The former NRL star lived two hours out of Sydney on a dairy farm as a child and moved to the city at age 18. Because the then youngster didn’t have accommodation, the club put him in a unit across from the Parramatta Leagues Club with teammates.

Hindmarsh confidently told his story to Moree’s Pius-X Corporation staff on Wednesday in a bid to destigmatise the image of a problem gambler.

“I am not here to blame anyone else for my problem. It was no one else’s fault other than my own,” he said.

Hindmarsh described one particular night when he and his teammates headed to the club to get their usual $5 roast dinner. He found some loose change in his pocket while heading through the pokie area and innocently decided to have a go.

“I didn’t know how to play them but I just put my change in and I won, put my winnings in a plastic cup, had dinner and went home,” he said.

A week or so later after training Hindmarsh went back to the club and had another punt. He lost and ended up withdrawing his monthly allowance and putting it through the machines. “It wasn’t me just being stupid with my money, I really had a problem,” he said.

“Gambling does not discriminate. You can be rich or poor, educated or uneducated. I know dentists and lawyers who’ve had problems.”

Hindmarsh found himself lying to his girlfriend, now his wife, about his spending and when confronted by her he got angry.

“She suggested professional help so I went to the club, told them I had issues and they guided me into a clinic at Parramatta. I went to some sessions and thought it would be a quick fix,” he said.

The football star relapsed, and found it wasn’t until he built the courage to tell two or three of his close teammates about his problem that a change occurred.

Together with a councilor, his wife restricting his money flow and his teammates “babysitting” his wallet each time they went out, Hindmarsh slowly defeated the problem.

“The high I get now walking out of a pub or club knowing I didn’t gamble is better than the high I got off the pokies,” he said. 

Hindmarsh now travels around with Clubs NSW telling his stories to the young and the old, urging people to be courageous and put their hand up before it’s too late. He visited Toomelah and Goondiwndi on Tuesday where he spoke to community members and Clontarf students.