At a recent golf day, Rabbitohs enforcer Sam Burgess was asked in front of a gathered audience if he would play in the NRL again.

He didn’t pull any punches when he said it wasn’t looking good – in other words the message was he thought he’d have to retire.

Not looking good: Sam Burgess holds his shoulder during the preliminary final against the Raiders. Getty

The Souths board will meet this week. The message they will hear is that Burgess needs to retire.

From what we have been told, the infection in his shoulder has ruined it. That is key to both his playing future and South Sydney’s ability to write off his contract should he pull the pin.

Burgess has been told the infection means he can’t have more work on the area for a year.

That’s been a fact Sam has been processing and he is shocked.

It’s a reality Burgess is trying to come to terms with.

We will learn more in coming days as Souths deal with medical reports. A retirement media conference for Burgess is on the cards this week.

NRL rules state that the salary-cap auditor may only grant a club relief if a retiring player had no similar injury before the start of their current contract.

The evidence that the injury is a fresh one is strong, from South Sydney’s point of view. The infection coming after the injury is crucial.

Down and out: Burgess' future is under a massive injury cloud. Getty

Souths are not going to try to prevent Burgess from getting his legal entitlement for his contract – but if Burgess retires, they will need to prove he is salary-cap exempt to make a play for a star forward to replace him. David Fifita and Jai Arrow would be near the top of their list.

For all the discussion of Burgess’ playing future, at the moment it is not the biggest problem he is dealing with.

His marriage collapse is a far bigger issue in his life.

He reconnected with his wife, Phoebe, after their first public break-up last year, out of a desire to keep his family together.

Say what you want about Burgess as a husband – plenty have – his love of his children can’t be disputed. It’s believed his verbal spray of Phoebe’s father, Mitchell Hooke, related to his ability to access his kids.

Burgess was subsequently issued with a temporary apprehended violence order by NSW police. A hearing at Moss Vale Local Court on November 6 will tell us more.

Gal never wavered in his account of peptides

The phone calls from the toughest footballer in the game would come in at 6am, or thereabouts.

Sometimes after a sleepless night. Paul Gallen was in a state of despair – his entire career and livelihood was seemingly in tatters and more than that his reputation was in ruins.

It was 2013, the year of the drugs scandal at Cronulla.

Difficult days: Paul Gallen departs 1 Bligh St, Sydney after meeting with his lawyers in relation to the ASADA investigation in August 2014. Wolter Peeters

I can talk about those calls now as Gallen has told his life story to league reporter David Riccio in a new book, Heart and Soul, which will be released this week.

I didn’t have answers for Gallen, but instead I listened and tried to offer support. There were tears as he spoke. And anger. Players caught up in it were distraught. Self-harm was a distinct possibility as their lives were turned upside down. I was worried about Gallen even though he was strong. Players had to be medicated – including the Sharks skipper. Gallen had to truck on. Lead. All the while being branded a drug cheat.

Every time we spoke he told me the same story. And it’s why I was happy to back him through his darkest days, when the entire Cronulla Sharks squad was given a backdated 12-month ban for peptide use, missing the last three matches of the 2014 NRL season.

What he told me in those calls was the same story he repeated in the offices of boss of news at Channel Nine, Darren Wick.

Reflections: Gallen looks on during grand final day at ANZ Stadium. Getty

Gallen, now employed as an expert on the commentary team at Channel Nine, wanted to explain what he went through.

He explained that he was told about peptides by Stephen Dank and Trent Elkin.

He was sceptical and looked up GHRP6, the peptide they were offered, and didn’t find it anywhere on the ASADA banned list. Not convinced, he phoned the club doctor to get advice. I know what was said in that call. Gallen took everything on board and he was convinced the drug was OK. He even asked the club to test his bloodwork. He did his checks. He didn’t go rogue.

Trolls and haters on social media will no doubt not be swayed, and likely won’t bother to read the book, which is certain to contain important detail.

Retired Cronulla Sharks captain Paul Gallen has spoken about his role in the club's 2011 supplements scandal.

Finch open to professional help after flight incident

Brett Finch’s closest friends and Fox Sports colleagues have expressed considerable concern for his well-being after weeks of erratic behaviour both on and off air.

Finch was photographed on a flight last week – a picture which has been widely published.

Finch’s battles have been documented previously, and he has talked openly about his time in rehab in 2015.

