TOM TOM TURNAROUND
LEON PRYCE has come clean on the two highprofile court cases in his glittering career – and admits he feared being sent to prison.
Writing in his explosive new autobiography Pryceless, the former Bradford, St Helens and Great Britain star has revealed the massive impact of the two off-field events.
The first, in September 2002, saw him plead guilty to unlawful wounding after a nightclub incident with then Bradford Bulls conditioner Eddie McGuinness.
Pryce – who won four Super Leagues, five Challenge Cups and three World Club Challenges – says the events left him fearing prison, before he was sentenced to 120 hours community service.
Six years later, in 2008, Pryce was in trouble with the law again, after joining former team-mate Stuart Reardon in a domestic dispute that resulted in an assault charge and another 100 hours community service.
But it was the first incident, when 21, that TWO-TRY Tom Briscoe proved he is back from his embarrassing low as Leeds Rhinos ended Wakefield Trinity’s seven-game winning run.
The humiliated ex-England winger was ‘hooked’ in the first half after an error-ridden display against Super League leaders Castleford at Magic Weekend three weeks ago.
In-form Trinity surged into a rocked his life the most. Pryce has not divulged the actual events of that night out of respect to McGuinness and his family, after he died in a road incident in 2009.
But the 35- year- old, who announced his retirement last month, has laid bare the repercussions it had on his life.
Pryce said: “I was wrong with what I did – there is simply no getting away from that. It’s vital people understand that.
“When it happened a lot of people thought I was lucky to escape jail and maybe that’s the case, because people have been to prison for things like this.
Punishment
“Right up until the day of the sentencing I was expecting and anticipating that to happen.
“I even took my washbag with me to court. People think you’ve got off lightly, but I carried what I did that night with me for a good 10 or 11 years before I could really begin to let it go.
“You hold it against yourself and it made me a really defensive Pryceless is available from all good bookshops. You can order a signed copy for £20, including UK delivery, from www.gnbooks.co.uk or call 01274 735056. 10-0 lead inside just 11 minutes after prolific winger Mason CatonBrown raced 80 metres untouched for his 14th try in only nine game before Kyle Wood also sniped over.
But Leeds soon hit back as Stevie Ward scored a scrappy try after ex-Rhinos winger Ben JonesBishop spilled a kick.
Briscoe then glided over for his first in the 22nd minute after Kallum Watkins supported Ashton Golding’s break but they still trailed 10-8 at the break. However, and guarded person. It changed my life. I deserve that for what I did.
“We were a young family and I’d gone and done something stupid which will be with us forever and it wasn’t until I went to Catalans I began to be able to let it go.
“But this isn’t a sob story. I deserved every bit of the punishment and the negative spotlight.”
Pryce found himself in the dock again alongside Reardon – but he doesn’t feel that the spotlight the case earned was justified.
He said: “In my opinion it wasn’t worthy of anything, but we’re sports stars aren’t we – maybe they wanted to make an example out of us.” they applied the pressure for Briscoe to put them 12-10 ahead in the 58th minute.
And then an embarrassing mixup between Jones-Bishop and Scott Grix saw Joel Moon cross just two minutes later, Liam Sutcliffe slotting his only goal.
It proved crucial as Jones-Bishop responded in the 72nd minute, Liam Finn adding his second conversion. But Chris Chester’s side fell just short as Leeds moved into joint-second in the table. Follow us on Twwitwtewr.: @ LEON PRYCE says the week he turned into Australia’s public enemy No.1 ended with the most memorable win of his career. Pryce found himself the target of the Aussie media after a tongue-in-cheek comment about preferring Blackpool beach to Bondi during Great Britain’s 2006 TriNations campaign Down Under. He became the subject of tabloid headlines and TV news reports – but turned the pressure into a positive when the Lions beat Australia in Sydney at the end of a traumatic week.