.png)
11 months ago
48
Disgraced former Sharks player Bronson Xerri has opened up on his NRL comeback and where it all went wrong as the Canterbury recruit prepares to re-emerge from four years of exile.
Xerri has been handed a lifeline by the Bulldogs for next season, with club boss Phil Gould prepared to give the 23-year-old a second chance in the league.
Now the former Sharks speedster has revealed how his ban from the game has changed him for the better.
His fall from grace started when he was provisionally suspended in 2020 after returning a positive drug for anabolic steroids.
The B-sample confirmed the worst, and his NRL career had come to a shuddering halt as he was hit with a four-year ban from all competition.
Bronson Xerri (pictured at Bulldogs training recently) says his ban from the sport has made him a better person
Xerri (pictured playing for Cronulla in 2019) was one of the NRL's brightest stars before his very public fall from grace
Xerri had been one of the NRL's brightest stars and the dramatic fall from grace made him realise what he really wanted from life.
'I know I've been out for four years. I'm pretty hard on myself where I've set goals and I really want to achieve them so hopefully I get that round-one spot,' he told News Corp.
'I'm taking it day by day and training session by training session.
'My short-term goal is to stay healthy, have a great pre-season and put my best foot forward to be picked for the team.
'Once I secure a spot in this team, I feel like the sky is the limit.
'I've been on the worst side of it but I know what I'm capable of, what I can do in this sport and I can't wait to get the opportunity to show people.
'I'm not in a rush either. If it's going to take time, that's okay.'
Xerri has had a tough time away from the sport and says he hardly recognises the person he used to be.
Xerri believes his biggest mistake was taking everything he had for granted
He says his biggest mistake was taking everything for granted while he was excelling in the NRL.
'I'm a totally different person now,' he says.
'To be fair, I didn't know what I had back then, I wasn't grateful.
'I had everything handed to me, I went straight from school to the NRL.
'Once that's gone, I had to work on a construction site for a few months and that's reality, that's when I found myself saying that when I'm back I'm going to be so grateful that I have this second opportunity.
'As hard as those four years were, it's made me a stronger person.'
English (US)