NRL players Ben Trbojevic, Sione Fainu, and Moses Suli talked about hearing their teammate Keith Titmuss’s
terrifying screams when he passed out during practice.
On November 23, 2020, during pre-season training at Manly’s headquarters on Sydney’s northern beaches, the 20-
year-old passed out.
At a coroner’s inquest, it was revealed that multiple specialists had determined that he was experiencing heat stroke
when he experienced a seizure following the first practice following the off-season.
Following his hasty hospital admission, Mr. Titmuss experienced a deadly heart attack.
Ben Trbojevic, a player for Manly, who was formerly his teammate, described on Tuesday hearing his screams while
he was suffering from heat stroke.
After the “hard” training session that lasted for hours, he reported to Lidcombe Coroners Court that he observed Mr.
Titmuss lying on the floor of the indoor gym, unable to move.
According to Mr. Trbojevic, “people were saying it was a full body cramp.”
The 20-year-old was surrounded by staff members who were trying to help, but the inquest was informed that he
went unconscious and had a seizure that lasted for seven minutes.
Wests Tigers star Fainu and St George Illawarra star Suli, two of his former colleagues, said in court that they heard
screaming and hurried to the room.
”According to Mr. Suli, “He was just laying there screaming I couldn’t take no action.”
The 20-year-old, according to Mr. Trbojevic, was making “a really loud screaming noise” while lying still on his
stomach.
Before the ambulance arrived, coaching staff escorted all three players out of the gym.
Several experts have established the cause of Mr Titmuss’s death was exertional heat exhaustion, the inquest was
told on Monday.
Before the training session, Mr. Fainu told the court, he had been in communication with Mr. Titmuss, and
everything was “sweet” and “normal.”
He described the weather as “pretty hot” and gave the training session an intensity rating of “nine out of ten.”
Josh Schuster, a former teammate and longstanding best friend of Mr. Titmuss, had earlier testified at the inquest
that the training session had been “one of the toughest training sessions I’ve ever done.”
On Monday, though, the inquest was informed that the training session was “not (an) overly strenuous or taxing
session,” according to former head coach Des Hasler.
Throughout the drills, Mr. Fainu observed Mr. Titmuss suffering, but he didn’t think it was odd because “everyone
was struggling.”
Mr. Trbojevic stated, “By looking at him, you’d think he’d done a tough session, but looking at everyone else, you’d
say the same.”
Mr. Fainu clarified that there was a chance to take a break if you were struggling, but nobody did. Rather, they
supported one another to finish the session.
“We needed to persevere and push through. Keith remarked, “Everyone was pushing him.”
As he got ready to make his Manly debut, Mr. Suli claimed that Mr. Titmuss “trained really hard” and “was just
trying to fight for his place on the team.”
He spoke well of his late teammate, calling him a “good kid,” “humble,” and “really nice.”
The 20-year-old was also praised by Mr. Trbojevic, who called him a “genuine bloke” and “so lovely.”
“He was loved by all at Manly,” he testified at the inquest.
“He was a very talented player and very hardworking.”
Four paramedics treated Mr. Titmuss at the indoor gym before he was taken to the hospital, where he passed away.
The 20-year-old was treated by paramedics who “did everything they could,” according to NSW Ambulance expert
Anna Holdgate.
The four paramedics who were treating Mr. Titmuss for his seizures and applying a breathing mask were told by the
inquest that he fought them.
Professor Holdgate stated that treating the seizure symptoms first, rather than attempting to lower Mr. Titmuss’s
fever, was “completely appropriate.”
On Monday, the inquest was informed that the patient’s fever was about 42°C, which was the highest one paramedic
had ever recorded.
According to Professor Holdgate, “he was fitting, and fitting is a major cause of driving heat.”
“You’re letting the heat levels worsen by not treating the fitting The emergency physician stated that Mr. Titmuss was
suffering from “extreme hyperthermia” and that using ice packs would have been of “minimal benefit.”
She believed that the ice packs would have only slightly lowered Mr. Titmuss’s temperature—maybe 0.5C—if they
had been able to be applied to his agitated and seizing body.
The twenty-year-old’s temperature had dropped to 39.5C by the time he got to the hospital.
That, in my opinion, proves what the paramedics had done in every way. had all played a part in his temperature
falling by two degrees, which is a significant drop over the course of forty-five minutes, according to Professor
Holdgate.
On Wednesday, the inquest will resume before State Deputy Coroner Derek Lee.
