Ramsey played 26 reserve-grade games for the Red V last season. None was more significant than the first. “I just wanted to get back and play football, see what that looked like, I didn’t really know. No one really knew, did they?” he said.
“I could have played five games and something with my guts could have happened. I wasn’t nervous, I was just ecstatic. Emotional was the feeling.
“It was such a big relief for me and my family too because they haven’t seen me play, they haven’t seen me train. They didn’t know what it looked like. I was still 80 kilos, so they still saw me as recovering or didn’t really know. So then they see me run around, tackle, get tackled, get smashed. Obviously I was well-prepared.”
The Roosters pre-season has only just begun and Ramsey is unsure what role he will play in 2026. Skipper Tedesco, fresh off another Dally M-winning year, is the fullback and will remain there after extending his contract until the end of 2027. Promising youngster Rex Bassingthwaighte is also viewed as a future option.
“I just want to put my head down and learn anything from what he does, he’s the best player in the comp,” Ramsey said of Tedesco.
“If I can soak in some information and learn just a little bit from him, I’ll be much better for it, that’s for sure.”
Roosters recruitment boss Joel Carbone said the club likes what they see in Ramsey. “Cody is a competitor who brings energy, toughness and genuine strike,” Carbone said. “It says a lot about his character that he’s overcome the challenges of the last couple of years.
Cody Ramsey in action for the Dragons in 2022.Credit: NRL Photos
“He adds terrific depth to our outside backs.”
Ramsey, 25, said he was grateful for the support the Dragons provided him during his illness and has no animosity towards the club for not keeping him.
“I wouldn’t have gotten back if not for what they did,” he said.
“I couldn’t have asked for a better situation to be in. If I ever needed something, it was just one phone call.”
So what will it be like playing against his junior club and a possibly NRL return to end a four-year drought?
“It would be strange, wouldn’t it?” he said.
“I’d be up against some of my best mates. Blake Lawrie is godfather to my daughter, so it would be strange. He’d probably come after me.
Loading
“I honestly think I would cry if I ran out onto the field. It’s just special, isn’t it?
“I probably took football for granted when I was playing week in and week out in the NRL. After the surgeries and it looked like I wouldn’t play ever again or for a really long time.
“I just have this love and appreciation for the game again … I have a lot more appreciation of life.
“I’d be a bit emotional if I get the opportunity to run back onto the NRL pitch.”
