http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/n...s/news-story/d12c3acdbd56dabb93b33f4d0d6d5d47
Eels star Semi Radradra says domestic violence court battle left homeless
MICHAEL CARAYANNIS Exclusive, The Sunday Telegraph
9 minutes ago
FALLEN rugby league star Semi Radradra says he has waited 10 months to tell his story — and he’s “filthy” about it.
The Parramatta and Kangaroos winger last week had charges of domestic violence against him dropped and he said he was now determined to rebuild his life.
In an exclusive interview before flying out to be with family in Fiji, Radradra said the long court battle with ex-partner Perina Ting had robbed him of his identity, his desire to play rugby league and left him temporarily homeless.
He said he struggles with the knowledge that everyone thinks he is guilty.
“I’m filthy,” he said. “I can’t do much about it now. I knew I was innocent. It’s a big burden off my shoulders. I’m smiling again. I’m strong on the field but when it came to this I’m not as strong (as I thought).”
Radradra wants to maintain a strong connection with he and Ting’s young daughter Luisa.
“I miss my daughter,” he said. “I haven’t seen her since Christmas. I want to be a good father and for her to grow up knowing I was there for her.”
Radradra was charged with two counts of common assault, accused of punching Ting in the face and pushing her into a wall. The case was dropped when the prosecution asked for the charges to be withdrawn. He said he was so desperate during the ordeal he wanted to run away from Australia and return home to be a farmer in his native Fiji.
The court ordeal has cost him about $200,000, with sponsors abandoning Radradra, but it was his fragile mental state which worried him the most.
“Every time the boys would go somewhere I would stay home and watch a movie,” he said. “I was embarrassed because people were pointing at me. When I was walking around I could hear people talking about me. It’s ruined my name. My brand is gone. If I leave the house I go out at night but the majority of time I would stay home. When I go shopping or somewhere else I wear my hoodie so no one sees me.”
Radradra has made changes in his personal life. Plans are in place to marry fiancee Vika very soon. He travelled to Fiji on Wednesday to visit Vika, but said he would return to resume his Eels commitments tomorrow and finish the season before he ventures into French rugby.
He wanted to quit rugby league and return to Fiji but was told by manager George Christodoulou to stay and clear his name.
“I wanted to go and work on the farm at home and clear my mind,” he said.
“Everyone at home just does their own thing and lives happily. It didn’t matter if I didn’t have money, everyone supports you.
“I wanted to quit footy.”
Radradra sat at his Parramatta home on Tuesday night alone, enjoying Kava as his smile returned. He told The Sunday Telegraph how he went to extreme circumstances to escape a tense situation at home by scaling the fence of Parramatta’s training ground to sleep outside the club’s gym.
“We were arguing at home,” Radradra said. “I couldn’t take it any more because I know how she would react and with her short fuse, I didn’t want to make it worse. She chased me out. I grabbed my stuff and I left. I climbed the gate (at our training ground). There is a porch and couch outside there, that’s where I slept. I didn’t want to tell anyone.
“(Eels coach) Brad (Arthur) came early to training and saw me there, he woke me up. He was emotional. He knew something was wrong. He opened the door and said to come and sleep inside and that I wouldn’t be training. I stayed in a hotel for a week before getting another house.”
His omission from the Kangaroos for last season’s end of year Four-Nations campaign had him reach breaking point.
Radradra said Christodoulou was given just five minutes notice of Kangaroos’ decision, after they had his manager prepare a travel UK visa.
“Wearing that jumper, it meant a lot to me,” Radradra, who made his Kangaroos debut last year, said.
“To take it away for me was very hard.”
Radradra knocked back a three-year contract extension at the Eels because of the court case. He has signed a one-year deal, with an option for a second year in his favour, to play French rugby with Toulon. But he has left the door ajar for an NRL return.
The seven-figure deal makes him among the highest paid rugby players in the world.
“I would’ve stayed but the (court case) forced me to sign the union contract,” Radradra said. “I grew up playing rugby but I love rugby league. I would have loved to have stayed. My goal is try and get away from all this, clear my head and try something new. I would love to come back and play rugby league.”
