Rugby league retirement: Luke Lewis, Brent Sherwin and Darius Boyd open up on life after footy

It’s not easy to adjust to a ‘regular’ life after enjoying the heights of rugby league stardom, but some of the game’s hardest men have found a new challenge to tackle together.

After dabbling in coaching and a physically draining stint as an underground miner, Canterbury premiership-winner Brent Sherwin found the solidarity he was searching for after retiring from rugby league on the wharves of Botany Bay.

The 46-year-old works as a stevedore with former Bulldogs teammates and two of the hardest men to ever play rugby league - Canterbury great David ‘Cement’ Gillespie and Les Davidson.

“I’m out there with a couple of teammates actually, Corey Hughes, Adam Peek, even ‘Cement’ Gillespie is there. There’s Darren Brown, Keith Galloway and Les Davidson.

“So I have that team camaraderie back,” Sherwin said.

After nine seasons with the Bulldogs, Sherwin moved to England with his wife Dee in 2008 to join Castleford, before Kevin Walters signed him to Catalans midway through 2010.

“Trent Robinson took over as coach from Kevin Walters, and he brought his own halfback,” Sherwin said.

The NRL crew working Botany docks: (clockwise from top left) Brent Sherwin, Les Davidson, Adam Peek, Corey Hughes, Keith Galloway and David Gillespie.

“After living 500 metres from Cannes beach I wasn’t going back to England. I came back in 2011 and played for Helensburgh (in NSW).”

The decision led Sherwin underground for the next four years.

“A job in the mines was a bit different... going from sunshine every day to using a light on your helmet to see,” Sherwin said.

Former Canterbury premiership winner Brent Sherwin, with his sons, Nash, 10, Tye, 6, and Brax, 12, at home. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

“Both knees went, I had to get them cleaned out.

“And my ankle was starting to give me trouble.

“Underground there is no concrete, it’s all holes and tire tracks.

“You’re in gumboots every day and it just wasn’t good for my body. The doctor said, ‘If you want to keep coming to see me, stay underground’.”

So he resurfaced and got behind the wheel.

He bought his father in law’s Boral cement truck before also investing in a hook bin rubbish truck. It was his second attempt at getting into trucking.

“I couldn’t handle being in the truck by myself all day,” Sherwin said.

“You miss being around your mates, the noise.”

Before that, he picked up a sledge hammer.

Brent Sherwin hit with a high tackle during a 2004 clash against the Roosters.

“We had just bought a house in Milperra and we moved into it right when pre-season would have started on November 7,” Sherwin said.

“So I ripped into the house and ripped it apart. It turned into my pre-season, pulling that house apart and renovating it.”

Sherwin dabbled in coaching back in 2019, helping to mentor Canterbury’s rising playmakers.

These days Sherwin’s three young sons Brax, 12, Nash, 10 and Tye, 6, are the beneficiaries of his 13-year top flight league career.

“I’m trying to teach my oldest a few things but we’re butting heads at the moment. My middle son loves it, he asks me a thousand questions and actually listens,” Sherwin said.

‘IT HIT ME IN THE FACE’: THE DAY LUKE LEWIS KNEW TO HANG UP HIS BOOTS

For six years, Luke Lewis hasn’t missed his daily appointment with his psychologist.

Every day he wakes up before dawn, walks in an hour later, and is out the door two hours after that, refreshed and reminded of what was once the biggest part of his life.

“The gym is my psychologist. It just keeps me in check,” Lewis told this masthead.

“I wake up every morning at 5am. I’m at the gym by 6am. I lift between 6-8am. I do my sauna and have my recovery session.

“It keeps my daily routine going and reminds me that’s what I used to do for a living.”

It ensures he never feels lost, at least not completely, as he navigates life in retirement.

It’s a trap that many retired NRL stars fall into after years - in Lewis’ case almost two decades - of having every aspect of their lives controlled down to its minutiae.

“I still feel lost, a little bit now,” Lewis said.

“I was told where to be, what time to be there, how to do things, what time physio was, what time weights was, what time you had to be on the training field, what part of your body needed to be strapped, when to take your supplements.”

Luke Lewis, visits his ‘psychologist’ at Reborn Athletic Hub. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

When he decided to hang up the boots, after 18 seasons and 324 games, he did so defiantly, his body still up for the rigours of a 19th year in the game.

But his mind wouldn’t let him.

“I remember jumping in the pool at training,” he recalled.

“I was probably about three laps into the kilometre swim. I’m not the best swimmer, and I’m thinking, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore’. It hit me right in the face.

“I thought, ‘I’d rather be in a cafe having a cup of coffee with my mates right now’.

“It hit me out of the blue.”

Lewis has attacked retirement with the same tenacity and work ethic as he did on the field.

When he’s not carving out a career as a NRL commentator, the 41-year-old is pouring his energy into multiple business ventures.

Reluctant swimmer Luke Lewis leaves the pool after a recovery session during his time with the Panthers.

He’s just launched a fitness app, Fitness Mates, that connects personal trainers and gyms with people looking for a place to workout.

Lewis also wants to help former NRL players and athletes grow their finances and set themselves up for life after professional sport.

So Unite, a wealth management company tailored to professional athletes that also provides player management services, was born.

“A lot of athletes don’t have a lot to fall back on. I wanted to create something that helps players build wealth,” Lewis said.

“We’ve built backpackers resorts, apartments, and then we started building diversified portfolios that were getting good returns.

“When I started thinking about why athletes aren’t getting opportunities like this, I realised it’s not what you know, but who you know.”

BOYD BY HEALTH

Family has also been the backbone of Darius Boyd’s journey into retirement.

He and his wife Kayla have just welcomed their fourth child, the second born since the Broncos and Dragons premiership-winner retired in 2020.

Boyd had a tumultuous childhood, having never known his father and was estranged from his mother when he was just eight. It made him eager to be the father he never had.

“I wanted my own family because I didn’t have a lot of family growing up,” Boyd said.

“Kayla didn’t have a stable family either. We wanted to grow our own and make sure our kids feel loved and have siblings to turn to.”

Boyd’s struggle with his mental health during his career are well-documented.

But the former Maroons and Kangaroos star has come full circle.

Darius and Kayla Boyd announce on Instagram that their fourth child would be a boy.

A decade on from the stay in a mental health facility to treat his depression during his time at the Knights, Boyd now has a diploma in counselling.

“I’ve also done a certificate in elite athlete wellbeing management, the year before I qualified as a mental health first aid instructor as well,” Boyd said.

The 337-game veteran remained in the Broncos fold after retirement in 2021, working in a coaching role with the outside backs and as a mentor to the likes of Reece Walsh.

He left the club after Walters was sacked as coach in September, but has not closed the door on his NRL coaching career.

Especially the chance to counsel young NRL players through their own careers.

“I have played at the highest level, but been through some hard times off the field as well,” Boyd said.

“In today’s society with social media and other challenges, I think it’s harder to be a professional athlete in any sport than ever has been.

“So whether it’s in the coaching world, the wellbeing space… I’m passionate about helping people and making a difference.

“I lacked some support when I was growing up, as a teenager in my early adulthood. But I had few key people that really helped me… I’d love to help do that.”