Brett sees light at end of the tunnel

BY DUNCAN JOHNSTONE

WHEN Brett Seymour was sacked by the Sharks this year he started rebuilding his life brick by brick, not realising he was actually laying the foundations for a new home at the Warriors.

Cronulla's patience with Seymour's serial alcohol problems finally ran out and the young man, who had relied on his football skills for a lucrative living, suddenly found himself unwanted.

He turned to an old mate, looking for labouring work at Jimmy Mundell's bricklaying business.

Seymour mixed cement instead of game plans, passed bricks instead of footballs and all the time kicked himself about how he'd messed up such a good thing.

"It was a dose of reality. I needed to clear my head and just get away from it all and I was really grateful for that," Seymour told Sunday News.

"But it certainly wasn't something I wanted to do at this stage of my life."

Yet, it was part of a healing process and a rebuilding phase. And all the time the Warriors were watching. When they eventually came along and offered him an NRL lifeline he was able to view it with the humility of a fallen star who had been forced to do an honest day's work.

He had a new perspective and the prospect of another shot at the big-time was irresistible, even if it did come with strict contract restrictions enforced by concerned NRL bosses and a pay cut from his heady days in Brisbane and Sydney.

"I'm very grateful to the Warriors for giving me another chance," Seymour says as he takes a break from pre-season training under the Auckland sun at Mt Smart Stadium.

"It's not the last resort but it's definitely the end of the line.

"For a while there I thought I could have been left in the lurch and that I'd blown it all, NRL-wise anyway. I didn't want to leave on those terms.

"I realised I've let a few people down in the past. But I've also realised there's only one way to repay the faith the Warriors have put in me and that's to go out and play good footy for the club."

Seymour is on a one-year deal with the chance of an extension if he behaves and performs. Spend some time with him and there certainly seems to be no lack of sincerity that he is out to make the most of this third chance after messing up at the Broncos and the Sharks.

"Coming over here I have stepped back in the context of money and that sort of thing. But money wasn't a thought, it was just getting the opportunity to do what I do best and that's play footy and play well.

"So that [his contract extension] will take care of itself if all goes well."

The Warriors have eyed Seymour for some time, realising he is the sort of playmaker they have been missing. He is the sort of player who can link the honest toil of their big pack to the undoubted talent out wide and someone who can also break a game open with his own set of skills.

They know they are taking a risk. But it's a calculated one and in the end they got their man at a bargain price because of circumstances.

They will back their strong club ethics to help turn Seymour around and match his undoubted talent.

"When I sat down and thought about it, I realised it was the best decision I could have made," Seymour said of shifting across the Tasman."

A month into his move here and two weeks into pre-season training, that belief has been reinforced. "I think everything is in place for it to be a success over here," he said.

He and his fiancee Roseanne have settled in quickly. They live in One Tree Hill, close to Warriors HQ but also close to the expansive Cornwall Park where they walk their four dogs.

"She's the other half of the story," Seymour said of his partner. "Roseanne has been great for me through all of this. I've dragged her around all over the place – from state to state and now country to country. But she has backed me and we are enjoying ourselves here."

A golfer who has also dabbled with a surfboard, he's keen for summer to settle in too. But in reality, the football season can't come around fast enough for him. Seymour's last game was back in early May.

"I can't wait to get on the paddock. It feels like it's been a long time – it feels like over a year."

The coaches haven't even introduced a ball at Warriors training yet – it's all been fitness work.

Seymour is keen to strut his stuff and show what all the fuss is about. This isn't an Aussie star in his twilight years. He may have had a character flaw or two that have made him unwanted but he's no hand-me-down in terms of talent.

In fact, Seymour believes his best is yet to come.

"I certainly think that. I'm still only 25 so I've got a few more good years in front of me.

"I only played my best footy when we were on a good run at Cronulla. We had a good team spirit going and everyone was playing really well.

"I can see the same sort of environment here. We don't have all the game-breakers but a good team can beat a one-man team.

"I look around here and we have got great staff, great facilities and the playing group are certainly up to standard."

- © Fairfax NZ News