Eight years ago, Craig Field went from $450,000-a-year NRL star to prison number 512533. In his only interview after serving time for manslaughter, Field reflects on his hatred for jail and the punch that changed so many lives.
Former rugby league star Craig Field has been released from jail after serving eight years, declaring: “I’ve done my time and have to move forward — every human makes mistakes.”
Field, now 49, walked free from the minimum-security Mannus Correctional Centre on January 3 after being jailed in 2014 for manslaughter.
Field spent time at 12 jails throughout NSW, working as a sweeper, apple picker, electrician, printer, tractor driver and cleaner.
Relieved yet still deeply remorseful, Field has now vowed to help rehabilitate and mentor any wayward rising rugby league stars.
His life — and the lives of another family — were shattered when Field punched Kelvin Kane during a fight in the Kingscliff Pub carpark in July 2012.
Kane, 50, was knocked unconscious and later died in hospital.
Looking physically fit, Field has returned to the family home in Kingscliff. The Daily Telegraph interviewed Field on Kingscliff Beach, directly across the road from the pub that he is yet to return to.
“This will be the last time I really want to talk about it,” Field said.
“The only reason I did this interview was to cleanse myself. People will now know that I’m out. I want to do this once and then I want to move forward.”
Field’s wife and five children have remained loyal to the ex-footy champion.
A FREE MAN
Field was collected at Mannus by his brothers, having served time in jails from Grafton to Silverwater.
“It’s a feeling that is hard to describe. There is a lot of adrenaline and emotion. But I have served my time and I’m looking forward to the next chapter in my life with my family,” Field said.
“I have changed a lot as a human being in areas where I needed to change.
“I have also changed because of the predicament I put myself into and then the incarceration. But I feel strong, I feel good and I feel mentally tough.
“When I walked out, it was the best feeling I’ve had for a long time. I would never say anything is better than the birth of your children but for me, freedom, there’s nothing like it.
“My main goal in life is to get out and look after my family. That is my number one priority. My second goal is to make sure I don’t close any doors on the passions I still have because of the mistake I made.
“I really feel that I still have a lot to offer. Hopefully an avenue opens up.”
NEXT CHAPTER
Field has plans for his future – if offered another chance.
“Work-wise, I’m very hungry and I’ve got a good story to tell. I have been from the bottom to the top and then back to the bottom.
“If I can help kids in any way that have had troubled pasts or are on a road in their lives where they need some guidance, I would like to grab them and tell them that they don’t want to go where I went because it’s not a good place.
“I want to do things with the community and get my name back out there as the good person I am and then maybe opportunities might arise. I want to make a difference.
“Honestly, I didn’t enjoy one day of it. I wasn’t comfortable in jail for one second. There are a lot of bad people in there”
“I know I’ve got a lot to offer when it comes to challenges and hurdles that people are going to meet because I have been there and I have made a few mistakes in the past, and with mistakes there are consequences.
“The processes and procedures in place in the NRL probably aren’t where they should be. That comes down to someone who has a diploma or is a coach or teacher, not someone with life experiences. I can help with my story. A 30-minute chat can make a difference. Sometimes that’s all it takes. You can’t beat someone who has walked the walk.
“If an opportunity arises with mentoring or education, I want to be ready. I could deal one-on-one with blokes.
“If I get a phone call from a club that wants some help in welfare or mentoring, that is something I’d love to do.”
CHARACTER TEST
Kane’s death destroyed Field but the former halfback insists he is a “good person”.
“Every time you look in the mirror, you know whether you’re lying and what kind of person you are. Everyone is human and everyone makes mistakes,” Field said.
“I have definitely learnt a lot from being in custody and I have also learnt a lot about myself and others. You’ve got to be hard on yourself to find some closure.
“Aussies are pretty fickle. We like to slap people on the back that are going well but when you’re going bad we like to put the boot in. I know that from being a professional sportsman.
“I want to be a good person and I want my kids to be good people. That’s my main perspective in life. I want to turn things around and be known as someone who did something good, not something bad.
“I owe it to my wife and family to go out and be that good person and give back to the community.
“In my footy career, I had demons and no one was helping me. I put myself in that position so I can’t blame anyone for it. No one told me I needed to pull up and do this and that.
“When it came to the cross roads at Wests Tigers (he was sacked for using cocaine), I just felt that they didn’t wrap their arms around me and support me like they said they were going to. The game is the creator of their own beasts.”
DOING TIME
Field hated every minute in incarceration.
“Honestly, I didn’t enjoy one day of it. I wasn’t comfortable in jail for one second. There are a lot of bad people in there,” Field said.
“But jail teaches you that it’s easy to judge. People judge you but no one knows the reason behind it. It has made me look at things differently and not judge people straight away.
“I now know what I’m talking about when it comes to choice, poor choices and what’s in the real world.
