‘Certain people support him, certain people don’t’: The sad decline of Brett Finch
Brett Finch played 330 NRL matches, over 14 seasons, but his football career is often defined by one moment: a gun-barrel straight field goal that clinched victory for NSW in the opening match of the 2006 State of Origin series.
Finch was the last uninjured halfback in the state left standing, ambling into camp hungover from a three-day bender before breaking a 16-all deadlock later that night with less than two minutes remaining.
“I could’ve kicked it from f—ing Moore Park, I hit it that well,” he told Wide World of Sports in an interview last year.
That wasn’t the happiest moment of Finch’s career, as many claim. The happiest came three years later, in the dressing-room at ANZ Stadium, after the Storm had won the 2009 grand final.
There’s a famous image of him sitting on the floor, raised beer in hand, Provan-Summons Trophy between his legs, but what I remember was the scene earlier when he was surrounded by his family, including his beaming father Robert, himself a two-time premiership winner.
There was a deep sense of vindication. Finch had fallen out with the Eels earlier that year, just as he had with the Roosters, and despite his Origin miracle there was a feeling Finch wasn’t worth the trouble.
Brett Finch hoists the Provan-Summons trophy with Billy Slater after helping the Storm to victory over Parramatta in the 2009 grand final.Credit:Steve Christo
At the Storm he finally felt loved. And needed. His arrival gave them a genuine five-eighth, allowing Greg Inglis to return to the centres where he was most devastating.
In the 2009 decider, against Parramatta no less, Finch was a critical cog in the Storm machine as it thundered to its second premiership. (More than $1 million in secret payments uncovered a year later saw it taken away).
Finch had held a media conference announcing his mid-season move to Melbourne at a familiar location — the Clovelly Hotel — and he explained why Melbourne was his preferred destination.
“I’ve always loved attending the spring carnival,” he said with a cheeky smile. The room smiled with him.
That cheeky smile has been firmly wiped from Brett Finch’s face in the past two months after he was charged with five counts of using a carriage service to transmit child abuse — one of nine men arrested following an investigation by the child exploitation internet unit.
Police have alleged Finch accessed an online chatroom on two occasions in November 2020, twice in December of that year, and once in January 2021.
The matter will be mentioned before Sutherland Local Court on Thursday, February 24, although Finch has been excused from appearing. It is yet to be determined if the matter will be heard in the Local Court or referred up to the District Court.
Finch’s lawyer, Paul McGirr, said his client would be fighting the charges.
“At this stage, all we can say is that we’re waiting for more evidence and we’re reserving our position in respect to the matter,” McGirr said earlier this week. “[That evidence] includes forensic tests of the electronic data [the police] are allegedly relying on.”
Under his bail conditions, Finch must check in with police once a week and cannot use any social media websites, contact people under the age of 16, or be in the vicinity of premises known to be visited by children.
But he is allowed to use his mobile phone, after McGirr successfully had his bail conditions changed last month.
“Certain people have come out of the woodwork and have been supporting him,” McGirr said. “Certain people haven’t.”
Finch’s circle of mates is large and influential and, broadly speaking, many of them have been floored by the allegations.
Some say they’ll support him until the matter is finalised in the courts. Others are less supportive, sickened by the nature of what has been claimed.
Since his retirement in 2013, there has been regular chat about Finch’s mental state.
“How’s Finchy going?” regularly slips into conversation, partly to gossip but mostly out of concern.
He’s talked openly about his battles with alcohol and drug addiction, including a podcast days before his arrest when he admitted to burning through “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in 18 months on drugs.
He’s also burned through opportunities: first with Channel Nine and 2GB then Fox Sports.
Most people are rarely afforded second chances, let alone third chances, in the media industry, but it speaks to Finch’s relatability to the everyman, particularly those who follow rugby league, that he kept finding work.
Online bookmaker PointsBet threw him a lifeline, paying him to appear in TV ads alongside NBA star Allen Iverson and spruik odds during Seven’s horseracing coverage.
The bookmaker also sponsored his popular podcast Brett Finch Uncensored, for which he interviewed several rugby league identities, including former coaches Craig Bellamy and Ricky Stuart and a slew of former teammates.
PointsBet terminated Finch’s contract the day after the charges were laid.
More recently, he appeared on SEN Radio, although not under contract but on a casual basis.
