Former Newcastle Knights star Jarrod Mullen has met with the NRL Integrity Unit in a bid to clear the way for a potential return to top level rugby league when his four-year drug ban ends in January.
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The former Knights captain, who now lives with his young family in Wollongong, had a decorated 12-season career with the club, featuring in 211 NRL games. But he has not played since testing positive to a banned steroid following a pre-season drug test in November 2016.
His ban expires on January 16 next year and despite the odds being stacked against him given his time out of the game, it's understood the 33-year-old has told Integrity Unit officials he wants to be given the opportunity to try and resurrect his NRL career.
Mullen's bold comeback bid comes after he avoided a jail term in February this year after pleading guilty to a charge of supplying cocaine.
Knights CEO Phil Gardner told the Newcastle Herald the club would not turn its back on Mullen when his ban expires but has reservations about whether he could return to the club as a player.
"Rugby league is full of redemption stories and Jarrod Mullen is a guy that has done some great things for this club," Gardner said.
"Our club certainty won't turn our back on him but I would think he has a mountain to climb as far as playing in the NRL again is concerned. It's something I would need to discuss with our coach [Adam O'Brien], the football department and the leadership group and players.
"Obviously, you'd need to look at what sort of message it sends culturally from the club's point of view as well.
"It's a question I can't answer right now but I do think it would be great to see Jarrod back involved in the game again in some way, shape or form. He'll have done his time so unless there is something more that I'm not aware of, I can't imagine the NRL will stand in his way."
The Newcastle Herald has learned Mullen has met with the NRL on more than one occasion over his future in the game. But there is no indication at this stage when a decision will be made on a potential comeback.
Possibly clouding the issue is Mullen's conviction in a Wollongong court in February for cocaine supply. He was handed a three-year community correction order and sentenced to 300 hours of community service.
In sentencing Mullen at the time, Magistrate Jillian Kiely pointed to his rehabilitation efforts that included attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings and regularly seeing a psychologist as reasons for not sending him to prison. Since then, Mullen has become a first-time father and has completed an alcohol and drug councillor's course at TAFE with a view to potentially mentoring young people struggling to cope with addictions.
He has always maintained he took the steroid Drostanolone "unintentionally" after being given an injection by an unknown medico to help treat a chronic hamstring injury.
"I trusted the bloke - I'd known him for 10 years. He tossed up an amino acid injection to help with the healing," Mullen told the Seven Network following his ban.
"If I was intentionally going out there to improve myself to get bigger, faster, stronger, I'm happy to cop the four years. It's just ruined my life."
Mullen lost a million dollar contract with the Knights because of the ban and admitted his life spiraled out of control after his career ended, using cocaine on a daily basis prior to his arrest.
It would be one of the great sporting comeback stories if Mullen was able to play again in the NRL.
The last player to resurrect his career after serving a four year drugs ban is Melbourne winger Sandor Earl, who has played seven games with the Storm since signing in 2018.
He was rubbed out in 2013 for steroid use but was only 28 when he made his return.
