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"Sorry Just Becomes Like Another Lie": Kevin Locke Sings NRL Redemption Song at the Storm

"I've learnt a lot of life lessons and I've learnt that I've got to grow up some day. It's taken until now."​
Youtube

When a 19-year-old fullback called Kevin Locke burst onto the NRL scene in 2009, the Warriors looked like they were in possession of one of the biggest sure-fire stars first-grade footy had seen for years.

As far as outside backs go, Locke was the complete package back then. A superb boot, a lightning fast counter-attacking ability and an eagerness in the tackle that belied his nuggety, but small 5'9" frame. A key member of the Warriors 2011 NRL Grand Final journey, Locke would play eight tests for the Kiwis between 2011 and 2013, too.

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Yet as his on-field star rose at Mt Smart Stadium, off-field incidents stacked up. Since leaving the Warriors in 2014, Locke's career has reached the lowest ebb. And now he's ready to admit his faults.

"All I can say is sorry," Locke - who has just signed a reserve-grade contract with the Melbourne Storm - told TVNZ's Matt Manukia this week. "Sorry once, and try and stop saying sorry, because sorry just becomes like another lie."

The slippery slope started for Locke - now 27 - when he was done for driving while disqualified back in 2012, coping 80 hours of community work, a NZ$1400 police fine - and a NZ$5000 fine from the Warriors. He'd go on to be caught speeding seven times, and suspended for driving twice.

Once a rising star of Kiwi rugby league, Kevin Locke's career unraveled due to off-field incidents. Source: Youtube.

As they signed up Wigan fullback Sam Tomkins in 2014 - a recruit who would never find his feet in the NRL - the Warriors ran out of patience with Locke. He'd make a deal with Super League club Salford City Reds, but things kept unravelling.

Suspended by the Reds for being involved in a car crash with former Eels half Tim Smith, the Kiwi fullback only managed five games in three months before he was cut.

Accusations of unpaid wages and personal grievances flew, but the truth was Locke's career was on the ropes because of himself. Attempts to get game time with the Western Sydney Rams - an Australian provincial rugby team - and the Manly Sea Eagles reserve-grade team over the last year failed too.

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He may well be on the other side of it, now. He'll suit up for Easts Tigers in the Queensland Cup this year. With a bit of form and an injury to a Storm outside back, Locke could be in the frame for his first taste of NRL action since 88th, and final, game for the Warriors in 2014.

"All I wanted was my closest friends or closest family members to throw their arm around me. I didn't want them to explain in detail. All it is, is, I'm here and I love you – and that's all it took."

Kevin Locke's recent television interview with TVNZ. Source: Youtube.

Locke admits that over the last year he was envious of the attention and success his wife Chelsea Pittman - an Australian international netballer - was getting ahead of him. He's moved past that now - with the help of the Almighty.

"I was jealous of her," he says. "I was insecure with what she had and what I had. I couldn't handle the fact that she was in the light more than I was."

"I'm not here to preach or anything – that's something personal to me and [how] I think that's helped me over the last few months," Locke added. "It's just about being honest to myself."

Short of a drugs and sex scandal - there's been plenty of those in the NRL, so maybe Locke has taken a tamer path in life - the former Kiwis fullback says he's ready to grow up.

"I've learnt a lot of life lessons and I've learnt that I've got to grow up some day," he says. "It's taken until now."