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what a grub trying to make it sound like he is the one that has been hard done by, can't believe that we are still forced to pay him to sit around and do nothing.
EXILED Rooster Anthony Watts has returned to his Gold Coast roots in a desperate attempt to revive his flatlining NRL career.
Watts has been lost in the rugby league wilderness since he was charged with assaulting his partner Shannon Kiss and occasioning actual bodily harm, leading to him being stood down by his Sydney glamour club in April.
But the 24-year-old has vowed to fight to clear his name and hopes the change of scenery, the support of family and an opportunity to get back on the paddock with Bycroft Cup outfit Tugun Seahawks will provide some much-needed comfort after being shut off by some circles in Sydney.
"I've had my dark days and definitely had to put up with a lot in the last few months," Watts said yesterday. "Everyone's entitled to their opinion but I just am a bit ashamed with what I've been perceived as.
"It's a big thing going on and it's been really tough ... and some of my closest friends in Sydney have turned their backs on me too.
"I've gone through a lot down in Sydney over the past few months and I needed to get out of there and be back with my family and friends.
"In the end it was a pretty easy decision."
A product of the Palm Beach-Currumbin rugby league nursery, Watts broke into the NRL with the Cronulla Sharks in 2007 before three seasons with North Queensland.
Having endured off-season knee surgery, Watts was embarking on a new life at the Roosters, with whom he is still contracted, before his world turned upside down in April.
While the chance to clear his name could come with his scheduled court date on August 30, before then Watts will meet Sydney Roosters officials in the next fortnight to avoid having his contract torn up.
Confident of a positive outcome on both occasions, Watts yesterday stressed just having the chance to be back doing what he loved would provide positives he had not experienced in months.
"I couldn't walk out of my house without the photos or people saying stuff ... I was by myself and I wasn't allowed to train with the Roosters," Watts said.
"I'm technically still contracted to the Roosters but they gave me a clearance to come back to the family and play a bit of local footy.
"Coming back from a knee reconstruction I haven't touched a footy in a while. Tuesday was the first time in five months."
Signed to Tugun before the June 30 cut-off, Gold Coast Rugby League operations manager Tom Marzella said regardless of the circumstances of Watts' decision to leave Sydney, the league was willing to give him the opportunity to get on the field.
"Everybody makes mistakes but footy is footy and we don't think he should be penalised forever," Marzella said.
EXILED Rooster Anthony Watts has returned to his Gold Coast roots in a desperate attempt to revive his flatlining NRL career.
Watts has been lost in the rugby league wilderness since he was charged with assaulting his partner Shannon Kiss and occasioning actual bodily harm, leading to him being stood down by his Sydney glamour club in April.
But the 24-year-old has vowed to fight to clear his name and hopes the change of scenery, the support of family and an opportunity to get back on the paddock with Bycroft Cup outfit Tugun Seahawks will provide some much-needed comfort after being shut off by some circles in Sydney.
"I've had my dark days and definitely had to put up with a lot in the last few months," Watts said yesterday. "Everyone's entitled to their opinion but I just am a bit ashamed with what I've been perceived as.
"It's a big thing going on and it's been really tough ... and some of my closest friends in Sydney have turned their backs on me too.
"I've gone through a lot down in Sydney over the past few months and I needed to get out of there and be back with my family and friends.
"In the end it was a pretty easy decision."
A product of the Palm Beach-Currumbin rugby league nursery, Watts broke into the NRL with the Cronulla Sharks in 2007 before three seasons with North Queensland.
Having endured off-season knee surgery, Watts was embarking on a new life at the Roosters, with whom he is still contracted, before his world turned upside down in April.
While the chance to clear his name could come with his scheduled court date on August 30, before then Watts will meet Sydney Roosters officials in the next fortnight to avoid having his contract torn up.
Confident of a positive outcome on both occasions, Watts yesterday stressed just having the chance to be back doing what he loved would provide positives he had not experienced in months.
"I couldn't walk out of my house without the photos or people saying stuff ... I was by myself and I wasn't allowed to train with the Roosters," Watts said.
"I'm technically still contracted to the Roosters but they gave me a clearance to come back to the family and play a bit of local footy.
"Coming back from a knee reconstruction I haven't touched a footy in a while. Tuesday was the first time in five months."
Signed to Tugun before the June 30 cut-off, Gold Coast Rugby League operations manager Tom Marzella said regardless of the circumstances of Watts' decision to leave Sydney, the league was willing to give him the opportunity to get on the field.
"Everybody makes mistakes but footy is footy and we don't think he should be penalised forever," Marzella said.
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