Banned NRL drug cheat Bronson Xerri reveals he hasn’t watched a minute of footy since long ban

Bronson Xerri has revealed he hasn’t watched a minute of rugby league since he was handed a four-year ban in September 2020 for testing positive to steroids four months earlier.

The former Cronulla Sharks prodigy has begun his journey back into first-grade footy after signing a two-year deal with Canterbury and will be allowed back in the NRL from the 2024 season.

And Xerri told News Corp he hasn’t exactly kept a close eye on rugby league over the past three years, choosing not to watch any games and ‘not even Origin’.

Bronson Xerri has returned to training with the Bulldogs after being handed a four-year ban back in September 2020 for testing positive to steroids four months earlier

That is bound to change with the lightning-quick centre now back in training with the Bulldogs, after Canterbury supremo Phil Gould personally intervened to convince him to sign a two-year deal shortly before Christmas.

The contract, however, will not be officially registered unless Xerri passes every drug test between now and November.

The 22-year-old appealed the four-year ban which was subsequently upheld by the NRL Appeals Tribunal, but had largely remained tight-lipped over the doping scandal up until now.

Speaking to News Corp, however, the former Shark conceded the ban had taken a major toll on his mental health and insisted he was ready to silence his detractors once he returns to the NRL

Xerri burst onto the scenes as a lightning quick centre in 2019, scoring 13 tries

‘If they want to call me a drug cheat they can,’ he said.

‘No one knows how hard I worked to get where I was. If they want to label me a drug cheat because of one mistake I made when I was 19 then so be it. I am ready to shut them all up when I’m back.

‘The key is to accept it and move on. The first two years were very tough. I’ve accepted it. I took full ownership of it and I am ready to move on with my life and career.’

The outside centre is determined to prove his doubters wrong once he returns to the NRL

Xerri became a footy sensation when he scored 13 tries for the Sharks during a stunning debut season, including a hat-trick in a 22-9 win over St George Illawarra.

Cronulla finished seventh on the ladder and were ultimately defeated by Manly in the elimination final, with the centre scoring in the 28-16 loss.

But after almost three years out of the NRL, he admitted being surprised when Gould contacted him to get him to sign for the Bulldogs. 

The former Sharks centre credited Phil Gould with getting him back in the NRL

‘I had nothing going for me. I was in a vulnerable state,’ he said.

‘I was going to start negotiating with teams. Gus was the first to reach out. He was a genuine guy and told me he had big plans.’

New Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo revealed how ‘a couple of coffees’ with the youngster, in which he was frank about his past wrongdoings, convinced him to take a punt on the centre.

‘I’d never met Bronson,’ Ciraldo told The Bye Round Podcast last month.

New Bulldogs boss Cameron Ciraldo said last month Xerri deserved a second chance

‘I had a couple of coffees with him and I was really impressed with how open he was about mistakes he has made in the past and how willing he was to make up for those.

‘We’re looking for good people and from my interactions with Bronson, he’s a good person.

‘That gave me confidence that the person Bronson will be when he comes back to the NRL is the sort of guy you want at the club.

‘He deserves a second chance, I’m happy we can give it to him.’