Why Newcastle Knights youngster Jermaine McEwen had to leave Sydney to keep on the straight-and-narrow

A ransacked home on Christmas Day was enough for Knights youngster Jermaine McEwen to know he had to get out of Sydney if he was going to build on his promising rugby league career.

When Jermaine McEwen returned to his ransacked home on Christmas Day five years ago, with bricks thrown through the windows, he knew it was time to get out of western Sydney.

If not he feared the worst and a promising football career – which was realised when he made his debut for Newcastle in round three – would never take shape.

There had been moments before this heartbreaking moment on December 25. Schoolyard fights and a dramatic brawl involving family members at Penrith Stadium after a Harold Matthews game were warning signs that all was not right.

But it was that Christmas Day in 2022 which left McEwen and his family at the crossroads.

“We were staying in a hotel,” McEwen said. “I remember we came back to the house to spend the day with the family and there were bricks through the house. There were windows smashed. All our photos were broken.

Big things are predicted for Jermaine McEwen at the Knights. Picture: NRL Images

“I remember walking into the house with my little brother, mum, dad and sister. Mum and Dad were just heartbroken. They were confused and they had no idea what to do next.

“I saw pain in my families face and even pain in myself.

“I was going through a lot and none of that stuff related to football.

“I remember a game for the Panthers. It was round one of the Harold Matthews competition against Central Coast at Penrith. I was having a shower in the dressing sheds and I heard people screaming.

“There were people screaming and talking but the voices sounded familiar. I knew it was my family. I remember rushing out of the sheds and jumping out the back fence. Penrith officials were trying to hold me back. There was an all-in brawl with my family.”

McEwen had long been earmarked as a future rugby league star. He was born in western Sydney before his family relocated to Orange when he was five. It was there he would play his first rugby league game.

“My dad has a twin brother and he took a look at me one day and just threw me into a game with my cousin,” McEwen said. “I made one tackle and my dad said he looked at his twin brother and thought this kid was special. I’ve played ever since.”

Big things are predicted for Jermaine McEwen at the Knights. Picture: NRL Photos

The family – which includes four brothers and a sister – moved back to Sydney when McEwen was 10. McEwen was identified by the Panthers and was named their players’ player in the under-16 Andrew Johns Cup competition.

“Everything went downhill when I was about 15 or 16,” McEwen said. “After the incident after that game and then the Christmas Day situation I saw all my families’ emotion and I told dad that I didn’t want to play footy any more,” McEwen said. “I told my dad it wasn’t going my way and with everything that is happening to our family I couldn’t go the park or train extras without people pulling up. I couldn’t go for a road run without a car pulling up beside me. I had a fight at school in the first term of year 10 and I knew I wasn’t safe any more but I was a guy that was never going to run away from my problems.

“That was the bad thing. I would go head-to-head with people. I wouldn’t get scared.

“Dad told me I had a gift and I should keep playing. I told him that I had to move out of Sydney if I was going to stay with rugby league.”

McEwen told his agent to find him a new club. Penrith were accommodating given the dangerous family circumstances McEwen was being exposed to.

While a host of Sydney clubs circled it was when the Knights came for him in early 2023 that McEwen knew that is where he would best prosper.

Jermaine McEwen made his debut for Newcastle earlier this season. Credit: Supplied.

“I had to get out of Sydney,” McEwen said. “As soon as I got to Newcastle I was comfortable. It felt like home. My family all moved.”

McEwen’s sister Evah made her rugby league debut before Jermaine after playing for the Knights in the NRLW last year. Jermaine, who played NSW under-19s last year, joined her as a first grade player this year.

And he did so as a new dad after his partner gave birth to a baby girl Narla last year.

“Ever since I moved to Newcastle I’ve changed as a man,” McEwen, who is signed until 2027, said. “I’ve been doing nothing but positive stuff and my blessing was to have a baby. When I got told I was going to make my debut Ads (coach Adam O’Brien) came up to me and said ‘you’re in’. My heart dropped and all I could do was think of my family and all the stuff we’ve been through. This is why I wanted to move away from Sydney and Newcastle have shown to me that no matter what you go through you can achieve something.”

McEwen will celebrate his 20th birthday when the Knights take on the Bulldogs on Sunday.