The tragic fall of troubled NRL star Brett Dallas has been laid bare in court before the 46-year-old was released from jail on parole.
Dallas spent the last 10 months in custody after being caught with 29 grams of meth – a drug he became hopelessly addicted to after learning he had schizophrenia.
Mackay Supreme Court on Monday heard Dallas moved back to Mackay after his marriage – from which he has two children – broke down in 2011.
After arriving back to his hometown, Dallas’ mental health deteriorated and he became involved with a woman who ‘heavily’ used drugs, prompting him to dabble.
In May last year, police executed a search warrant in the name of his partner Debby Suk Ching Lau.
Mackay Supreme Court on Monday heard Dallas moved back to Mackay after his marriage – from which he has two children – broke down in 2011
Dallas debuted for Queensland at the age of 18 years and 225 days, making him at the time the state’s youngest-ever Origin player
After arriving back to his hometown, Dallas’ mental health deteriorated and he became involved with a woman who ‘heavily’ used drugs, prompting him to dabble
At a Slade Point home, police allegedly found more than 29 grams of ice hidden inside the oven, as well as $7670 in cash, a packaging machine and two marijuana plants growing in the backyard.
The bust came just months after Dallas appeared in court for his 10th stealing offence.
Defence barrister Scott McLennan on Monday said Dallas was diagnosed with late onset paranoid schizophrenia in 2014.
Dallas finished his electrical apprenticeship after returning to Australia in 2007 from the UK where he played in the English Super League
‘Just a sad and unfortunate development, which has turned Mr Dallas’s life upside down,’ Mr McLennan said, the Courier Mail reported.
Mr McLennan said Dallas struggled to get out of bed and suffered extreme fatigue due to his medication.
‘That was very difficult for someone who in the past has been an elite athlete and also a tradesman at the end of his career as a professional footballer,’ Mr McLennan said.
The court also heard Dallas finished his electrical apprenticeship after returning to Australia in 2007 from the UK where he played in the English Super League.
‘This isn’t a case of where a professional sportsman was feeling lost at the end of his career,’ Mr McLennan said.
Justice Graeme Crow acknowledged that Dallas’ behaviour was ‘out of character’ and ordered him to be released immediately after ‘serving enough time’.
Dallas was jailed for two-and-a-half years with immediate parole release and convictions were recorded.
The ugly sentencing marks a tragic fall from the grace for Dallas, who joined the Canterbury Bulldogs straight after graduating from Mackay’s St Patrick’s College in 1992.
The talented teenager soon established himself as one of the most promising players in the game.
An exceptionally fast winger with a high work-rate and professional attitude, within 12 months he debuted for Queensland at the age of 18 years and 225 days, making him at the time the state’s youngest-ever Origin player.
When the game split in 1995, Dallas chose to stay with the ARL, leaving the Super League-aligned Bulldogs to join the North Sydney Bears after 43 games and 18 tries.
After arriving back to his hometown, Dallas’ mental health deteriorated and he became involved with a woman who ‘heavily’ used drugs, prompting him to dabble
That decision, which saw him become one of the highest paid players in the game, also enabled him to achieve the highlight of his career as part of the Paul Vautin-coached ‘Neville Nobodies’ Maroons side which upset the star-studded NSW Blues 3-nil that season.
One of the most memorable tries in Origin history was when Dallas scorched away untouched on a 90-metre run to the line to seal the series in Game II at the MCG, as Vautin and the Maroons’ legendary manager Dick ‘Tosser’ Turner embraced on the sideline.
Dallas joined top UK club Wigan in 2000 on what was supposed to be a two-year contract. He ended up playing 156 games and scoring 89 tries over seven seasons for the club.
Justice Graeme Crow acknowledged that Dallas’ (left) behaviour was ‘out of character’ and ordered him to be released immediately after ‘serving enough time’
Dallas was known for his speed while playing as a winger for the Canterbury Bulldogs and North Sydney Bears in the 1990s
In recent years newspapers have regularly covered reports of Dallas’s court appearances in Mackay.
By January last year he had been charged with over 10 stealing offences, mainly of clothes, furniture and electronic equipment including board shorts, a coffee table and mobile phone charger.
At the same time his online behaviour became more irrational, with a number of bizarre social media rants and worrying photographic posts alienating him from many in the rugby league community.
During his regular court appearances Dallas was repeatedly warned that his continued descent into drugs and crime was leading inevitably towards a custodial sentence.
Mackay magistrate Damien Dwyer told him in January: ‘The last thing anyone wants is for you to go to prison but unless you can show me that the community is safe, I’m looking at prison.
‘Enough is enough. Whatever the difficulty is, you’ve got to sort it now.’
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