Convicted killer and former NRL star Craig Field wants second chance after almost a decade in prison

When Craig Field was jailed for eight years back in 2014, the rugby league world stopped and shuddered.

The former Manly Sea Eagles and South Sydney star has spent time at 12 different jails throughout New South Wales, taking jobs such as an apple picker and tractor driver.

He was jailed in 2014 for manslaughter after punching Kelvin Kane during a fight in a pub carpark back in July 2012.

But, after being released, Field is determined to make a good future for himself.

“Work-wise, I’m very hungry and I’ve got a good story to tell. I have been from the bottom to the top and then back to the bottom,” Field told the Daily Telegraph.

“If I can help kids in any way that have had troubled pasts or are on a road in their lives where they need some guidance, I would like to grab them and tell them that they don’t want to go where I went because it’s not a good place.

“I want to do things with the community and get my name back out there as the good person I am and then maybe opportunities might arise. I want to make a difference.”

Field is determined to show people that he is a ‘good person’, with Kane’s death having a serious effect on the former too.

“Every time you look in the mirror, you know whether you’re lying and what kind of person you are. Everyone is human and everyone makes mistakes,” Field said.

“I have definitely learnt a lot from being in custody and I have also learnt a lot about myself and others. You’ve got to be hard on yourself to find some closure.

“Aussies are pretty fickle. We like to slap people on the back that are going well but when you’re going bad we like to put the boot in. I know that from being a professional sportsman.

“I want to be a good person and I want my kids to be good people. That’s my main perspective in life. I want to turn things around and be known as someone who did something good, not something bad.”

Field is keen to obtain a second chance but knows that some people just won’t give him one – and he is ok with that.

“I’d like to think people will (give me a second chance) but I’ve got no control over that.

“I want to reach the goals I want. Life is short. A lot of people supported me through jail, a lot didn’t that I thought would. But that’s life. I don’t hold grudges.

“Me, I want to be friends with people through good and bad times and help them.”