NRL great Boyd Cordner has laughed off an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction when his pants split during a segment for Channel Nine’s Sunday Footy Show.
The former Roosters, NSW Blues and Kangaroos skipper was competing in the program’s Freddy’s Pass Off segment with a couple of junior footballers when he suddenly discovered he was giving viewers a bit of an eyeful.
After bending down to pick up one of the balls, Cordner turned to fellow footy legend Billy Slater and announced, ‘I’ve ripped me pants!’
He turned around to show the camera the hole, which had exposed his undies, as Slater and co-hosts Emma Lawrence, Andrew Johns and Brad Fittler burst out laughing.
‘No waxing at your joint,’ Fittler said.
‘He’s got a G-string on,’ Johns joked.
Pictured: Roosters great Boyd Cordner (left) shows Billy Slater (holding football) that he’s ripped a huge hole in his pants on Nine’s Sunday Footy Show
Co-host Andrew Johns joked that Cordner was wearing a G-string as he turned around to give viewers a good look at the damage
The 33-year-old was forced to end his glittering career early after suffering from the effects of multiple concussions
‘That’s what happens in retirement,’ Cordner shot back.
Lawrence called it the ‘best segment ever’ as she threw to an ad break.
Cordner had far more serious matters to discuss earlier in the show as he sat down with Johns, Fittler and Slater to look back over his glittering career.
The 33-year-old was forced into early retirement in 2021 due to the effects of multiple concussions he suffered while playing 183 matches for the Roosters, 16 matches for NSW and 20 games for Australia, winning premierships in 2013, 2018 and 2019.
‘Mate, it was a really tough time,’ he said of his exit from the sport.
‘I never thought of retiring at one stage, but it got to that time where I really had to be honest with myself.
‘I had a layoff there and I was getting really close to returning and still with everything that was going on symptomatically in my head, it just wasn’t right for me to take the field.
‘At that time I was pretty scared of what the head knock would look like, so for me to sit down and come up with that decision along with medical help and conversations with close ones, the people that you trust, and come up with the decision to retire.
Cordner (pictured with partner Jemma Barge) is now content with the tough decision to leave the game to protect his health
The Chooks legend now coaches the club’s SG Ball team
‘The hardest thing was that it happened all of a sudden and footy was all I’d ever known, and at the time I was coming off back-to-back premierships, going for a three-peat in 2020.
‘Then the noise around my medical state with my head had been so public, it was weighing on me a fair bit there.’
Asked if he’s grateful that he got out of the game before doing himself serious damage, Cordner didn’t hesitate to answer.
‘I am so content,’ he said.
‘I’m really grateful. I definitely made the right decision.
‘I’m happy, mate. I definitely did miss it for the first few years but I’m content now.’
