There was a time last year when Victor Radley had accepted that he was about to be sacked by the Roosters.

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It followed a text message drug scandal where a police investigation revealed he asked former teammate Brandon Smith if he could help him acquire some cocaine ahead of a trip to the Sunshine Coast in June.

Radley was not charged with any wrongdoing but the police were the least of his problems.

He knew that the Roosters had a strict drug policy where any player caught using illicit substances would be automatically sacked.

He was dreading facing Roosters’ chairman Nick Politis, a man he had the utmost respect for, and still does.

The Roosters forward thought his time at the club was done. Instead, on Sunday evening he was celebrating with a premiership ring.

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“There was a couple of days there where I was 100 per cent sacked,” Radley told Fox Sports news.

“I was sorting out where I was going to go. My missus was in tears, thinking, ‘oh are we going to England’, it was all happening.

“I was gone because Nick’s a man of his word and I stuffed up.”

Politis and the club’s legal team reviewed Radley’s future, weighing up a potential contract termination to defend the club’s reputation with giving the lock forward a second chance.

“They sat down and they had a conversation about it and they ended up having my back and I ended up getting a pretty solid fine and missed 10 matches,” Radley said.

“The punishment was severe but not as severe as it would have been leaving my home club and missing an opportunity to play for a Grand Final which I just did.”

Radley was fined $30,000 which was donated to St Vincent’s Hospital and suspended without pay.

But the Roosters junior said the pain of being sacked would have hurt a lot more than usual because he could see what the club was building towards and didn’t want to miss out on winning a third premiership.

Roosters lock Victor Radley reflects on winning the grand final.Source: FOX SPORTS

He said he knew a year ago that another premiership was just around the corner for the Roosters.

“That’s why when I got in the strife last year when there was a chance for me to get sacked and I was about to get rid of (I was upset). I’m super grateful that I didn’t because I remember sitting at home thinking I’m going to miss a chance to go and win a competition with this great club,” Radley said.

“That was the thing that hurt me the most because I just knew from the signings we had and how we finished the end of last year that we were going to be in for a really big year this year, and we were going to have a successful season.

“That was the thing that haunted me the most during that period, and then I was grateful that Robbo (Trent Robinson) had my back and Nick supported me.

“I’ve got a chance to pay it back. We have a superstar team, so I’m super grateful.”

Radley made 28 tackles and had nine carries in the 19-18 win over the Knights on Sunday night and will now focus on the World Cup where he’ll play for England.