Like everyone, the station was blindsided by the events of December 14 when he was charged. He was scheduled to co-host the afternoon shift that day before Finch’s management told producers he couldn’t make it.
Later that day, the story broke revealing why.
As it stands, Finch has been doing odd jobs as he keeps busy awaiting to learn his fate in court, a million miles from those scenes after the 2009 grand final when, for a rare moment, he looked comfortable in his own skin.
WHY NOW, DRAGONS?
The Dragons have done a very Dragons thing and extended coach Anthony Griffin for a further year before a ball has been kicked in anger — or out on the full — this season.
“We have all the info we need to make the decision now,” Dragons chief executive Ryan Webb said.
Except the win-loss record for the 2022 season.
Obviously, the club wants to end already mounting speculation about Griffin’s future before the season starts, which is understandable. He also deserves some clear air with a rejigged squad in his second year at the embattled joint-venture.
But the move brings back memories of when they re-signed Paul McGregor in April 2019 for a further two years. The same question can be asked now as it was then: why?!
Was there a stampede of clubs knocking each other out of the way to snatch Anthony Griffin away from the Dragons?
Coach Anthony Griffin has had his contract extended by the Dragons.Credit:NRL Photos
It’s a lazy assumption that the Dragons’ 2021 campaign derailed because of the “Weekend at Vaughany’s” moment.
Before that, they had scraped home against lowly teams like the Raiders and Warriors and suffered humiliating losses to the Bulldogs and Wests Tigers.
But the darkest hour is before the dawn, someone said somewhere, so let’s see what 2022 holds for the humble-yet-constantly-tortured Dragons supporter.
CAMPO’S TRUE COLOURS
Terry Campese announced himself as a special kinda bloke during a match for the Canberra Raiders in 2008 when he declined a conversion attempt that would’ve given him a personal tally of 38 points in one match.
He didn’t want to equal the record of Raiders legend Mal Meninga. He felt he didn’t deserve it.
In retirement, Campese is showing similar qualities with his Terry Campese Foundation, which helps underprivileged youths in the Queanbeyan, Braidwood and Goulburn areas.
His latest fundraiser is a Special Forces Challenge to be held in the bush over 30 hours from February 26-27. Get around it: www.specialforceschallenge.com.au.
RETURN OF GLORY DAYS
Matty Johns′ intergalactically popular radio program Morning Glory returns to the airwaves of SEN 1170 on Friday morning from 9am.
There’s been a slight change in the batting line-up with former Broncos, Warriors and Dragons flyer Denan Kemp — who is now a social media phenom and has a brewing company — replacing Greg Alexander, who now hosts the breakfast show with Andrew Voss.
Kemp will alternate each Friday with Eighth Immortal and, more recently, TikTok sensation, Andrew Johns.
THE QUOTE
“Just gave James Harden a lap dance and he told me he’s a Sixer!” — A tweet from a New York stripper the day before the Harden-Ben Simmons trade. She was ridiculed for the post then followed up with “Told you so” when the swap was confirmed the following day. Now that’s an exclusive.
THUMBS UP
The rumours about 2Pac appearing — either as a hologram or in real-life — were, alas, just that. Still, the Super Bowl halftime entertainment featuring Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Mary J Blige, Kendrick Lamar and an upside-down 50 Cent was arguably the greatest of all time. The match, won by the Rams, was also quite good.
THUMBS DOWN
Denis Oswald, the chair of IOC’s disciplinary commission, says he does not see evidence that Russia has a culture of sports doping. Yeah, and I’ve got abs the size of cricket balls. The facts concerning figure skater Kamila Valieva’s positive aren’t entirely known, but Russia’s record on doping is a stain on world sport.
It’s a big weekend for … the Winter Olympics, which reaches its shivering crescendo on Sunday night with the closing ceremony at the Bird’s Nest in Beijing. Oh, how far Australia has come, as evidenced by this headline in the Washington Post: “Australians never used to win medals at the Winter Games. Now they’re upset when they don’t”.
It’s an even bigger weekend for … the Fijian Drua, who make their Super Rugby debut against the Waratahs at CommBank Stadium on Friday night. Their inclusion will hopefully breathe some life into the competition. If they play with the panache displayed when winning the NRC in 2018, they will be worth watching.
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