Remember me
Brandon Smith has revealed he has been alcohol-free for 105 days and is getting counselling for his gambling addiction after a life-changing four-week stay in rehab.
The 29-year-old made headlines for all the wrong reasons last year when he was charged with unlawfully supplying Sydney Roosters star Victor Radley with cocaine at Currimundi, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, on June 7.
He also faces a charge of disclosing inside knowledge of the Souths' starting line-up for his return from injury on July 2.
Smith denies both charges – but risks copping a huge ban from the NRL if found guilty of giving the inside information so an alleged drug dealer could place a bet.
With his career on the line, the man known as 'Hectic Cheese' has now revealed how he 'reinvented' himself in the offseason.
'Over the last three years of not dealing with it the right way, it created this massive snowball effect,' he said of his hard-partying ways on the Bye Round podcast.
Brandon Smith has spoken for the first time about his four-week stay in a rehab facility
Smith (pictured with partner Isabella Williams) got the nickname 'Hectic Cheese' as he became known for his hard-drinking, hard-partying lifestyle
The South Sydney star has pleaded not guilty to allegations of supplying cocaine and disclosing inside footy knowledge to an alleged drug dealer so he could make a bet
'It wasn't until this offseason that I stood back and saw it, and how my life trajectory was going.
'I don't know why I'm hiding but I went on a four-week holiday at a rehab facility.
'It was something I couldn't more highly recommend for people that are dealing with issues.
'Mine was mental health, and alcohol, and abuse – of pretty much every nature.
'What I really learnt in there was that throughout the last five years of my career I had this identity as a party boy ... and I sort of played up to that identity and didn't want to disappoint anyone.
'When I came out of the facility the whole thing was about re-identifying myself as a professional athlete.
'I'm not Brandon Smith the party boy, I'm Brandon Smith the rugby league player, the rugby league professional athlete that plays for South Sydney.
'That was a massive thing that I had to re-convince myself.
Smith is pictured at training with the Sydney Roosters while he was still living out his 'identity as a party boy'
The 29-year-old cut a trimmed-down figure in this recent photo
'I went there on my own accord. It wasn't like because I was in trouble and I went and saw the Bunnies and said I'm going to go do this to make my image look good.
'I went there before anyone knew anything and I later went and revealed it to them [Souths] that I was there.
'It's been really impactful. I'm 105 days now, alcohol-free, I'm training really well and doing all the right things off the field.'
Smith also revealed that he is getting help for his gambling problem.
'I attend AA [Alcoholics Anonymous] meetings and GA [Gamblers Anonymous] meetings.
'Since I've left [rehab] I've gone to at least three team functions where all the boys were having a fun time.
'I managed to do it without alcohol. I'm still an annoying larrikin, a pest of a bloke. I didn't need alcohol to do all that.'
Smith has cut a slimmed-down figure in recent photos both at and away from training and he said he's been spending a lot of time in nature and beach swimming now that he's not waking up hungover anymore.
'The life I'm living now is so much better than the life I was living the last couple of years,' he said.
Smith's charges stem from a police investigation following the seizure of his phone at Gold Coast Airport last year.
If he is found guilty of the betting-related charge, Smith (pictured playing for Souths last year) could be in career-threatening trouble with the NRL
Since leaving rehab, the 29-year-old star says he has stayed alcohol-free for 105 days and is also getting help for his gambling addiction
The hooker was questioned by police when he arrived in Queensland ahead of his club's August 10 clash with Gold Coast.
He was released without charge and ran out against the Titans.
Taskforce Maxima, which targets criminal gang activity across Queensland, brought the charges against Smith.
The NRL has previously taken a hard line on players found guilty of gambling-related offences.
In 2017, Wests Tigers star Tim Simona was deregistered after he was found to have bet against his own team, with then-CEO Todd Greenberg saying it was 'very hard to imagine Tim Simona will be registered with the NRL at any time in the future.'
Manly's David Williams copped a huge ban in 2014 after he was found to have bet on several NRL matches, some of which he played in.
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