Bryan Fletcher goes public with wild story after Reece Walsh and Toby Rudolf mishaps in Bali

NRL great Bryan Fletcher has revealed his own wild story of a surfing mishap in Indonesia in light of recent incidents involving Reece Walsh and Toby Rudolf. In September, a photo emerged of Broncos star Walsh in a medical centre in Bali after suffering some nasty cuts to his back after coming off his board in the surf.

The 22-year-old escaped any serious injuries, but was later joined by Cronulla Sharks forward Rudolf in a similar mishap. It was revealed this week that Rudolf will miss the first month of the 2025 season after undergoing shoulder surgery.

The Sharks player aggravated a previous injury while riding the waves in Bali on an end-of-season holiday. He told Channel 9 this week: "After the medical reviews, which were about three or four days after the last game (of the 2024 NRL season), I just said I had a sore shoulder.

"Then I was away - I was overseas - and realised it wasn't getting much better. I hurt it again surfing, and everyone that had a look at it - myself included - didn't think it was that bad. I must just be too tough for my own good [because] the scans came back and it turned out I needed surgery.

"I just sort of jumped over a lip, got hit by it, got flattened over the rocks and got my arm in a poor position. After we got the scans (in Australia) it turned out it was a bit more sinister than first thought."

Bryan Fletcher's wild story about surfing mishap in Indonesia

In light of the incidents involving Walsh and Rudolf, Roosters great Fletcher revealed his own run-in while surfing in Indonesia - and things got pretty wild. Bali and the Indonesian islands are popular destinations for NRL players keen to let their hair down at the end of a season, and Fletcher came unstuck on one trip.

Fletcher said he cut his foot open on his own fin while getting back onto the boat, after a trip to Telo Island off the western coast of Sumatra. The 50-year-old needed stitches to repair his foot, which ended up being done by a heavily intoxicated surgeon.

"There was a team of doctors in a nearby house, which was perfect," he recalled on SEN radio on Tuesday. "The guy was a neurosurgeon, but my mates wouldn't allow him to do it until after dinner when he was blind (drunk). They were feeding him tequila and he couldn't even stand up.

"I was encouraging it all, and he nailed it. I've got no scar because he did such a good job. Even though he couldn't really stand up. It was quite funny. He stitched it up and I strapped it and got straight back in the surf. It was day one of 10."

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Fletcher's story highlights some of the perils of Bali and other similar holiday destinations. Considering Walsh's mishap and the fact he was investigated for an incident that also involved Ezra Mam after a third party's phone was damaged, it'll be interesting to see if new Broncos coach Michael Maguire allows the players to head to Indonesia come this time next year.