Brett Finch training for the Storm in 2013. Photo / Getty Images
Brett Finch training for the Storm in 2013. Photo / Getty Images
When Brett Finch logged onto an internet chatroom in November 2020, he did not know interstate police were watching on as part of their hunt for a national child abuse material ring.
Victorian police had identified a convicted paedophile who was using the "FastMeet" service to exchange vile child abuse material.
As a result of their investigation, they identified other users and their identities were passed on to police in other states.
Over the course of three months, the fallen former NRL champion sent seven messages to fellow users in which he detailed fantasies of having sex with young boys.
Many of the messages are too vulgar to print and he later told police he was on drugs and "twisted" at the time.
As Finch marks his 41st birthday on Saturday, he is facing the prospect of being jailed after he this week pleaded guilty to one count of using a carriage service to make available child abuse material.
Later this year he will return to court, where his legal team will make submissions on his behalf before he is sentenced, having already flagged that his mental health was a factor in his offending.
But having experienced the highest of highs during a stellar NRL career, he is now facing the lowest of lows.
Finch and Billy Slater of the Melbourne Storm hold the NRL Premiership trophy in 2009. Photo / Getty Images
Following his retirement from rugby league, Finch's life has been plagued by struggles with drug use, addiction and mental health issues.
In October 2019, Finch entered a mental health facility after an incident on a flight from Sydney to the Gold Coast.
Concerns were raised when he was spotted with a bloody nose.
While passengers later told The Daily Telegraph that he was not abusive, they described him as appearing paranoid and how he refused to get off the plane.
He had to be helped off and fire and ambulance crews were called.
He spoke openly about his struggles following his retirement in 2013 and being unable to recapture the highs of playing first-grade rugby league.
The Dally M halfback of the year in 2004, Finch played in two grand final losses for the Sydney Roosters in 2003 and 2004 before winning a grand final with a star-studded Melbourne team in 2009.
Though that title was struck from the record books as a result of the Storm's salary cap cheating.
His defining moment came in 2006 when he answered as SOS from NSW on match eve and booted the winning field in State of Origin game one.
He played 270 NRL games across stints at Canberra, the Roosters, Parramatta and Melbourne, as well as playing 60 games in the English Super League before taking up a career as a commentator with Fox Sports and Channel 9 in retirement.
He told the Turn Up The Talk podcast that he hit "rock bottom" in 2016 after being stood down by Nine.
He said he had called in sick to his job on the 2GB Continuous Call team to visit his dealer and the incident resulted in his then girlfriend leaving him after she found out.
"(She) knew exactly where I'd gone," he said.
"She said, 'I'm out, I'm going' and packs her bags and goes back to Melbourne.
"I get home, now I'm stood down from both jobs, and I go to my account and I've got minus $10. Eighteen months earlier, I had hundreds of thousands.
Finch playing for Wigan during the 2011-2012 season. Photo / Photosport
"And my first thought is, 'Where can I pick up, where can I get another one from'?"
He once told the Matty Johns podcast that he had three stints in a rehab facility and how he had struggled to "get some highs in my life" after retiring from football.
"One day I was a football player, the next day no one cares, it's over," he said.
"I struggled to get any satisfaction in life. You train to extreme levels, you're super fit and super strong. I thought I was a mentally tough bloke."
Finch was identified by police through his mobile phone number that he used to access "FastMeet", a chat and voice service that operates on the internet and via phone and mobile app.
When entering the live chat, users are told: "For your safety, this service is monitored and may be recorded."
"Yeah how you going mate? My name is Brad, 35, masculine build, married," Finch said to other users, according to a statement of agreed facts tendered to the court this week.
The last of the messages were sent on January 30 last year, but it wasn't until mid-December that he was arrested when detectives knocked on the door of his Sans Souci home in the early morning.
In early 2021, officers from the NSW Police Child Exploitation Internet Unit established Strike Force Hank to investigated men who were allegedly using the "FastMeet" chat service to disseminate child abuse material and discuss the abuse of children.
Detectives arrested seven other men in Sydney, Coffs Harbour, Port Stephen and Gerroa.
During his arrest, Finch voluntarily provided his mobile phone and password.
He said he never engaged in sexual activity with children and described the messages as "sh*t talk".
He did not deny using the platform and said if he had spoken about children he did not start the conversation.
He said he no longer used "FastMeet", was on drugs at the time and the messages might have been sent when he was "twisted".
Finch was charged with seven counts of using a carriage service to make available child abuse material.
When he appeared in Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday, he had six charges withdrawn.
He stood at the back of courtroom 5.5 as his lawyer Paul McGirr entered a guilty plea to one count of using a carriage service to make available child abuse material.
He will now face sentencing in the NSW District Court and is set to reappear on September 16.
Finch was silent as he walked out of court on Tuesday, though Mr McGirr said his client was suffering mental health issues at the time and was receiving ongoing treatment.
