Joash Boney was in a reflective and apologetic mood.
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Back home in Tamworth after discovering that university on the Gold Coast was not for him, the 19-year-old said the experience nevertheless had helped him mature as a man.
He "grew out of old habits that were very destructive", that were "mainly bad mental-health habits", he said.
"That weren't good for me, unhelpful. And I gained more experience so I can look at life a bit more positively."
As such, the former Northern Tigers junior - a second-rower/centre who is desirous of an NRL career - said he had realised this:
"How I looked on life really just ruined how I acted and how I treated people that were close to me - and they didn't deserve that. And reflecting on that, I do apologise to them."
Read more: Joash Boney: a driven young man
The Tamworth High graduate - who was speaking at the Plain Street sporting fields ahead of playing for I Like to Move It in the mixed oztag competition - had studied sports and exercise science at Southern Cross University on the Gold Coast.
"But I just figured that schooling wasn't for me," he said.
However, upon returning home Boney enrolled at the University of New England.
"Once again, it just wasn't for me," he said, adding that he had considered doing a physiotherapy degree.
Whatever Boney decides to pursue next, he appears to be better equipped mentally to tackle it.
"I learnt how to look after myself - be more independent for myself," he said of his Gold Coast stint, adding: "I do feel like I'm in a better place."
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