'I don't know why I'm hiding': Brandon Smith lifts lid on recent rehab stint as 'party boy' lifestyle put behind him

Troubled NRL star Brandon Smith says he recently spent a month in a rehab facility in a bid to overcome his issues with alcohol, claiming it was a "the best investment" he'd made in life and that he was putting his "party boy" days behind him.

Smith, facing drug dealing and gambling charges in a Queensland court, spoke on The Bye Round podcast with former NRL player James Graham, revealing he had now been alcohol-free for 105 days.

He said he intends to be a new man in 2026.

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"I don't know why I'm hiding, but I went on a four-week holiday to a rehab facility. It's something I couldn't more highly recommend to people who are dealing with issues and mine was mental health and alcohol abuse, pretty much of every nature," Smith said.

"What I really learnt in there was throughout the last five years of my career, I had this identity of this party boy and I sort of played up to that identity and didn't want to disappoint anyone.

"When I come out of the facility it was all about reidentifying myself as a professional athlete. I'm not Brandon Smith the party boy, I'm Brandon Smith the professional rugby league player playing for South Sydney."

Smith said the club had no influence on his decision to check himself into rehab but commended the Rabbitohs for their support "through a vulnerable time in my life."

"For so long I enjoyed the rugby league and party life, but I'm a little bit allergic to alcohol now," Smith said.

"I'm doing everything I can to stay on the straight and narrow. I attend AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) meetings and GA (Gamblers Anonymous) meetings. I do everything I can to just stay on this path.

"The life I am living right now is so much better than the life I was living this last couple of years.

"Since I've left (rehab), I've gone to at least three team functions where all the boys were having a fun time.

"But I managed to do it without alcohol. I'm still an annoying larrikin, a pest of a bloke. I didn't need alcohol to do all that. It was refreshing to know I could do it without alcohol."

Smith revealed that public perception was important to him and he had told Souths he was planning to go into rehab in an effort to give his image an overhaul.

"I went there on my own accord. It wasn't because I was in trouble. I went and saw the Bunnies and said I'm going to go do this to make my image look good," he said.

"I went in there before anyone knew anything and I revealed to them I was there. And because it went about that way, that's the reason why my recovery went so good, because it wasn't something that was forced upon me. It was something where I stood back and said, 'I need this.'

"It's been really impactful. It's hard to stay the way I was when I first left because it's fresh in your mind. I think I'm 105 days alcohol free.

"I'm training really well I'm doing all the right things off the field. I now find myself feeling like a professional athlete, I'm doing really well at training, I'm leading the boys around."

Smith said he was continuing to have regular meetings with a psychologist and met good people at the rehab facility where he was only allowed access to his phone for 20 minutes a day.

Staying focused on healthy habits has been his goal.

"The life I'm living now is so much better than the life I was living the last couple of years," he said.

"That's my mental health that's totally separate from football. Waking up in the morning happy.

"Going into nature, swimming at the beach, all these things that waking up hungover took away from me.

"Lucky my teammates know and it's a testament to them that it never got out. Obviously it's a vulnerable time in my life, something I'm very happy for."