Former NRL bad boy Curtis Scott decision to join alcoholics anonymous was revealed in court as he escaped conviction for drink driving.
The 29-year-old had pleaded guilty to the offence after he had ploughed his ute into a tree in Sydney last June.
Scott, who last played for the Canberra Raiders in 2021, recorded a reading of 0.08 after the incident in Bonnet Bay.
His solicitor Paul McGirr told Judge Tania Johnson ‘he is working hard to get his life back on track’.Â
In recent years he has turned to boxing and other forms of fighting after a string of off-field incidents led to the end of his NRL career.
It is the second recent legal victory, after his bail conditions were varied to allow him to fight in a bare-knuckle boxing match after allegedly assaulting two people.
Curtis Scott (pictured attending court for a separate charge earlier this month) avoided a recorded conviction for a drink driving charge
The ex-Raiders and Storm star has received two wins in court in short succession after bail conditions following an alleged assault allowed him to travel to Brisbane for a bare-knuckle fight
Attending court for the drink driving charge, Scott’s solicitor said, ‘He is very accomplished and skilled in the art of fighting.
‘He’s had help from a psychologist, he has really grabbed the bull by the horns in respect of getting back on track.
‘He’s attained abstinence and is attending alcoholics anonymous in relation to his use of alcohol.’
Scott escaped a conviction, despite the prosecutor asking the judge to record one due to the former NRL star driving through a residential area while under the influence.
Instead, he was sentenced to an 18 month conditional release order without conviction, to be of good behaviour and continue to engage with an outpatient mental health service, including complying with random drug tests.
Judge Johnson told Scott to heed the incident as a warning, telling him, ‘You have a future, this was a bad decision and hopefully going forward you know that.’
Scott may have had a reprieve from the drink driving incident but he is not completely out of the woods yet.
At the start of April, the embattled former rugby league star allegedly assaulted an 18-year-old following an argument after a Sydney Swans AFL game.
Police stopped a tram at Moore Park and attempted to speak to Scott, but he allegedly assaulted a police officer – who sustained minor injuries – before fleeing the scene.
Scott pleaded not guilty to affray, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assaulting a police officer when he attended court following the incident.
His solicitor Paul McGirr then asked the court to vary Scott’s bail conditions to allow him to fight in an upcoming bare-knuckle boxing match in Brisbane.Â
‘He has a job and his main income is from fighting, sanctioned fights,’ Mr McGirr said.
‘This is his craft and this is what he’s good at.’
He noted Scott, like many rugby league players, had the potential to ‘go by the wayside’ after his career ended because the ‘sugar hit’ of the high income had suddenly dissipated.
The prosecution opposed the suggestion, claiming the former footy player had been charged over a ‘significant incident of violence.’
Despite their opposition, Scott’s curfew was lifted and he was allowed to travel to Brisbane for his bout.
Scott will still have to return to court in May to face the charges, with a ruling yet to come.
