Every week, the Sea Eagles’ youthful gamers sit all the way down to hearken to a chat from the likes of former greats Brett Stewart and Steve Menzies, considered one of coach Anthony Seibold’s key improvements at Brookvale Oval.
This week, nevertheless, it wasn’t simply the younger weapons who needed to listen to an ex-star’s story, with senior stars like Daly Cherry-Evans and Tom Trbojevic packing in to hearken to former star Craig Field share his uncooked and confronting journey.
Field was a supremely gifted junior earlier than dropping his approach, falling into what he referred to as ‘bad habits’ like playing and medicines. After falling out of the NRL in 2001 after a failed drug take a look at, the one-time Bunnies skipper spent eight years in jail for manslaughter after a 2012 struggle in a pub carpark ended together with his sufferer later dying in hospital.
Since his launch in 2022, the 50-year-old has been residing on the Gold Coast and dealing in development – however hopes sharing his experiences will help the present technology to keep away from making the identical errors.
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Former Souths teammate – now Manly’s chief government – Tony Mestrov invited the outdated Sea Eagles halfback to return to Brookvale for the primary time in over 20 years, to share his story with a gaggle for the primary time since leaving jail.
According to educate Anthony Seibold, “you could hear a pin drop” when he spoke, so highly effective was his testimony (per Fairfax).
“He shared his stories about what he would do differently if he was in the players’ shoes,” Seibold stated, per News Corp. “Then the story about how your life can change in one moment. He had to live with that in jail. He was really raw and very emotional. It’s the first time he has done it. He has been out for about 13 months and it is the first time he has spoken in front of a group.”
Sea Eagles captain Cherry-Evans stated Field was “brutally honest”.
“His key takeaway was about owning your decision as a person because every decision has a consequence,” Cherry-Evans stated. “He made some decisions throughout his life and career that had a really negative impact on himself and the people around him.”
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Field stated afterwards he hoped his story of ‘walking away with nothing’ from the sport might encourage the subsequent technology to set themselves up for achievement.
“I was open and honest about everything,” Field advised News Corp. “Rugby league was in my DNA and I sacrificed. When I made it I didn’t earn big dollars, my mind was switched on and my head was clear of a lot of things as a young bloke.
“But when I made it I started to mix with colourful characters and I learnt some bad habits. I didn’t have the mental toughness. I don’t want them to be like me and look back after 15-20 years and think what if … If these players are smart they won’t have to work after their careers, unlike me. I’m now working six days a week.
“I’m not the only player of my generation to walk away with nothing – some good footballers and some good people have nothing and that breaks my heart.”
Source web site: www.foxsports.com.au
