Owen Craigie has risen and fallen throughout his life and the former NRL player is aiming to rise again.
Craigie is the only player to make the Australian Schoolboys team three years straight but has earned a nomination for The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame after succumbing to addiction.
The Frownlow Medal is awarded to the player whose off-field demeanour epitomises the values of the modern-day footballer and draws attention to the status of footballers as role models to young Australians. It covers Australia’s four major football codes; the National Rugby League (NRL), Australian Football League (AFL), the A-League (Football) and Rugby Union’s Super Rugby competition. NRL player Shaun Kenny-Dowall won the inaugural medal in 2015, while NRL star Talatau Amone is the most recent recipient.
The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame honours former players and players who received media attention in previous seasons, for similarly scandalous behaviour, and its inductees include Ben Cousins and Julian O’Neill.
Craigie was described as one of the most talented players to play rugby league, and signed a professional contract with the Newcastle Knights at age 17. He bought a house with that contract and seemed to be living the life when he won a premiership with the Knights in 1997.
Then he stopped rising.
He struggled with form, fitness and injuries at Newcastle, and was released. He then had similar problems at South and the Tigers, and fell into addiction. The gifted backline player later confessed to mental health issues and addictions to drugs, alcohol and gambling and said he lost an estimated $2 million to his addiction.
“I was a menace … I was living life in the fast lane 24/7,” he said to NITV.
“The people I loved the most are the people I pushed away. When I needed help for my mental health, my addictions, nine out of 10 people ran – they ran for the hills. My wife left. She had every reason to leave – I put her through hell.”
What’re more, he was sentenced to a 12-month community corrections order after nine breaches of an AVO taken out by an ex-girlfriend. During the course of the AVO, he texted, called and visited the house of the woman. One one occasion, he went to the school of his children, thinking their mother was at work, only to find her there for the daily pick up. He was then arrested the next day for the AVO breach.
When arriving at the ensuing court case, Craigie was spat on by a member of the public.
Craigie also confessed to suicidal ideation and said that former teammates Matthew Johns and Kurt Gidley helped him through the hard times. He is now planning to offer the same support to others through a foundation in his name running programs for people suffering addiction and mental health issues.
Craigie will now be able to reunite with Johns and a host of former footy greats at the awards night for The Frownlow Medal and The Frownlow Medal Hall of Fame to be held later this year.
Image: NuNa
The Frownlow Medal 