CHRIS Sandow has had an unhappy return to rugby league with his Cherbourg side going down 32-16 against Redfern at the NRL All Stars carnival in Newcastle.

Sandow was largely a passenger and looked overweight as his side was outmuscled in front of a strong crowd in the exhibition game at Newcastle No. 2 Sportsground on Thursday night.

He had a few bright spots in the first half — chipping and chasing to pin Redfern in-goal as well as making a break from inside his own half — but otherwise failed to stand out playing against a park football side as Redfern jumped to a 24-0 lead nine minutes after halftime.

Nothing better than playing footy with mob. A very proud Chris Sandow despite Cherbourg's 32-16 loss to Redfern All Blacks. #NRLAllStars pic.twitter.com/IDwnhMiAsf — Jodan Perry (@Jodan_Perry) February 9, 2017

The former South Sydney and Parramatta halfback came into the game hoping to prove that he was worthy of an NRL lifeline.

The 28-year-old’s career is at a crossroads after he walked out on Super League club Warrington and was fined $300 after being filmed brawling in Cherbourg last month.

That put a large dent in his chances of an NRL club reviving his career but Sandow remained adamant he wanted get back to the top flight and began training with the Hornets, his hometown club.