Why I walked away

Sun Herald

Sunday July 26, 2009

By ADRIAN PROSZENKO

CRAIG WING has revealed he had flirted with the idea of returning to rugby union from the moment he graduated from Sydney Boys High. However, last December, with his career at the crossroads, things got serious.The South Sydney utility was nursing a broken body and broken heart. He had almost fallen out of love with rugby league as well. That's when he first seriously considered giving the game away."It was a pretty up and down time for me, where I was recovering from those injuries and I'd split up with my long-term girlfriend," Wing, 29, told The Sun-Herald."I spent almost the entire off- season training by myself. It was really tough."That's when it hit me. I had four or five operations in the space of a year. I was wondering and I still didn't know what position I was going to play at the Rabbitohs if I'd be playing reserve grade all of this year."I was thinking that if I was never to play another rugby league game again, or if I was to play this year in reserve grade like David Kidwell and Nigel Vagana have done in the past would I be happy to finish my rugby league career and be happy with everything I've done?"The answer was 'yes'."December of 2008 was significant for another reason. It was about that time the third-party sponsorship which had helped lure the prodigal son back to Redfern fell through."There was stuff going on around me, Souths, third-party stuff, since December last year. And then it got really personal about me. It really weighed on my shoulders. It was really disheartening to see that stuff in the paper."My stance all the way through is that I have no comment on it. But if I really wasn't enjoying myself and hating it then I wouldn't have been playing as well as I have this year."This is the bit where Wing gets to debunk some myths. That he is a mercenary. That he requested a release to join Japanese rugby was because he was penniless. That he hates South Sydney."One thing I want to clear up is that I'm leaving Souths on good terms," he said."There's been a bit of a misunderstanding about things in the past. Moving forward I'm always going to have South Sydney in my blood. It's where I started and it's fitting it's the place I finish."I hope when I come back I contribute something to the community and the club, when it's all said and done."What about the yen? The reported $700,000 a season to play second-division rugby in the Land of the Rising Sun?"People are saying the reason I'm going overseas is because I'm broke," he said. "I'm certainly not broke. I've been in first grade rugby league for 11 years. I think I'm in a better position financially than any of my mates who are the same age as me."I find it hard to believe that people can't accept I'm going because I want to do something new."People can rattle off that it's a big contract, 'blah, blah, blah, he's just going for the money'. That's not the case. I'm going to challenge myself with a fantastic opportunity."I'm stepping into the great unknown. I know there are going to be some tough times, some lonely times."At the end of the day when I'm married with kids and look back on it I certainly won't regret it."One thing he won't miss is the scrutiny rugby league players are now under. While it wasn't a deciding factor in his decision to leave after all, he actively pursued a media career he claimed some of the attention was unfair.It irks him that he can be breathalysed the morning after a game despite being a senior player without an alcohol-fuelled scandal tarnishing his image. And that he can't do "half the things I could when I was 22 years old because it's frowned upon"."I'm happy to be criticised for my form on the field, to have strips torn off me if I don't perform or am not up to scratch as a role model," he said. "But when it starts to intrude on your personal life and your partner or family gets drawn into it, that's something I'll certainly be happy to live without."Wing has signed a two-year deal with Japanese club NTT Communications. Thoughts about becoming a dual international are the furthest thing from his mind. An NRL comeback is unlikely, but he wouldn't rule it out."I'd never say never," he said. "I know there's going to be times when I'm lonely or doubting myself but it's a massive growing experience for me. I'll get to see what I'm about."