'Wouldn't be here now': Manly Sea Eagles star Joel Thompson credits friends for saving his life

Manly Sea Eagles forward Joel Thompson opened up on last October's horrific brain injury, revealing he would've died if not for the intervention of his friends.

Thompson sent shockwaves around the NRL when he shared an image of himself in a hospital bed late last year after a night out with friends on the Central Coast.

The 31-year-old's injuries were so severe he was airlifted from Gosford hospital to Royal North Shore Hospital.

However, he credits his friends for saving is life after they found him bleeding out on the ground.

"I had a brain injury, so I hit my head. I hit it on a hard bit, and it bled out," Thompson told Nine News' NRL reporter Danny Weidler.

"If it wasn't for my good friends who found me, I probably wouldn't be here now.

"I was laying on the ground."

Thompson revealed the incident occurred when he lost his footing as he waited for a Taxi.

"I was waiting for a taxi and I actually lost my footing. I couldn't stop myself and landed on a rock and bled out," he said.

"I spent three weeks in the brain ward, it was scary.

"When you get to know different people in there and have conversations with the nurses and doctors, and to hear some of the stories in there, it really affected me.

"It was so confusing, I had light in my face and I didn't know if I was alive or not. I thought I was heaven, I'm very blessed to be alive now, it just changed everything in my life."

The Manly second-rower today received one of the biggest honours of his rugby league career when he was unveiled as captain of the Indigenous All Stars.

Thompson will lead an outfit that boasts a number of NRL superstars including Latrell Mitchell, Josh Addo-Carr and Jack Wighton.

The newly appointed Indigenous All Stars skipper admits his experience has driven him to work on becoming a better person.

"I was always working on myself to be a better person, but that was the final straw for me, that I had to actually go, 'you know what, I need take that next step and give up alcohol'," he said.

"If I can't have a light beer and be sensible, I don't ever want to touch it again."