Harley Smith-Shields grew up wanting to play first grade rugby league – but as time went on, injuries shattered his dream.
The 25-year-old has now started his own fitness coaching business, helping many clients achieve their fitness goals.
Smith-Shields endured a nightmare run of injuries during his 20-game NRL career – which included stints at the Canberra Raiders and Gold Coast Titans.
He’s now opened up exclusively to The Daily Mail, and spoken publicly about his injury struggles.
‘It (the constant rehab stints) definitely took a toll,’ Smith-Shields said.
‘I was doing it pretty much every season for a fair while since I made my debut at the Canberra Raiders in 2020.’
Smith-Shields (pictured) has now started his own fitness coaching company to help Aussies achieve their athletic dreams
Smith-Shields (pictured) has since carved out an impressive following on social media – with more than 129,000 supporters
Smith-Shields suffered numerous injuries across his late teens and early 20s – but has pointed to the ACL injury he experienced in early 2022 as his most painful.
‘The ACL was probably the most disheartening one because I’d worked so hard. And then for it all to be taken away (was tough),’ he said.
‘It was just sort of ebbs and flows… I’d get into a position where I was playing well and then something would happen.’
After moving to the Gold Coast Titans for the 2024 season, Smith-Shields began dealing with lower back issues after tearing his pec and hamstring off the bone.
What followed was a living nightmare, with the footy star who now has more than 129,000 Instagram followers, undergoing multiple epidural procedures.
He was also forced to take up to seven Celebrex tablets (strong anti-inflammatory) per day.
‘If I didn’t take it, I couldn’t get out of bed. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t walk. I was still trying to show up,’ he said.
‘I had five epidurals on my back. It got to the point where I was taking six or seven of the Celebrex every day.’
The former NRL player (pictured) experienced several stints in hospital after repeat injuries
Smith-Shields (pictured) played NRL matches across periods at two different clubs
After making the tough decision to step away from the game he loves at the end of 2025, Smith-Shields started looking to his future.
He has now created his own coaching business called ‘A Block’, which is based on the Gold Coast, and co-founded by current Parramatta Eels player Bailey Simonsson.
In addition to abiding by his clubs’ training requirements, the former NRL player began implementing his own methods during the latter part of his career.
Smith-Shields has since used that experience to create his now-thriving business with widespread interest from clients.
‘That’s sort of where A Block was born just to show people how to move correctly and move the right ways according to their goals,’ he said.
The 25-year-old, who now boasts a ridiculous physique, has claimed his NRL career may not have turned out the way it did, if he had taken further care of his body.
‘I believe that if I trained a little bit smarter, if I trained the way that I train now, I may have been able to not have had the injuries that I had growing up,’ he said.
‘A Block is all about getting people more functional, more mobile and more capacity.’
Harley Smith-Shields (pictured playing for the Canberra Raiders) played 20 NRL games before stepping away from the code after a run of frequent injuries
The 25-year-old (pictured) hopes to keep growing his relatively new business for years to come
‘We’ve got a good mix of people at the moment. We’ve also got a good young rugby league academy, which helps young players prepare for potentially turning pro.’
Despite the success of his new venture, Smith-Shields hasn’t completely given up the idea of returning to the NRL.
‘I still haven’t decided if I would come back or not,’ he said.
‘I feel like I’ve got unproven potential – but that’s a story for another day.’
