Curtis Scott has teed off at the Raiders in an explosive Instagram post accusing the club of leaking “in house information” and kicking him while he’s down.
The Raiders yesterday sacked Scott two seasons into his four-year contract with the club, putting an end to a turbulent relationship that was damaged by several off-field incidents.
Following his sacking new details about Scott’s time at the club came to light, with News Corp revealing a fight between the 23-year-old and his then teammate John Bateman had come into the board’s consideration as his future was determined.
According to the News Corp report, Scott injured his hand in the fight after a team function, causing him to miss several games last season.
The fight was kept out of the media for 12 months, with the Raiders reportedly choosing to deal with the matter in house, so it clearly infuriated Scott when it spilled into the public domain yesterday.
Taking to Instagram late last night, Scott posted a screen grab of the News Corp report with an emotional message attached.
“I opened up about extremely personal information regarding my mental health and current struggles,” Scott wrote, referencing an interview conducted with The Daily Telegraph on the weekend that revealed he had sought help from Alcoholics Anonymous, “I have just lost what feels like everything to me and I can’t understand why Canberra has continued to kick me while I’m down and now leak in house information that was dealt with over a year ago regarding a former player.
“The club has nothing to gain out of this, but hopes of reasoning for their lack of support. In my opinion it’s a low act and they have shown and proved that they have no real care factor for players welfare.”
Scott then referenced the messy recent departure of English halfback George Williams, who was sent packing from the club by text message after failing up to a training session as he struggled with homesickness.
Williams had repeatedly requested a release from his contract at the end of the season and had those requests denied prior to the bombshell final decision.
“It’s not the first time this has happened to a player at the Raiders who has come out about mental health struggles,” Scott continued.
He concluded the post with a “massive thanks to everyone for all the supportive messages”.
With his contract at the Raiders torn up Scott’s future in rugby league is unclear.
He has not played since Round 12 this season but was previously considered a likely future Origin star and he is still just 23. Scott burst onto the scene as a teenager with the Storm, playing 49 games for the club between 2016 and 2019 before joining the Raiders on a big money deal.
He played 23 games for Canberra in his two seasons there before his sacking.
Last night on Nine’s 100% Footy, Canterbury general manager Phil Gould said it had gotten exhausting sticking up for players over and over again following poor behvaiour off the field.
“The climate has changed. They can’t keep putting themselves into this position. I’ve been as protective of players of the years as anyone but it starts to wear you down over time when common sense falls down and they keep putting themselves in this position,” Gould said.
“When you look at every incident they’re not all that major, they’re just minor things and some of them are beyond their own control but the fact they’re in that environment and they understand the ramifications when something goes wrong. The mind boggles.”
Yet Cronulla great Paul Gallen said Scott was still young enough to save his career, despite having a lengthy rap sheet.
“For someone like him he’s young enough for someone to shake him and say ‘wake up to yourself’ you can’t keep doing these things,” Gallen said on 100% Footy.
“If he can be around people who make sure he gets home OK he can still make a career out of rugby league.”
Scott’s lawyer, Sam Macedone, is considering launching legal action against the Raiders for unlawful dismissal, according to News Corp.
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