Former Warriors NRL bad boy Sione Faumuina hasn't touched alcohol for 3 years

Former Warriors NRL bad boy Sione Faumuina hasn't touched alcohol for 3 years

He was one of rugby league's many players who behaved badly off the field. There was drinking, fighting, and bad headline after headline.

But former New Zealand Warriors star Sione Faumuina is now 35 years old with children of his own and most importantly he's been sober for three years.

"A lot of my income went on alcohol. It frightens me to think how much, during my career, I did spend on alcohol alone."

Faumuina says it ruined every aspect of his life; financially, emotionally and physically. He was inevitably sacked by the Warriors in 2006 and the troubled continued.

He was young, rich and couldn't handle the pressure. He suffered depression, self-doubt but like so many sportsman, stayed silent about it.

He now says it's ultimately up to the players to speak out if they have a problem.

"If they identify they have a problem, they need to speak up. They need to break down that barrier of 'I'm a big footy player, I can handle it myself' - no it's free, the help is there for you to access."

The former player is now based in Brisbane where his main focus is coaching young up and coming League players and trying to pass on his own cautionary tale of how alcoholism destroyed his own once promising career.

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