Brett Seymour(born 27 September 1984) is an Australian former professionalrugby leaguefootballer. His career has been marked with controversy with several claims of misconduct and violence towards women. Since retiring from professional rugby league he has received convictions fordomestic violenceand assault. He has been indicted on multiple aggravated assault charges and is due in Queensland court in Jan 2024. He last played professionally for the Dewsbury Rams and previously played in theNational Rugby Leaguefor theBrisbane Broncos,Cronulla-Sutherland SharksandNew Zealand Warriorsbefore moving to England where he joined Super League club,Hull FC.Seymour was the captain coach of Toowoomba Valleys in the Toowoomba Rugby League competition.[3]
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| Born | 27 September 1984 Mackay, Queensland,Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 90 kg (14 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Halfback,Five-eighth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
editSeymour was born inMackay, Queensland,Australia on 27/09/1984.
Early career
editOn contract with the Brisbane Broncos from a young age, Seymour was a standout school boy performer, leading the St Patrick's Mackay schoolboy side to victory in the Confraternity Cup. Other schoolboys from the same age group includedGrant Rovelliand formerManlycentre,Ashley Alberts.
Brisbane Broncos
editSeymour made his NRL début in 2002 and was the youngest player to debut in the NRL for the Brisbane Broncos againstSt. George Illawarra Dragonson 26 May 2002. He went on to make sixty two appearances for the club. In 2006, accusations were made by a female against Brett Seymour over an alleged incident atBrisbane'sRegatta Hotel.No criminal charges were laid after a police investigation failed to find sufficient evidence.[4]
After a mixture of promising football and injury woes as the Brisbane Broncos' new halfback, Seymour departed the club in 2007 over disciplinary issues.
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
edit
Seymour joined theCronulla-Sutherland Sharkson a 2-year contract, from2007.Seymour had a number of stand-out games including one against the Eels when he kicked a 35-metre field goal in the fifth minute of golden point extra time to steer his side to a thrilling 25–24 victory.
When he was coming to the end of his first Cronulla contract Seymour was linked with a move toLondon-basedSuper LeaguefranchiseHarlequins,however he signed a further two-year deal to stay at the Sharks.[5]Seymour's 2008 season ended unfortunately when he injured his knee in week two of the finals in a team game of soccer where he collided with fellow shark,Danny Nutley.
In March 2009 the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks announced that Seymour had been stood down following an alcohol-fuelled incident at a local bar.[6][7]
Seymour returned to the Sharks line-up but on 1 July 2009 it was announced that he had been sacked from Cronulla for repeated alcohol-related incidents.[8]He had played in thirty nine games for the club before his sacking.
New Zealand Warriors
editOn 3 August 2009 it was announced that Seymour had signed with the New Zealand Warriors for the2010 season,with an option for 2011.[9]The contract contained strict contractual provisions around Seymour's off-field behaviour and the NRL informed the Warriors that they will be heavily sanctioned should Seymour misbehave.[10]Seymour moved to Auckland before the end of 2009 to begin preparations for the 2010 season and made his début for the club on 14 March 2010.
Move to England
editIn 2011 he signed a three-year deal withHull FC,beginning in 2012.[11]Seymour was caught drink driving in November before leaving New Zealand.[12]
On 11 September 2013 he signed a one-year deal for theCastleford Tigers,but was released in March 2014 without making a first-team appearance for the club.[13]
He temporarily took over the head-coach role when atWhitehaven RLFCfollowingSteve Deakin's unexpected departure, and then was assistant coach whenJames Coylewas appointed.
Controversy
editIn 2019, Seymour's ex-wife revealed that he was violent towards her throughout their relationship and would often return home heavily intoxicated. She went on to say "He was extremely blind drunk and come into the house and just punched me straight to the ground, a big punch straight to the ground and I just fell to the ground, and the attack didn't stop there it was just bang bang bang, He was ripping chunks of my hair out of my head, I can still recall the carpet, he was rubbing my head into the carpet and my scalp had carpet burn".[14]
IN 2023, Seymour faced court charged with four counts of assault occasioning bodily harm (aggravated offences) and the court was advised Qld Police were seeking to have all charges indicted, based on Seymour's previous criminal history including multiple convictions for assault and domestic violence offences. The current charges are scheduled for a summary mention in Jan 2024.[15]
Footnotes
edit- ^"Love Rugby League".Archived fromthe originalon 19 December 2018.Retrieved26 July2015.
- ^RLP
- ^http://toowoombavalleys.com.au/people/brett-seymour/
- ^"Sack for Seymour and Costigan".TVNZ.10 August 2006.Retrieved17 March2009.
- ^"Seymour staying put, Kimmorley to see out season".ABC Grandstand. 12 May 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 17 May 2008.Retrieved26 May2008.
- ^"Seymour stood down by Sharks".leaguehq.com.au.18 March 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 21 March 2009.Retrieved18 March2009.
- ^Walter, Brad (19 March 2009)."NRL board examining Seymour footage".The Sydney Morning Herald.Archived fromthe originalon 25 March 2009.Retrieved19 March2009.
- ^"Sharks sack halfback Seymour".NRL.com.1 July 2009.Retrieved1 July2009.
- ^Warriors sign bad boy SeymourAAP,3 August 2009
- ^Deane, Steve (3 August 2009)."NRL: Seymour signs up for last chance".The New Zealand Herald.Retrieved21 September2011.
- ^"Seymour to leave Warriors".Newstalk ZB.22 June 2011.Retrieved21 September2011.
- ^Drink driving Seymour in messy Warriors exitstuff.co.nz,16 November 2011
- ^"Brett Seymour: Castleford Tigers release half-back".BBC Sport.6 March 2014.Retrieved17 January2015.
- ^"Former NRL player Brett Seymour's wife alleges domestic violence and drinking problems".i.stuff.co.nz.9 April 2019.
- ^https://www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/former-nrl-star-brett-john-seymour-charged-with-assault-occasioning-bodily-harm/news-story/5867d1ac6bf6d74c48ebb3b26f450f28