“In my footy career, I had demons and no one was helping me. I put myself in that position so I can’t blame anyone for it. No one told me I needed to pull up and do this and that.”
“I was moved around between 12 jails in that eight-year period, from the top-end in Grafton all the way through Silverwater.
“For a long time I struggled with the fact I had hurt someone to the point where they lost their life. It was very hard at first because a family member was lost. It was very tragic.
“But you can find some peace when you realise why you do things and why I put myself in that situation. It made my thought process a lot better. I also met a lot of good people in jail. That is why I have a belief that good people make mistakes.”
JAIL DUTIES
Field needed to work inside to keep sane.
“When you’re in jail you go through classifications. I was in there for manslaughter so I was on an A2, which is one of the highest,” he said. “Every jail is different.
“Working was probably the best thing. I started with all different jobs. I’ve been a sweeper where you clean the units to working in the print shop. I was the leading hand there. I was making the books they use through the jails, printing out the programs on machines. I did that for three-and-a-half years.
“I then did some electrical work on the demountables for remote sites. I was also a visit sweeper where you go and clean the room after everyone visits.
“I worked on an apple orchid down in Mannus, near Tumbarumba. I was driving the tractor and spraying the trees so they blossom. I was there for two years.
“My last job was being a gym sweeper. That’s where I started getting myself back into a bit of nick. You progress with your behaviour and they go through your offending behaviour and then tell you how you can better yourself and understand why you made the choices you did.
“Going through those classification processes in custody, it helped because I wanted to get out as soon as I could. I wanted to get home to my wife and kids from day one. Jail wasn’t easy but it helped for my vision.”
TRAGIC DEATH
Kane was knocked unconscious and later died in hospital. Field rushed to the fight to protect a friend he was drinking with inside the pub. Field was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.
“This will be the last time I really want to talk about it. But it did happen and I’m not proud of it. I am remorseful.
“When I was going through the trials, some might have thought I wasn’t remorseful but at no point did I think the outcome that night would be what it was.
“I was having a beer with a person who I thought was a mate of mine. He started an altercation and because I was with him I went to make sure he was all right out in the carpark.
“I don’t want to bring it up again because a man is dead and I can’t get my eight years back. I have to move forward. My belief that night was to back my mate.
“Tragically, we’re now where we are. It’s a sad thing. There are no winners for either family. I have gone through that night so many times. I shouldn’t have been at the pub for as long as I was. I should have been home with my family.”
SECOND CHANCE
Field understands people will whisper behind his back, but he’s not seeking forgiveness.
“I’d like to think people will (give me a second chance) but I’ve got no control over that.
“I want to reach the goals I want. Life is short. A lot of people supported me through jail, a lot didn’t that I thought would. But that’s life. I don’t hold grudges.
“Me, I want to be friends with people through good and bad times and help them.
“I started talking to him as a father figure. Josh (Addo-Carr) told me he got dropped from junior reps. I told him to come and play with his cousins, he was only 18, and I would get him hungry, competitive and passionate to play again.”
“There was a handful of guys that were always there to see me. Johnny Elias (granted a suspended jail sentence for assault in 2014) was great, Nathan Wood, Steve Benkic (former NRL players).
“A lot of guys came and visited and I appreciated that.
“Some came once, some didn’t come at all. My family were great, my wife and kids were unbelievable. They do jail when you’re doing jail. They try to get on with their own lives and they hear people saying stuff.”
LOYALTY
Fields says he must learn to look after himself — and not others.
“Me getting involved in someone’s actions on the night, I have paid a big price, a really big price. I am a very loyal person.
“I am still passionate about a lot of things. Jail beats up a lot of guys. They get out but have no confidence and they want to do something stupid again. They think the world is against them and they don’t think there’s much out there for them.
“But I’m the opposite. I like to see people doing good things and I like to be around good, positive people. That’s where I become a better person and allows me to maintain the standards I want to keep.”
FOX TROT
A Daily Telegraph story from 2017 in which NRL star John Addo-Carr attributed much of his success to Field’s mentoring helped get Field through the tough times.
“I had that story on my wall everywhere I went,” Field said. “When I went to minimum, the boys framed it for me. Josh thanked me in the story for getting him passionate about footy again.
“The Telegraph did the interview. I was coaching Moore Park A Grade while on bail. All Josh’s cousins and mates were playing for us. Some of them were a bit loose. Josh came and played touch and as soon as I saw him, I thought he was special.
“I started talking to him as a father figure. Josh told me he got dropped from junior reps. I told him to come and play with his cousins, he was only 18, and I would get him hungry, competitive and passionate to play again.
“And he did. He killed them. We won the comp in 2013 and ‘14.
“That kid could easily have gone down the wrong path. Now he’s one of the best wingers to play the game. That story meant a lot to me – that’s the person I want to be.
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