Jarrod Mullen was supposed to be the next Andrew Johns, before a doping ban cut short his NRL career and his life spiralled out of control.

A country kid at heart, Jarrod Stephen Mullen was born on April 9, 1987 in Singleton in the Hunter Valley, NSW. When he was nine years old he moved with his family to Newcastle.

His father Steve had played first grade for the Canterbury Bulldogs and Western Suburbs Magpies in the mid-1980s.

Jarrod was a talented youngster, playing for the NSW under-17s in 2004 before being selected for the Australian Schoolboys team in 2004 and 2005.

At 18, he made his NRL debut for the Newcastle Knights in round 10 of the 2005 season. He was soon earmarked for higher honours and compared with future Immortal and Knights teammate Andrew Johns.

Mullen began his career at five-eighth, with the intention of one day succeeding Johns at halfback. However, those transition plans were thrown into chaos when Johns retired in April 2007 following a neck injury.

Mullen, who had turned 20 the day before, was tasked with taking over from one of the game's greatest players.

Immediately he impressed, steering the Knights into the top eight in the first half of the season.

Mullen was a surprise selection to debut for NSW in the 2007 State of Origin series opener, but never played another Origin game.

His injury-marred career was cut short in 2017 by a four-year ban after he tested positive for steroids, prompting a downward spiral.

Mullen became a heavy cocaine user and was sentenced in February to a three-year community corrections order including 300 hours of community service for trafficking more than $10,000 worth of the drug.

His lawyer told the Wollongong Local Court the 32-year-old had been clean since a near-fatal overdose in 2018, and hoped to return to the NRL once his doping ban expires in 2021.

If that doesn't work out, he said Mullen aspired to become a role model and counsellor for troubled young rugby league players.

Australian Associated Press