(Ex-) Cronulla players admitted drug cheats!

[Super Freak]

So, WADA are going to sign off on the deals.

That was to be expected, I suppose.

 

[Huge]

So, WADA are going to sign off on the deals.

That was to be expected, I suppose.

Wow, who knew huh...lol ...Seems like my attitude is more prevalent than expected...

 

[Nashy]

I wont support a game that allows doping. **** the NRL.

 

[Huge]

I wont support a game that allows doping. **** the NRL.

Well, I guess we won't be seeing posts on the rugby league side of the site but I hope you do stay on to keep moderating the general stuff. I will miss your posts about rugby league and wish you well with whatever new sport you start supporting, assuming that you are moving to another sport of course.

 

[gordjw]

Huge I get where you're coming from. But there's no way suspensions should be backdated. If it causes a loss of income for the players, and the root cause is that the club was negligent/wilful, well, that's why we have civil courts.

Then it'd be up to the NRL to step in and help Cronulla pay the players, or not. They could do that under the guise of "looking after the misled players"/"player welfare", and come out looking like the good guys.

Instead they've done what they've done, and Cronulla fans hate them for the investigation, other fans hate them for the extremely lenient punishments.

I'm guessing they have the same PR team as when Gallop was in charge, because they keep making the same short sighted decisions.

 

[Huge]

Huge I get where you're coming from. But there's no way suspensions should be backdated. If it causes a loss of income for the players, and the root cause is that the club was negligent/wilful, well, that's why we have civil courts.

Then it'd be up to the NRL to step in and help Cronulla pay the players, or not. They could do that under the guise of "looking after the misled players"/"player welfare", and come out looking like the good guys.

Instead they've done what they've done, and Cronulla fans hate them for the investigation, other fans hate them for the extremely lenient punishments.

I'm guessing they have the same PR team as when Gallop was in charge, because they keep making the same short sighted decisions.

Totally understand your point of view and I can understand most of the other variations providing they are not too extreme ! The thing is although it was a drug related event it is nothing like the systematic doping of the Chinese and East Germans/ other European countries. I actually would be parading along side Porthoz and Nashy if it was anything close to that but it's not. What I don't understand is how people are acting as though it is exactly the same apparently with absolutely no sense of scale. To me it is ugly and unfortunate but it is hardly enough for me to go off like it's the end of the world. While I agree the punishments are on the lenient side it still sends out a message that next time the results will be a lot more severe.

There will be plenty who will disagree with that previous statement but most players and staff will know that even with this apparent leniency the players have suffered greatly and those 16/17 will have a dirty stain on them which will never disappear,and they are the lucky ones.

 

[broncos4life]

Totally understand your point of view and I can understand most of the other variations providing they are not too extreme ! The thing is although it was a drug related event it is nothing like the systematic doping of the Chinese and East Germans/ other European countries. I actually would be parading along side Porthoz and Nashy if it was anything close to that but it's not. What I don't understand is how people are acting as though it is exactly the same apparently with absolutely no sense of scale. To me it is ugly and unfortunate but it is hardly enough for me to go off like it's the end of the world. While I agree the punishments are on the lenient side it still sends out a message that next time the results will be a lot more severe.

There will be plenty who will disagree with that previous statement but most players and staff will know that even with this apparent leniency the players have suffered greatly and those 16/17 will have a dirty stain on them which will never disappear,and they are the lucky ones.

I think what porthoz, nashy, myself and others are saying has nothing to do with scale, it's the precedent it sets. You can't have a sliding scale when it comes to things like PED's and doping. From this point forward the standard excuse in league for players caught doping will be "The club is responsible" or "I didn't know what I was taking... I'll take my 3 weeks suspension at the end of the year thanks, I don't think we will make the finals anyway"

You want to talk about a sliding scale. What sort of message does it send that Wendell Sailor gets 2 years for doing an illicit drug that gave him absolutely no advantage on the field, yet players that have been caught taking performance enhancers have been given 3 weeks?

