Chris Sandow has let the ‘dysfunction’ of his hometown get the better of him, former teammate says
A FORMER teammate of Chris Sandow says he’s let the “dysfunction” of his hometown get the better of him after being filmed in a wild street brawl.
NRL
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A FORMER teammate of Chris Sandow has said the troubled former NRL star had let himself down and had let the “dysfunction” of his hometown get the better of him after being filmed in a wild street brawl on New Year’s Day.
Indigenous mentor Dean Widders said he was reaching out to the 27-year-old after Sandow was charged over the fight with a shirtless, barefoot opponent in his hometown of Cherbourg, 250km north of Brisbane, on Sunday.
During the fight Sandow allegedly headbutted his opponent and felled him with a punch to the jaw. The 2008 NRL Rookie of the Year will face court next Wednesday after being charged with public nuisance.
Despite a crowd egging the pair on, Cherbourg’s Mayor Arnold Murray said it was “just two blokes having a fight after a few beers”.
Widders, who played alongside Sandow at South Sydney and works for the NRL in welfare and education, said Cherbourg could be a volatile environment.
“Cherbourg is a tough little town and there is a lot of dysfunction because people are struggling with life,” he said.
“There are survival mechanisms in those towns, so when people are pulling you out to fight you have to stand there and fight them no matter who you are. But what we try and do with our players at the NRL is that they don’t have to go back to the towns and fit into what happened when they were young.”
Sandow walked out on English Super League club Warrington for personal reasons in November. Any hope of return to the NRL appears dashed by his alleged brawling.
Widders said he was disappointed with Sandow but determined to help him out.
“I saw him at his recent boxing fight in Sydney and went and wished him well,” he said.
“I’ll definitely be in touch with him soon to try and help him out.”
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