Warriors' shock new signing
WARRIORS comeback kid Shaun Metcalf is calling on fans to judge him on how he performs for the club, not on his teenage offending.
Metcalf, 23, this week signed a fulltime contract with the Auckland-based NRL team – which in 2004 terminated his development squad contract over his attack on his pregnant ex-girlfriend, for which he was jailed.
The fulltime contract offer came after Metcalf broke his silence over his offending, and told of his road to redemption, in Sunday News a fortnight ago.
As he digested his stunning return, Metcalf had a message for those who might question his signing: "Judge me by how I play, not how I acted in the past".
"I have always wanted a fresh start. And that is what the Warriors have given me," he told Sunday News.
"I'm not proud of my past and I never will be. I can't do anything about that now but what I can do something about, and what I've been trying to do ever since, is to rebuild my life and get it back on track."
The contract, signed on Tuesday, is for the rest of this season, with an option for next year.
Warriors chief executive Wayne Scurrah said Metcalf deserved his second chance, given his dedication on and off the football field.
He has been a star for feeder club the Auckland Vulcans in the NSW Cup competition for the past four seasons, despite having only been able to play home games because of a recently-lifted travel ban.
"It's a real tribute to Shaun that he has been able to reach this point in his life after the dark days he has endured," Scurrah said.
"We've watched his progress and admired the way he has worked so hard to put his life back on track, and how he never lost sight of his dream of playing rugby league fulltime.
"For him to come back from where he was to being signed by the Vodafone Warriors is quite a story and it gives us a lot of satisfaction being able to give him the chance to take this big step forward.
"He deserves this opportunity and we'll give him all the support we can."
Metcalf and two teenage friends were jailed in May 2004. The trio were involved in an attack on Metcalf's pregnant 16-year-old ex-girlfriend in August 2003. He was sentenced to 18 months' jail, and spent 5 1/2 months in Wellington's Rimutaka Prison's youth unit.
His budding professional league career faced a life sentence, as he was banned from travelling overseas. But the ban was lifted in November after a successful campaign spearheaded by his manager and former Kiwis coach Frank Endacott and retired High Court judge and ex-New Zealand Rugby League chairman Trevor Maxwell.
Metcalf was indebted to those who have helped him on his road back.
"This is just unbelievable. I have so many people to thank for supporting me through this – my partner, our kids, my family and friends and also rugby league itself. I also owe so much to Frank Endacott, to the Vulcans and to the Vodafone Warriors for having faith in me."
"Emotions were running pretty wild" in his house after he told his family about the Warriors contract, and he was unable to sleep on Tuesday night.
"I kept getting out of bed, going back and forth, to look at the paperwork," Metcalf said.
"I just had to keep checking it was real. I looked at it so many times it was crazy."
For the past 2 1/2 years, Metcalf's commitment to chasing his NRL dream, plus providing a future for his partner and their six-year-old twins, has seen him start work at 3am to drive meat delivery trucks.
After finishing work at 10am, he had a fitness workout before a mid-afternoon sleep, time with his twins, then Auckland Vulcans training sessions.
He drove the meat delivery truck for the last time on Friday.
Tomorrow he will start his new career, as a fulltime NRL player.
"I am just rapt that the contract is with the Warriors," he said. "It is great that I don't have to uproot my family and take off overseas.
"It's also great that more members of my family will get the chance to see me play."
In Metcalf's exclusive interview a fortnight ago, he told Sunday News of his sorrow over his teenage offending.
He said: "I have never been proud of what I did, how I acted and the way I acted. I was young, I was friggin' dumb."
Metcalf said he had been flooded with support following the story.
"I have had a lot of good feedback, from random people, family and customers I deliver to," he said.
"And I have had more support [since talking] than I thought I would ever get. I knew there were some negative comments.
"But I try to block that out and just listen to the positive."