It has been suggested he is about to be advised by his employers and close friends to re-enter a rehabilitation facility, but he is resisting the idea, saying he is fine. We have been told instead that he is open to seeking professional help to get the correct diagnosis for his issues.

That’s a significant step forward. In recent days he has been holidaying and looking happy in Byron Bay.

Finch has not been responding to calls and nor has his wife.

Concerns for Finch began to surface after an appearance on the Matty Johns Podcast a few weeks ago. He appeared agitated and, after the show was initially broadcast, it was taken down.

At the time, producers of the podcast said it was because it was a bad show. The week after, Finch was ready to record again but was replaced by James Hooper shortly before recording.

Finch then made comments on other programs that put him offside with Canberra Raiders coach Ricky Stuart and Souths general manager Shane Richardson.

Concerns: Brett Finch is seeking a correct diagnosis. Getty

Fox Sports put him on for the World Cup 9s, where he was excellent in commentary but then called in sick for day two of the event. This has raised eyebrows. He has missed other days of work but Fox has stood by him.

Finch has a huge group of mates. Included in that support crew are Matthew and Andrew Johns. They have known Finch since he was a young boy and have championed his playing and media career, but even some of his closest friends don’t know what to do.

Fox have previously backed Finch through his toughest days. The birth of his daughter has given him the purpose in life he has been searching for. This column and plenty of others in the game who have talked about Finch are hoping he pulls through his latest issues.

Talk of expansion starts to shrink

Peter Beattie

stands down as chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission this week with his core promise – expansion of the NRL – in tatters.

It’s an unfortunate end to a reign that was highlighted by the “no fault’’ stand-down policy punctuated with some stunning gaffes and plenty of tweets.

Beattie came into the job last year with a blunt message: ‘‘The game needs to expand or it will die.’’ A few months later he said expansion was too hard and dropped the idea but then revived it again and gave Todd Greenberg 12 months to map out an expansion timeline.

That study is winding up and it has found that 16 teams is the ideal number. In other words, the number the NRL has now.

It also found that, if another franchise is ever added to the competition, it should be a second Brisbane team. Which we knew.

And it confirmed what the clubs have been saying for years – that no Sydney team is willing to relocate to Brisbane. So, after 12 months of investigation, the game now has a blueprint for the future which will see it stay exactly as it already is.

Mum’s the word for Fifita

The game’s hottest forward right now is David Fifita. He grew up wanting to be a Bronco and, while rival teams are chasing his signature, they are going to struggle to make it happen, especially if they are in Sydney.

Hot property: Sydney clubs will have a hard time seducing David Fifita south. Getty

“I don’t like New South Wales. It’s Queensland all the way for me,’’ he said. ‘‘I’ve always loved it in Queensland and I don’t know if I’d ever want to leave. I grew up with the dream of being a Bronco, and I have been with them since I was 15. Jason Taumololo and Sam Burgess were players I wanted to be like, but Brisbane were my team and I am excited to be with the boys next year.”

It was significant at the nines launch that Wayne Bennett made a beeline for two players at the event – Fifita and Jai Arrow. Both will be off contract on November1. While Fifita is the man of the moment, he’s keeping his feet on the ground thanks to his mother.

“There is heaps of stuff doing the rounds about me. But my mum keeps me grounded,’’ he said. ‘‘She raised me really well. Her main advice to me is that I shouldn’t think I’m better than anyone else ... She is on to me to be nice to people and treat people with respect.”

Cash is king for NRL and Perth nines

The decision to stage a club nines tournament in Perth in February is further proof of the NRL’s obsession with revenue raising at the expense of the game.

The nines started successfully in Auckland in 2014 but interest quickly waned until it was scrapped after the 2017 tournament. Clubs decided it was not worth risking injury to key players a few weeks from the start of the NRL season so fielded second-string teams instead. Unsurprisingly, fans lost interest.

So it’s curious that the NRL has opted to revive the concept.

Clearly player welfare is not the main criteria in that decision. The average maximum temperature in Perth in February is 31 degrees. Hardly rugby league weather.

The NRL has offered clubs the chance to win $1million in prizemoney for taking out the nines/premiership double in an attempt to encourage them to play their stars.

But given only a handful of clubs have a realistic chance of winning the premiership in 2020, it’s hardly an incentive for most teams. It will, however, generate more money for the NRL and give management a better chance of landing their bonuses again next year.