TROUBLED former Hull KRforward, Ryan Tandy, has been found dead at his family's home in Australia.
Police were called to Mr Tandy's address in New South Wales at 4am (GMT) today following reports he had died.
A police spokesman said: "On arrival police found the body of a 32-year-old man."
The death is not being treated as suspicious. It is believed the player's mother made the discovery.
According to local media, Australian-born Mr Tandy, who played at Craven Park in 2007, was a known drug user.
After leaving Hull KR, Mr Tandy played two matches for the Wests Tigers, Sydney, in 2008.
He played in Melbourne's 2009 grand final win against Parramatta, in New South Wales, before making a mid-season switch to Canterbury the following season.
Canterbury sacked him early in the 2011 season and he never played in the NRL again.
He returned to rugby league for French club Pia Donkeys in 2012 despite calls to cancel his registration.
Mr Tandy had reportedly been excited about the pending release of a new book he had written about his troubled life.
He was on bail after being charged in January with allegedly kidnapping a man over a supposed drug debt.
Police had alleged Mr Tandy was the "hired muscle" for two other men who were trying to recoup money from the victim.
Mr Tandy was convicted of match fixing while playing for Australian side, Canterbury, in 2010.
Former South Sydney teammate Bryan Fletcher caught up with Tandy only a month ago and described the news as "awful" and "tragic".
"He had his problems punting – he liked to bet," Fletcher said. "But I wouldn't have seen this coming. It's tragic for his family."
Fletcher said when the pair caught up in a Sydney pub they discussed Tandy's new business venture - compression garments - he was developing with former Melbourne half Matt Orford.
"He seemed alright, Fletcher said.
"He had a business venture going – he was getting into the compression garments – I was just having a beer with him talking about that. He said 'if I had any leads' (to let him know) with footy clubs.
"He's lost a lot of weight too. He'd been training and was off the drink. He was in a good headspace which I thought was good."
