!["I was surrounded by the wrong people" ... Ethan Parry. Picture by Mark Bode "I was surrounded by the wrong people" ... Ethan Parry. Picture by Mark Bode](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/KUhQizDbwW8WqAyPP4x5yp/795c29e5-1308-48eb-8d0e-45736767d0bd.jpg/r0_0_3629_2563_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Fighting back tears, Ethan Parry was overcome by loss.
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But at age 23, the Tamworthian believes he still has what it takes to resume his brief but memorable NRL career.
Sitting alongside his partner, Alanah McBean, at Anzac Park, the strapping ex-Eels flyer detailed how alcohol-fuelled poor choices resulted in his descent into darkness and his NRL career being derailed.
Drinking too much was the "big thing", he said. "And I wasn't in the right headspace down there [Sydney]. I was surrounded by the wrong people as well."
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In 2020, the Eels - who signed the former Oxley High student at age 15 and nurtured his immense talent in Sydney - parted company with him by what the club called "mutual consent".
A year earlier, the former Australian Schoolboy scored a scintillating try in his NRL debut - coming from the clouds to pounce in-goal on a grubber kick at a sun-bathed Brookvale Oval. The winger scored again the following week against the Warriors.
He was seemingly at the start of a notable NRL career, but that was his last NRL game.
If you asked me to run from here to Perth and back, I'd do it [to play NRL again].
- Ethan Parry
Prior to the 2022 Group 4 season starting, Parry arrived back in Tamworth as he looked to regain his footing in life. He signed with the Kootingal-Moonbi Roosters - under their then coach, senior cop Geoff Sharpe - and was an imposing presence at centre and fullback.
However, in late July - with Kooty and their high-profile signing travelling nicely - the Roosters released him after what they labelled an "unfortunate incident" at the Kootingal Hotel following a match. Parry had been drinking.
He said he was now sober and was training hard after re-signing with the Roosters for the upcoming season.
![Parry rumbles against North Tamworth at Kootingal last season. Picture by Mark Bode Parry rumbles against North Tamworth at Kootingal last season. Picture by Mark Bode](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/KUhQizDbwW8WqAyPP4x5yp/f72a4334-5ad1-4c10-a547-03104139e004.JPG/r0_0_5568_3712_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Physically, Parry looks tremendous - although he was diagnosed with epilepsy after collapsing in the Roosters' dressing room following a match last year. Multiple seizures followed.
In October, he said he had a seizure that left him in a coma in hospital for two days. After his medication was modified, he has not had a seizure since then. "It's now all under control," he said. "I feel 100 times better."
Watching the recent rugby league World Cup reminded the former NSW under-21 representative of how far he had fallen. Parry - who was recently named in St Gregory College Campbelltown's team of the decade (2011-2020) - said it "hurt" to watch his "mates" and former teammates performing on the international stage.
He spoke of feeling "that spark again" that fuelled negative emotions. He felt "unhappy" with his life.
Conversely, Parry - who works in the yard at Pendergast Statewide Freight Services - said watching the World Cup had given him "a bit more drive to get back" to the NRL.
He said McBean - a Moonbi girl whom he has been with for more than a year - constantly asked him if he wanted to resume his NRL career. "If you asked me to run from here to Perth and back, I'd do it [to play NRL again]," he said.
![Parry and Alanah McBean have been together more than a year. Picture Facebook Parry and Alanah McBean have been together more than a year. Picture Facebook](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/KUhQizDbwW8WqAyPP4x5yp/32379949-85d0-4046-9cc1-52a0df458b96.jpg/r0_0_768_960_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Roosters' new coach, Mark Sheppard, said Parry had been an inspiration at preseason training, adding: "We've got high expectations of him performing week in, week out for us, and just leading the way and sharing his experience."
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