31 January, 2016. 14:35

ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact

IN DECEMBER 2005, Craig Gower was fired as Panthers captain.

What started out as just other Sunday, ended with him visiting his local Tarocash – to find a suit to wear to the NRL disciplinary hearing that was going to happen on Monday.

There were a series of incidents at a charity golf event, which ended up defining “a big night out” for a generation of young Australian sports fans. Allegedly, he argued with several guests, groped the teenage daughter of former league player Wayne Pearce and taught his son, a 16-year-old Mitchell Pearce, a thing or two about tying one on.

He ended up chasing the embattled Rooster’s half back through the resort with a bottle raised above his head.

Gower later vomited on the young Pearce, staining him with the example of what it takes to be an NRL captain.

Like a sun-kissed lunatic, he streaked nude around the resort before stealing a golf cart. Predictably, he later rolled “the cunt of a thing” on the other end of the premises.

Allegedly, he held a butter knife to the throat of a Sydney radio personality, who many believe was union tragic Alan Jones.

Resort guests threw him out themselves. He then engaged in a brawl with security before being ejected from the official function and detained by police.

He remains proud of that to this day. It was a rugby league weekend. He was rugby league drunk. It was a time before we all had a video camera in our pockets.

“Hehe,” laughed Gower. “Yeah that weekend was fucking loose. Barely remember a thing.”

“Blokes these days are under much more pressure than we were. And now anybody can take a picture of you acting the goat. Rugby League would be illegal if they filmed all the shit me and the boys got up to back in the day,”

“Like, they would actually outlaw it,”

Gower admits he taught a young Pearce everything there is to know about getting blind.

“I know he probably hates me, but in the end, you always end up becoming what you hate.” said Gower.

“I was the bad role model that made this type of shit cheeky fun and not against the law.”