and help improve cellular recovery.

Wood revealed that he has difficulty with short-term memory loss, but after undergoing hydrogen therapy, he explained his brain felt much clearer, and he was able to remember everything about his day.

Now Wood is raising money for CTE research and the Sydney Brain Bank through a new fundraiser.

The initiative is called the 99Hiitbox Standing Eight Punch and Burpee Challenge, which will see people punch a boxing bag for 30 seconds, do burpees for 30 seconds and punch the bag again for 30 seconds.

Wood, who called for the NRL to do more to educate players on CTE and its symptoms, explained that he was looking for more people to get involved in his fundraiser.

‘If gyms or footy clubs want to help us raise funds for CTE research, they can contact me at nat@thehiitbox.co.’

Call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Call the Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467.

Call Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.