ONE would hope the Newcastle Knights' decision not to offer a lifeline to former captain Jarrod Mullen has been based purely on football reasons.
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It emerged earlier this week that Mullen, the ex-NSW Origin halfback who played in 211 NRL games for Newcastle and skippered the team to two play-off victories in 2013, has approached the NRL integrity unit about the possibility of resuming his career.
He has another four months to serve after ASADA banned him for four years when he tested positive to an illegal steroid in 2016.
He also has 300 hours of community service to complete after pleading guilty in Wollongong Local Court to buying 39 grams of cocaine - 13 times the trafficable quantity.
The response from Knights coach Adam O'Brien to the news that Mullen wants to launch a comeback reflected the general consensus of opinion.
It would be a"tall ask", O'Brien said. That would appear an understatement, given that Mullen turns 34 in April and the fourth anniversary of his last game passed two days ago.
"The squads are reducing and there is going to be a whole lot of players that are currently in NRL squads that are going to be searching for a team next year," O'Brien said on Thursday.
"That in itself is a huge hurdle. That's not to say that he can't come back through some competition, whether it be NSW Cup or Queensland Cup or if it's Super League. That's up for Jarrod to discuss. But I've got some young guys here in the halves that I'm trying to back in and that's also something against Jarrod coming to the Knights."
O'Brien's position is perfectly understandable. Coaches are pragmatic by nature. Uncertainty is a hindrance they strive to avoid.
He's never met Mullen, and he already has three tyros in his squad regarded as potential NRL five-eighths: Phoenix Crossland, Tex Hoy and Simi Sasagi.
Not forgetting that Kurt Mann is in the form of his career and could well represent Queensland Origin at the end of the season.
Why would O'Brien take a gamble on an unknown quantity, when the safer bet is to put his faith in players with long-term futures?
In saying that, I just hope there is a club out there willing to give Mullen a chance.
He would presumably have to start out in the NSW or Queensland Cup and prove he's capable of returning to the next level, but what a story it would be if he was able to defy the odds stacked against him.
Everyone loves an underdog, and even Mullen's harshest critics might have to consider revising their opinion if he returned to the NRL, much wiser for the experience after several years of self-inflicted hell.
Many will say it's a pipedream, given Mullen's age. It would be different if he was a teenager, like Bronson Xerri.
But during his 12 seasons with the Knights, Mullen was always one of their fittest athletes, and he would have far fewer miles on the odometer than veterans like Benji Marshall and Cameron Smith. He was also a fierce competitor.
If a club was to offer him a train-and-trial contract, I have no doubt he would do everything humanly possible to repay their faith. Clearly he feels he has unfinished business.
If there is no chance of that happening on the field with the Knights, I'd like to think he can still perform a vital role for Newcastle at some point in the future.
Mullen would be the first to admit he's made some bad mistakes in his life. That doesn't mean he's a bad person. I'm sure anyone who knows him would testify to that. He's learned some harsh lessons. One foolish error cost him his highly paid football career and, to use his words, "pretty much ruined my life".
He admitted that he then "spiralled out of control and was taking cocaine on a daily basis just to get through the day, to suppress the demons, I suppose".
But since experiencing a near-fatal overdose in December 2018, Mullo has been sober and clean.
He checked into rehab, completed a drug-and-alcohol counsellor's course, found work as a labourer in Wollongong and recently became a first-time father.
He's turned his life around, and by sharing his experiences, perhaps he can help prevent others from straying down the same path.
Knights management could do a lot worse than reaching out to Mullen and asking him to address the club's players, from juniors right up to their NRL squad.
Imagine the impact he could have, simply by reliving the tale of his rise and fall.
Whether he gets the chance remains to be seen. Eighteen months ago, Knights CEO Phil Gardner declared: "I would love to see Jarrod back - we want him back involved with the club."
This week, however, Gardner sounded more circumspect, saying: "Obviously, you'd need to look at what sort of message it sends culturally from the club's point of view."
The message it would send "cultually", I believe, is that the Knights care about one of their great clubmen and are willing to offer him a second chance. That's a message I would assume most fans - and Mullen's former teammates - would endorse.
Alternatively, what message does it send if the Knights instead choose to give him a wide berth?
