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Gold Coast midfielder Harley Bennell has apologised for his scandal and insists he wants to stay at the AFL club.
Bennell has spoken publicly for the first time since photos were published nationwide of him appearing to use an illicit substance in a Tasmanian hotel room in 2013.
The club stood him down, but he will return in Saturday’s away match against Adelaide.
Bennell said the scandal took a massive toll on him and his family.
He added it broke his heart to call his mother and siblings.
Since the story broke, there has been speculation that Bennell might leave the Suns at the end of this season.
“I don’t want to go anywhere else,” Bennell told Channel Nine’s The Footy Show.
“They’ve had faith in me for the last five years.
“I’ve had some ups and downs, some hiccups on the way – I’m ready to repay the football club for sticking by me.
“I want to put my head down, bum up and work hard, not worry about talent.
“I want to show the football world what I’m really about.”
He said the hardest moment in the wake of the photos being made public was telephoning his family.
“When I was young, I always told her I hated drugs and for her to look (at) the front page of the Herald Sun and see her son with four lines in front of him – it’s not a good look,” he said.
“Especially for my baby sister, it broke her heart.
“It broke mine as well.”
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