{"id":654787,"date":"2026-05-07T04:48:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T04:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/654787\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T04:48:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T04:48:19","slug":"nrl-and-sydney-roosters-star-kane-evans-has-detailed-his-recovery-from-addiction-and-homelessness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/654787\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL and Sydney Roosters star Kane Evans has detailed his recovery from addiction and homelessness"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Former Roosters and Eels prop Kane Evans has opened up about his emotional journey from battling addiction and sleeping in parks to celebrating 100 days sober.<\/p>\n<p>Now 34, Evans was released by the Warriors back in 2021 and finished his career two years later after a stint in England with Hull FC.<\/p>\n<p>Following his retirement, he opened a Sydney-based coffee shop, Bestic Espresso, with business partner Frank Karipidis, before it closed down last year.<\/p>\n<p>The establishment\u2019s closure coincided with the ex-Fiji international\u2019s life beginning to spiral as he became homeless and struggled with addiction.<\/p>\n<p>Now he has revealed on social media he is on the road to recovery, sharing a number of pictures from the parks where he was sleeping just a few short months ago. <\/p>\n<p>Speaking on <a class=\"body-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DX0BbIOk4CH\/?img_index=1\" title=\"www.instagram.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram<\/a>, Evans, who is now working for scaffolding business Oceania Access, said: \u201cWhat a way to be humbled and feel grateful by waking up early, walking to go visit where I was not so long ago.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c4 months ago I slept in these parks and moved in the shadows. Tired of fighting the war within, I was hoping to pass away before getting the help I needed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thank God that I got there with help from many. To all those who housed me, looked out for me and prayed for me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThank you. I love you. 100 days sober\ufe0f.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Evans\u2019 candid post has received thousands of likes \u2014 and seen responses from notable names such as Brisbane Broncos great Alex Glenn.<\/p>\n<p>Glenn said: \u201cDamn my brother, that\u2019s strength\u2026 to acknowledge the struggles but also to bounce back and show gratitude. Huge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProud of you. keep going. it\u2019s all worth it. and keep telling your story too.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It comes after Evans recently shared another positive update, saying: \u201cI can\u2019t articulate how hard and rewarding it was checking myself into rehab in order to find understanding, self-love, healing, growth and purpose.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLetting go of all the energy that didn\u2019t belong to me set me free.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am humbled and grateful. Thank you God and my loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"poster-img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/16628d79d0725a1d28c399f6ed903280.jpeg\" data-sctrack=\"op-poster-img\" alt=\"Retired NRL star\u2019s caf\u00e9: From league to lattes\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Along with pictures from various parks, Evans has also shared images of his health eating and impressive physique.<\/p>\n<p>His shape was praised online, with some social media users even claiming he \u201ccould play in the NRL\u201d now.<\/p>\n<p>While his rugby league career is behind him, Evans is still poised to return to the sporting arena in a very different way.<\/p>\n<p>The ex-NRL man has been confirmed as a competitor in Australia\u2019s new boxing format \u201cWorld Bare Knuckle Fighting\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m very blessed for the opportunity and I can\u2019t wait to throw some hands,\u201d Evans said.<\/p>\n<p>Originally published as <a class=\"body-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.news.com.au\/sport\/nrl\/nrl-star-reveals-recovery-from-homelessness-and-addiction\/news-story\/b714e3ea2cad167c29db06ab7274b15b\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NRL star reveals recovery from homelessness and addiction<\/a><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Roosters and Eels prop Kane Evans has opened up about his emotional journey from battling addiction and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":654788,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-654787","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\/654787","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=654787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/654788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=654787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=654787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}