Jarmarley Jerrard: 'sports saved my life'

A hot late afternoon at Riverside, ahead of a training session of the Northern Rangers men's oztag side, was where the 27-year-old detailed the "then" and the "now", as it pertained to him.

The "then" was the Jarmarley Jerrard who mixed with bad company.

The "now" is the Jarmarley Jerrard who vanquished that version of himself and will soon welcome the birth of his second child, having matured as a man.

"The biggest challenge I've faced in my life is probably just the people that I've hung around with," he said, adding that he had thought they were his friends.

"But they were really just leading me down the wrong way."

Having removed himself from that situation, Jerrard said he now felt "a lot wiser". The "little kid" who used to "muck up all the time, run amok" was long gone, he said.

"Sports definitely saved my life," he continued, adding: "I always looked to sport whenever I was feeling down or anything like that."

Jerrard's younger brother Brayden, the Kootingal-Moonbi playmaker, introduced him to oztag. And next week, Jerrard will head to Coffs Harbour with the Rangers for the national championships.

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Not long after that, his partner, Taneeka Chisholm, will give birth to a girl. Jerrard has an eight-year-old daughter who lives with her mother in Moree.

"My first daughter, she's very excited about meeting her new first sister when she comes into the world," he said.

Jerrard played reserve grade for Kooty this year. His goal next year is to become a regular first-grader and play with his brother.

In the meantime, he will continue working at the Tamworth tip.

"It's been fun up there," the Tamworth High graduate said of his job. "It's a lot more cruisey than what I used to do before that. Before I was on the railway, working as a railway labourer for six years.

"So it's done a bit of a number on the body. It's been, like, catching up to me. That's what all this fitness and running around is about; trying to strengthen my body back up."

With a beaming smile, an easy manner and a strong build, Jerrard presented as the picture of contented robustness. "I'm pretty happy with how my life's turned out," he said.

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