Former Newcastle and St George Illawarra star Alex McKinnon has revealed he wanted to “end it all” following his devastating injury.

In an emotion-charged interview for 60 Minutes, both McKinnon and his parents talk about the moment they realised he’d been paralysed from the chest down.

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The life of McKinnon, 23, changed last May when a tackle involving the Melbourne Storm’s Jordan McLean damaged his spine.

Alex’s mother Kate describes a “winter’s night that was just silent, just cold”.

“I just stood and looked at the telly and said, ‘Get up, Alex, please get up sweetheart’,” Kate McKinnon said.

The report reveals McKinnon can’t cough or sneeze since his head hit the ground in that tackle and that he has often asked himself, “Why didn’t you just let go of the ball and put your hand down?”

McKinnon, though, has told News Corp he is “disgusted” by Cameron Smith’s reaction to the tackle that ended his NRL career.

The Queensland and Australia captain could be clearly heard over the referee’s microphone arguing with the official about the resulting penalty.

“If he doesn’t duck his head, that doesn’t happen,” Smith said at the time.

McKinnon said it is “disgusting” for Smith to blame the Newcastle back rower for his role in a tackle that left him in a wheelchair.

The Storm, meanwhile, moved to hose down the criticism, saying the “Storm sincerely wishes Alex and his family all the absolute best for his continued recovery”.

“At the time of this tragic accident, no one on the field had any idea of the severity of the injury Alex had suffered,” the statement read.

McKinnon was a special guest at NSW training at Coffs Harbour on Saturday.

McKinnon and his fiancee Teigan Power mingled with the Blues players before their crucial first contact session, as they ramped up their preparations for State of Origin III next week.

He chatted jovially with the likes of Trent Merrin, Tariq Sims, Aaron Woods, David Klemmer and coach Laurie Daley before the session began.

McKinnon was travelling from the Gold Coast to his home in Newcastle and was invited to attend the session by good mate Merrin. He sat sideline with Power as Daley put the Blues through an upbeat session, following their day off on Friday.

Robbie Farah trained with the Blues for the first time since breaking his hand last weekend, but so did his back-up for the hooking role Michael Ennis.

Blues players were expected to watch the program together, drawing on it for inspiration ahead of the Origin decider in Brisbane on Wednesday.