Kevin Proctor signs with RLGC club Currumbin just weeks after French premiership success

Former NRL star Kevin Proctor has signed for his junior club just weeks after winning a premiership overseas. More here.

Former NRL player Kevin Proctor has signed with the Currumbin Eagles. Picture: Mitch Bourke.

The Currumbin Eagles have pulled off a major signing coup, securing the services of former Gold Coast Titans captain Kevin Proctor.

Currumbin junior Proctor boasts an impressive rugby league resume, with 285 NRL games under his belt and is fresh off winning the Elite One Championship in France.

“He’s a local boy who served the Titans well, it’s a huge story for us that he’s coming back to represent our club and give back to his club, that’s all he’s doing,” said Eagles coach and former Storm teammate of Proctor’s Matt Geyer.

“He could retire from rugby league and come down and coach a team and help out in other ways.

“He knows that by coming down and playing he’s going to draw attention to himself which he’s not really pleased about, he doesn’t like the attention but he’s doing it for the people at the club.

“The club helped him get a good start in his career and he wants to pay them back.”

Kevin Proctor in action for the Titans. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images.

Proctor was axed from the Titans in 2022 after he posted a video of himself vaping in the stadium toilets during the half-time break of an NRL game for which he was a reserve. He has since continued his career in Europe, playing for Wakefield Trinity in England’s Super League in 2023, before shifting to France’s top flight Elite One Championship for this season, where he was part of the AS Carcassonne team that took out the premiership just several weeks ago on May 27.

His experiences in the two countries were contrasting.

“In England, I hated it, it was just depressing, I couldn’t wait to get home,” Proctor said.

“Over in France it was the total opposite, I would’ve stayed there forever if I could. I’ll go back (next season) if it works out and I can take my kids over, but now my focus is the Eagles and doing the best I can for them.

“We lived in a little village (in France) and we didn’t really have much around us. You could’ve sat there and whinged and felt sorry for yourself but you make it work.”

Kevin Proctor and his AS Carcassonne teammates celebrate the Elite One Championship win in France. Picture: Kevin Proctor Instagram.

Currumbin’s signing of Proctor had been in the works for years, with the second-rower expressing a desire to one day return to his junior club during his playing days. He has a close friendship with Eagles vice-president Nick Daley, among others.

“The big fellas roped me in and said a couple of beers and a snag after a game and I’m hooked,” Proctor laughed.

“If I got to win an A-grade grand final and finish the year off with the club that I started at it would be a fairytale finish for me.

“It wasn’t about the money or the position of the club, it was my way to say thank you to the club that started my career.”

Proctor’s signing comes at a handy time for the Eagles, who had been on top of the RLGC A-Grade ladder but were belted 70-4 by a 12-man Burleigh on Saturday.

The move also enhances the Eagles’ strong Melbourne Storm connection. Head coach Geyer played 262 games for the Storm, while Proctor registered 179 appearances before his move to the Titans. Ironically, Geyer was the captain of the Storm side in which Proctor made his NRL debut.

Former NRL star Joel Thompson is also playing with Currumbin this season and he was signed to the Storm as a junior, but never registered an NRL game, while Melbourne legend Cameron Smith coaches an under-15 side at the club.

Former NRL star Joel Thompson signed with the Currumbin Eagles earlier this season. Picture Glenn Hampson

Geyer was thrilled to have players of the calibre of Thompson and Proctor - who once played Australian Schoolboys together - in his side for the season’s remainder.

“It’s huge for a club like ours, we can’t afford big name players,” Geyer said.

“We’ve had more recently players like Ben Hannant, Dayne Weston, and now we’ve got Joel Thompson and Kevvie Proctor.

“I’ll tell you now each of those guys would have made a lot more money elsewhere, whether it be the Northern Rivers or another club in Gold Coast Rugby League.

“But they saw our values and what we’re trying to do as a club and they wanted to be a part of what we were doing.”

Proctor’s first game for Currumbin will be the Eagles’ upcoming home clash against Runaway Bay at 3pm on Sunday.