Dylan Farrell: former South Sydney Rabbitohs player pleads guilty to drug supply
A former high-profile NRL player was on the precipice of a lucrative first grade coaching career before his involvement with drugs brought it all crashing down.
The South Coast News
Don't miss out on the headlines from The South Coast News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A former NRL player has pleaded guilty to supplying drugs after a months-long police investigation into a number of current and former South Coast rugby league players.
Former St George Illawarra Dragon and South Sydney Rabbitoh Dylan Farrell was sentenced in Nowra Local Court on Tuesday charged with supplying cannabis gummies.
The 30-year-old had reinvented himself as a player and coach for the Nowra-Bomaderry Jets following his retirement from professional rugby league due to injury in 2015.
According to Farrell’s lawyer, the Nowra man had been offered a coaching role with the South Sydney Rabbitohs, but had the offer revoked after he was charged in July 2021.
Sydney-based barrister AJ Karim told the court Farrell had been implicated in the drugs operation because of third-party conversations intercepted by South Coast police.
Court documents obtained by The South Coast News reveal conversations between Farrell and former teammates, including Zachary Kershaw who pleaded guilty to supplying more than 67g of cocaine, and Jesse Bligh, a former alleged associate.
In one conversation at another associate’s home, Farrell and Bligh discussed a drugs operation purportedly run by the associate, involving $16,000 of equipment and $50,000 in drugs.
Later that day, in a conversation outside of a Nowra F45 fitness gym managed by Farrell, the Nowra man said: “F**k it smells like yarndi (weed) in here now.”
A search executed by police on the associate’s residence on March 11 uncovered an hydroponic cannabis system with nine plants, as well as steroids, human growth hormones and prescription meds.
While the intercepted conversations implicate Farrell in drugs supply charges, Mr Karim said there was no evidence an operation of such a size existed or that Farrell was directly aware of it.
“There is an assumption that somehow Farrell had some sort of knowledge of the set up, (but) there is no evidence to support that,” he said.
Mr Karim said the drug offences were made as an “error of judgment”, and that the former footy star had first taken THC-laced gummy products as a form of self medication.
According to the court sentencing guide, Farrell began taking THC gummies to treat his sleep issues, as well as ongoing pain management, about 12 months prior to be charged.
“Farrell claims he only consumed four to five gummies per day over a week and had planned on buying more, however never did due to not having the funds to pay for it,” the documents state.
Farrell, who operates a concreting company in conjunction with the F45 gym, suffered financial losses during the Covid pandemic, according to Mr Karim.
Court documents state Farrell encouraged his friends to grow the plants after experiencing the benefits of THC/CBD himself, and denied supplying the gummies for financial gain, stating he had given a handful to his friend to try.
In an intercepted conversation tendered to the court, Farrell first asked a co-worker on February 24, 2021, about taking the gummies.
Farrell inquired about the gummies, how much they cost, and how to source them.
“I don’t know how it works, how does it work?” Farrell asked in an intercepted phone call.
“My mate’s got bears, what do you pay?,” he continued. “I’m gonna get some bra.”
The following month, in another intercepted conversation, Kershaw was told by another former player who has pleaded not guilty to drug supply charges that he owed money to Farrell.
“I gotta f*****n bite the bullet here in a second and tell old mate (Farrell) I f*****d up,” he said.
“I’m short.”
Kershaw said: “Oh no. How short?”
“Oh at the moment I got $3570. F***k what am I going to say to this c***t bra?”, the man said.
Kershaw replied: “Who?”
The man replied: “Dyl (Farrell)”.
The following month, in messages sent via the encrypted online messaging app Signal, Farrell told Kershaw he was awaiting more supply.
“Grabbing this week but can’t get anything on tick, if you have anyone to borrow off I’ll be sporting Thursday,” Farrell said.
“I should be right,” Kershaw replied.
Farrell was also charged with obstructing police investigators after officers stopped his vehicle on Old Southern Rd in Worrigee in July 2021.
“Police explained his mobile phone was being seized,” the documents state.
“Farrell was seated in his vehicle and held the phone in his left hand so that investigators could not seize the phone. The accused said: ‘You’re not taking my phone.’
“Farrell grabbed hold of the phone with both hands and destroyed it by bending it in half.”
Mr Karim told the court Farrell had sought to protect private images and videos stored on the device.
In handing down her judgement, Magistrate Lisa Viney adjourned the matter twice to ensure parity in sentencing between Farrell and co-accused parties that previously fronted the court, including Kershaw.
“The facts as I’ve read them are encouraging,” she said.
“You have an extremely minor record.
“You’re a business owner, you were previously a pro sports player, and I note the publication of the offending has impacted on your future job prospects and your reputation has been affected.”
Ms Viney said documents supplied by Mr Karim, including two character references and a psychological report, suggest Farrell had experienced a “challenging” childhood, and had become a father at a very young age. He had also experienced some gambling issues.
“I accept that you are otherwise a person of good character,” she said.
“Your references refer to you as a role model.
“But, on drugs offences the authorities are clear.”
Ms Viney sentenced Farrell to a fine of $1000 and a 12-month community corrections order for the drug cultivation charges, $750 for the wilful obstruction, and to $500 for other driving charges.
Farrell had been accused of driving whilst his licence was suspended. That matter preceded the drug charges and did not constitute a breach of bail.
Mr Karim told the court Farrell had mistakenly been on the road after “mixing up” the dates of his suspension and had informed the court he had been driving. He was sentenced to the minimum suspension of three months with leniency granted due to his role as caregiver to his children.
Addressing the media outside of the court, Mr Karim told reporters Farrell had been a highly active member of the community, reflecting arguments made in court that he had proactively engaged with Aboriginal organisations, including anti-smoking campaigns.
In one reference by a former Shoalhaven High School principal read aloud by Mr Karim, it is stated that: “After Farrell finished school, he volunteered his time to support school teachers and scholarships.”
Court documents state that while Farrell identified the impact his offending could have on his immediate family and friends, he failed to identify the impact on the wider community due to his high profile.
At Nowra Local Court on February 4, Farrell’s close friend Jesse Bligh pleaded guilty to supplying cocaine and cannabis vapes in the Shoalhaven region and was sentenced to a 12-month jail sentence to be served as an intensive corrections order.
The St Georges Basin concreter was sentenced to a two-year community corrections order with supervision and 150 hours’ community service after the court heard he had been struggling with cocaine and gambling addictions.
Former Nowra-Bomaderry Jets player Zachary Kershaw was charged with drug supply and participation in a criminal group on March 22.
Appearing before the Nowra Local Court for sentencing, Kershaw’s lawyer, Tony Cullinan, argued Kershaw was low on the drug supply chain, having bought and sold the illicit drug to support his own habit.
“Kershaw would buy an ounce at a time and sell it at smaller amounts for street level use,” Mr Cullinan said.
Mr Cullinan argued that Kershaw was not profiteering off of the trade, and was only dealing to a small circle of friends and associates who he knew on a personal level, which included previously identified players.
Kershaw was sentenced to a $500 fine for a lesser charge of alprazolam possession, a sleeping pill Mr Cullinan said Kershaw was using for anxiety.
For the charges of supply and participation in a criminal group, Kershaw was sentenced to a 12-month intensive corrections order.
$20m health facility for town set to lose emergency department
New designs for a major health precinct in a south coast town set to lose its only emergency department have been revealed.
‘Our future Olympians’: Schoolgirl rugby sensations on special mission
They are small but mighty - a group of schoolgirls aiming to be at the LA and Brisbane Olympics on a rugby sevens mission. Australian schoolgirls players to watch, new squad.