{"id":429193,"date":"2026-01-22T04:28:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T04:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/429193\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T04:28:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T04:28:12","slug":"brad-arthur-shows-interest-in-new-coaching-role-jamie-soward-steps-down-as-samoa-coach-latest-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/429193\/","title":{"rendered":"Brad Arthur shows interest in new coaching role, Jamie Soward steps down as Samoa coach, latest news"},"content":{"rendered":"

Souths star Brandon Smith has revealed he checked himself into a rehab facility last year in a serious bid to \u201credefine himself\u201d after some off-field issues.<\/p>\n

Speaking on The Bye Round podcast, Smith says he\u2019s been off alcohol for over 100 days and is regularly attending Gamblers Anonymous (GA) and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) to turn his life around and to \u201cstay on the straight and narrow\u201d.<\/p>\n

The 29-year-old is currently facing betting and drug charges<\/a> in a Queensland court.<\/p>\n

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While not using it as an excuse, Smith said he felt pressures to uphold a \u201cparty boy identity\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why I\u2019m hiding, but I went on a four-week holiday to a rehab facility. It\u2019s something I couldn\u2019t more highly recommend to people who are dealing with issues and mine was mental health and alcohol abuse, pretty much of every nature,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I really learnt in there was I had this identity of this party boy and I sort of played up to that identity and didn\u2019t want to disappoint anyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I come out of the facility it was all about reidentifying myself as a professional athlete. I\u2019m not Brandon Smith the party boy, I\u2019m Brandon Smith the professional rugby league player playing for Souths.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing everything I can to stay on the straight and narrow. I attend AA and GA meetings. I do everything I can to just stay on this path… The life I am living right now is so much better than the life I was living this last couple of years.\u201d <\/p>\n

Since arriving at Souths last season, Smith was not only keen to change his ways for himself but to impress his new teammates and coaches. <\/p>\n

\u201cI went there on my own accord. It wasn\u2019t because I was in trouble. I went and saw the Bunnies and said I\u2019m going to go do this to make my image look good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went in there before anyone knew anything and I revealed to them I was there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been really impactful. It\u2019s hard to stay the way I was when I first left because it\u2019s fresh in your mind. I think I\u2019m 105 days alcohol free.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m training really well I\u2019m doing all the right things off the field. I now find myself feeling like a professional athlete, I\u2019m doing really well at training, I\u2019m leading the boys around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brandon Smith.Source: Supplied<\/p>\n

FORMER EELS COACH EYES OFF NEW ROLE<\/p>\n

Brad Arthur could be set for a new coaching gig, with the former Parramatta Eels coach reportedly interested in an international coaching role.<\/p>\n

Sacked by the Eels in 2024 after more than a decade as their head coach, Arthur is showing a keen interest in the vacant England head coaching position ahead of the upcoming 2026 Rugby League World Cup, per Love Rugby League<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Currently with the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League, Arthur won more than 50 per cent of the matches during his time in the NRL at the Eels and helped guide them to the 2022 NRL Grand Final against the Panthers.<\/p>\n

It is understood that former Australia Kangaroos assistant coach Willie Peters is also interested in the job and is the early frontrunner to succeed sacked England coach Shaun Wane.<\/p>\n

Other names that have been linked to the position include Gold Coast Titans assistant coach Brian McDermott, ex-Rabbitohs premiership winner Sam Burgess and NRL player turned media personality James Graham.<\/p>\n

‘He’s in good shape for how old he is’ | 10:50<\/p>\n

JAMIE SOWARD STEPS DOWN AS COACH OF FETU SAMOA<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, after taking Samoa from 20th to 5th in the Women\u2019s International Rugby League World Rankings, Jamie Soward has officially resigned as head coach of the national team.<\/p>\n

The surprising decision comes months away from the start of the 2026 Rugby League World Cup, where Samoa will face Australia in the opening match on the women\u2019s side of the tournament.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the former St George Illawarra Dragons premiership-winner announced that a career change and shift in personal priorities were the main reasons behind his resignation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for the opportunity, the trust and the memories,\u201d Soward said in a statement. <\/p>\n

\u201cI will always be proud of my association with Rugby League Samoa and my association with the Fetu Samoa program.\u201d<\/p>\n

The departure of Soward means Samoa are the third international team on the lookout for a new coach with France and Papua New Guinea parting ways with their head coaches late last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we are sorry to see Sowie go, we respect his decision and understand the importance of doing what\u2019s best for him, his new role and especially his family,\u201d Rugby League Samoa president Ponifasio Vasa added.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate all his efforts and work during his tenure, and acknowledge the foundations he and his team paved to ensure the success of the team moving forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing that is clear about Sowie, he is very passionate about the game. Once a Fetu, always a Fetu.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Souths star Brandon Smith has revealed he checked himself into a rehab facility last year in a serious…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":429194,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-429193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=429193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/429193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/429194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=429193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=429193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=429193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}