It was only 6 months ago, that new Roosters recruit Justin Carney refused to enter the water, let alone wade in it, but what a difference 6 months makes, with the young winger rescuing a woman at North Bondi on Monday.
The feel-good incident which came not too long after Eels fullback Jarryd Hayne also rescued a woman, came as the Roosters were in their recovery session, when Carney noticed the woman in distress out at sea at North Bondi.
“I thought I was gone,” Urquhart said.
“Until you came along I thought I was going to die at Bondi Beach.
“You were amazing the way you got me out of there.”
“It just dragged me straight out and I was out of my depth,” she recalled. “I was waving and yelling but the beach looked empty and no one seemed to notice me.”
For the woman that was rescued, Bondi resident Jacqueline Urquhart, she thought that no-one could see her waving her arms in the air – crying out for help, but how wrong she was.
“At first it looked like she was waving at a friend, but then I heard her screaming,” Carney said.
“I thought to myself, ‘OK … she’s on here’ and just ran in.”
“She was full of water and in a pretty bad way,” Carney said. “My only concern was to keep her out of the water.
“It was tough and in the end it turned out to be a pretty decent training session.”
Despite being a state representative in swimming in high school, Carney was never a fan of swimming out at sea, but now that he has joined the Eastern Suburbs club, he feels more comfortable at sea.
“I’ve only just started swimming in the beach since I moved up here,” Carney said.
“I was too terrified to go above my knees because I was scared of sharks.”