According to The Daily Telegraph, after being suspended on October 3, 2019 and let go by the Brisbane Broncos in the process, James Segeyaro received the news he's been waiting for since the suspension.
“What? Are you serious ... I’m literally going to cry,’’ Segeyaro said in excitement once he found out the news.
“This news, that means that day one of playing rugby league, the sport I love, that literally starts today.
“I’d never given up on playing again. I won’t. I’m just so happy.
Segeyaro, 30, was expected to receive a four-year ban from the NRL as a result of unintentionally consumed Ligandrol, a banned substance under the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA) code.
But instead, the NRL handed Segeyaro a 20 month suspension, which has allowed the former Cowboys, Panthers, Sharks and Broncos hooker to return to rugby league action on June 3.
“I’ll come back through the NSW Cup, I’ll come back through park footy, I just know I’m not finished with yet," he added.
“I’m Papua New Guinean and rugby league is a national sport in PNG, you don’t understand how much pride there is to be a Kumul in my country, so to have a chance again to run around on a footy field again, any footy field, as a proud Kumul, is amazing.”
Segeyaro had to sell his $600,000 home and worked for his close friends concrete business just to pay for the legal fees as a result of the suspension.
Segeyaro added that despite the struggles the suspension caused him, he is keen to make up for lost time.
“If you look at my record throughout my career, I had never tested positive to anything before,’’ Segeyaro said.
“I feel vindicated to some extent, but I’ll never get that time (20-months) back.
“I’ve spent thousands and thousands of dollars, I’ve had to sell my property which was my dream home back in Cairns since I was 18-years-old, all because of the uncertainty that comes with any athlete that is trying to defend themselves when they know they haven’t done this intentionally.
“There were plenty of times that if I didn’t have the right support system, god only knows what I would’ve done.
“I had my partner, my family, my friends, I was lucky.
“Now I have to repay that faith, but ultimately I want to make up for some lost time."
Segeyaro has played 164 games in the NRL after making his debut with North Queensland in 2011.