 

[Bull Shark]

The NRL have already started swinging their axe from the top down by announcing Stephen Dank has been banned for life from the NRL.

301 Moved Permanentlystephen-dank-banned-for-life-by-nrl- 1227034152141

Don't mistake that decision for something the NRL deserves any great kudos for ... Banning Dank was probably the easiest, most token call they've ever had to make ..

About as difficult as Grammy award organisers banning Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary from all future events..

 

[Morkel]

Sure, there is no evidence to suggest that it was a systematic program, but there is also no evidence to suggest it wasn't. Saying that the players were "likely" unaware they were breaking the rules is based on the same (lack of) evidence that suggests they were just as likely to be complicit in the whole thing. Rumous are rumours, but there was talk of closed-door meetings, telling the players that they weren't to discuss it with anyone, etc. The only difference between that and, say, the Chinese man-lady swimmers, is that the latter was continued over a longer period of time. But look at it this way - had Isaac Gordon not had bruising that shocked the medical staff, and had the program continued to show success, who knows how long they would have continued with it?

 

[Nashy]

I am still absolutely bewildered that this is actually happening. I honestly cannot believe how so many people in organisations such as the NRL, RLIF, ASADA, and WADA have decided that they will let these dopers off.

I don't understand how this isn't a much bigger deal than it is.

Doping will never go away with this sort of bullshit happening. I honestly cannot believe it.

 

[Bull Shark]

Sure, there is no evidence to suggest that it was a systematic program, but there is also no evidence to suggest it wasn't. Saying that the players were "likely" unaware they were breaking the rules is based on the same (lack of) evidence that suggests they were just as likely to be complicit in the whole thing. Rumous are rumours, but there was talk of closed-door meetings, telling the players that they weren't to discuss it with anyone, etc. The only difference between that and, say, the Chinese man-lady swimmers, is that the latter was continued over a longer period of time. But look at it this way - had Isaac Gordon not had bruising that shocked the medical staff, and had the program continued to show success, who knows how long they would have continued with it?

 

[Mr Fourex]

 

[Nashy]

Looks shopped. No syringe anywhere.

 

[Mr Fourex]

 

[Huge]

Show results, huh ? What results ? The team was hardly successful ! As well as that Dank was only involved for a very very short length of time and certainly not long enough to have seen 'results' . Some of you guys are adding 2 and 2 and getting 22 ! What must be obvious to you now is that the decision makers have access to all the facts, all the evidence, the actual hard evidence and not suppositions, fantasies and long held biases and consequently have made a call on what is before them. If we had all the evidence we could ( perhaps ! ) make mature decisions instead of going off on wild tangents and baseless conjectures but we don't. Once again I point out that older wiser heads make these decisions and not less long lived people.

 

[Nashy]

Admitted to doping. The old wise heads have gone senile and have forgotten that doping should be met with the harshest penalties. Not 3 fucking weeks.

As a sports fan, you should be disgusted.

 

[Morkel]

Older wiser heads? The game is being ruined by "older wiser heads" because they're stifled with pre-conceived notions, bias, and agendas from a time which is no longer relevant. It's one thing to acknowledge the past and learn from it, it's another to be dictated by it.

As Nathan Hindmarsh recently said, every player is drilled to take responsibility. Whether it's the club offering supplements, or your mums cooking, everything that goes in to your body is your responsibility. You get busted? 2 years. Ignorance stopped being an excuse a long time ago.

 

[ivanhungryjak]

As Nathan Hindmarsh recently said, every player is drilled to take responsibility. Whether it's the club offering supplements, or your mums cooking, everything that goes in to your body is your responsibility. You get busted? 2 years. Ignorance stopped being an excuse a long time ago.

Agree with this 100% otherwise, we get stupid decisions like dopers getting three weeks suspension.
Clubs could just hire a fall guy, dope away to their hearts content, and if they get busted, just blame the patsy.