Kearney: It’s going to be a journey for him
Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney says he’s 100 per cent behind troubled superstar Kieran Foran as he deals with his off-field problems – and knows only too well the playmaker will have ‘‘some real challenges ahead of him’’.
Kearney, Foran’s coach at test level, watched Brisbane club legend Allan Langer fight back to overcome gambling issues. Langer, a Queensland icon, admitted last year that he punted away much of his rugby league fortune before getting help.
Kearney says he and the Kiwis support team will be right behind Foran, who has endured a torrid couple of months off the field.
The Eels five-eighth reportedly overdosed on prescription drugs in April before spending three weeks in a rehab clinic. Shortly after leaving the clinic, it was reported that $A75,000 from his betting account was gambled away in two hours. He is considering legal action after details of the betting splurge from his TAB account were leaked to a Sydney newspaper.
Foran is now out for the rest of the NRL season with a shoulder injury
Kearney, who is also an assistant coach at the Broncos, attended the New Zealand premiere of the movie Broke in Auckland last week, which focuses on problem gambling among league players.
‘‘There are a number of challenges Kieran faces, regardless of whether he’s in or out,’’ Kearney said.
‘‘I don’t think that’s going to be the issue for him.
‘‘It’s him actually facing what he’s doing at the moment. It’s going to be a journey and a process for him, and we’re with him the whole way.’’
‘‘But he has got some real challenges ahead of him.’’
Kearney said he’s ready and willing to help the star player with anything he needs over the coming months.
‘‘I’m definitely there,’’ he said. ‘‘When people are in pain like this, they probably don’t want to share it with everyone, until it all blows up.’’
"We’re hopeful and we’re with him all the way."
At the premiere of Broke, Kearney held a Q&A session with the audience, where he talked about problems league players face throughout their careers. Hosted by Sky TV’s Stephen McIvor, it addressed Foran’s situation.
‘‘I rang Kieran the week before it blew up and just watching him playing, I had a sense that something a bit more was going on,’’ he said.
‘‘It was two or three weeks before the [Anzac] test and I didn’t get any sense apart from I thought there was other stuff going on just by the look of him.
‘‘So that was a real shock, and with addiction that’s what you try to do, you try to hide it. You try to talk your way out of it.’’
Kearney said he had his own concerns about Foran returning to play in the Eels’ 20-18 win over the Knights on May 30 – the five-eighth was taken off injured before halftime and needs major shoulder surgery.
‘‘I didn’t think he was fit to play anyway,’’ he said.
‘‘Physically he might have been all right, but he’d been in rehab for two weeks, he comes out and there’s a story that he’s blown $75,000.’’
Meanwhile, Kearney said he hasn’t looked to get involved in whether Kiwis and Broncos hooker Kodi Nikorima should look for another club next season.
‘‘That’s a decision for Kodi,’’ Kearney said.
‘‘[Moving] might sound like the best thing to do, but sometimes it’s not and I’ve seen that happen before. It does depend on where he’s going.’’