Sharks drama on ABC 7.30 tonight

[Morkel]

Hey, after reading the official transcript, I did pretty good...

 

[Kimlo]

Alrighty. I missed the first couple of minutes & I didn't record it, so correct me anyone if I get this wrong. They had Cullen there giving his perspective intermittently.

* (walked in at this point) pretty much confirmed that Gallen and other players were the recipients of the two particular (illegal) peptides, originally injected, and then via creams & tablets. As we knew.

* Named the Doctor/Chemist who is believed to have mixed up the peptides - and added that he got a warning in 2007 for improperly prescribing drugs of addiction / drugs for children, and also late last year (or early this year, can't remember) that he had his license stripped. Apparently Dank stopped his involvement with him when he received a 'bad batch'.

* As to how it was funded, I didn't hear at the start because my daughter was making a racket, but it sounded like there was absolutely zero money trail of it on the books. Which obviously was odd for substances at the cutting edge, etc. They did manage to dig up a bank account though, that was linked to the 'High Performance Centre'. Interestingly it was with Westpac. Cullen confirmed that he's never seen the account in question, and that the club uses St George. When pushed, Cullen said that it was very alarming because with a club every cent coming in & going out should be accounted for (intimating that he should have known about it and therefore it was possible it was an attempt to keep it off official books).

As for Gallen:

* They originally showed an email from a sponsor (a security company) who was pissed off at having his contract cut short. He wrote that it it becomes a legal battle, the off-the-books payments to <a particular player> would definitely become public knowledge. It was given credence when Flanagan himself forwarded on an email to the club (the directors?) alarmed at this, and on confirming the player in question was Gallen, that the club needed to be agreed upon that the payments were requested by the club & not Gallen. Basically the club taking full responsibility & Gallen had no knowledge of anything untoward.

* They didn't clarify whether it was a totally off-the-books rort, or whether it was just sloppy paperwork. Cullen's comment was that whether Gallen was paid in cash, cheque, or jars of vegemite, it was not handled correctly in regards to the salary cap process. The fact that Flanagan's original email named two areas of concern, one being the club & its tax situation, the other being Gallen & the salary cap, makes it sound like it was more than a mere oversight.

That enough bullet points? ;)

PS> GODAMNIT GCBRONCO! NINJA'D

I'm not saying whether they will or won't be found guilty, but gee, if they are... The NRL better act quick, I'd hate to see them make the finals IF they've been proven to be avoiding the salary cap and using performance enhancing substances.

 

[ivanhungryjak]

From what I remember:

Bruno Cullen was interviewed. Said Sharks management was a shambles and was what clubs were like 20 years ago.
Recordkeeping almost non-existent.
Said he left in disgust after the sacked staff were reinstated.

In 2011, Flanagan and Elkin took the players to the middle of the oval. Said a new supplement program was starting under Dank. Said everything was above board but had to be kept secret...

Revealed the local "chemist", some Indian (?) dude who has been pinged for professional misconduct before. ASADA has spoken to him twice. Dank stopped talking to this bloke after he got two "bad batches" of peptides (this comes from Dank himself).

7.30 come up with an internal Sharks report showing their players were injected with peptides.

Flanagan ran an external bank account under the name HPU (high performance unit) and Management knew nothing about it.

Emails from security sponsor to board whinging about his sponsors contract being terminated early and saying - I've been paying a certain player cash for three years and will be trouble if it gets out.

Flanagan emailed the board half an hour later saying the lid could be blown, named Gallen as the player, and said it would be trouble for the club re cap and Gallen re tax.

Total payments in this way (several players) are in vicinity of 1/4 million dollars.

Cullen says he fears for the Sharks and gives an example that players could sue the club.

 

[Mr Fourex]

MOD EDIT: Defamation

....geez, how good are the Sharks going.

 

[Morkel]

MOD EDIT: Defamation

....geez, how good are the Sharks going.

Mod Edit: Inappropriate post

 

[Morkel]

This sentence would have made you tingle I bet:

"That player was NSW's favourite son - Blues captain and Cronulla chief Gallen"

They kept showing pics and video of him in his Blues jersey...

 

[theshed]

If any of this is found to be true, I'd be gutted if we missed the finals due to the sharks not being punished swiftly. That being said, I have a feeling if all of this is true, the ramifications it will have on the game will make forget about missing the finals. This could really damage the entire game. Origin is going to be even more busted next year.

edit: Thanks, Morkal and the other guy for providing that info.

 

[Big Pete]

This is the last time I or any member of the mod team are going to say this, choose your words carefully on this matter. Remember the investigation is still underway and nobody at the Sharks has been found guilty of any act just yet, so don't jump to any conclusions. Feel free to discuss the news and if you're unsure on what you're allowed to say, feel free to contact Fozz, pwn or I and we'll answer your inquiries.

In saying, dark times for Cronulla. All this speculation is really beginning to impact on the integrity of the competition and I wonder how much the NRL are willing to tolerate before they decide to penalise the Sharks?

 

[Mr Fourex]

This sentence would have made you tingle I bet:

"That player was NSW's favourite son - Blues captain and Cronulla chief Gallen"

They kept showing pics and video of him in his Blues jersey...

The Rugby league world will soon see just how scummy Paul Gallen truly is.

A NSW "hero" ........what a joke!

 

[Mr Fourex]

This is the last time I or any member of the mod team are going to say this, choose your words carefully on this matter. Remember the investigation is still underway and nobody at the Sharks has been found guilty of any act just yet, so don't jump to any conclusions. Feel free to discuss the news and if you're unsure on what you're allowed to say, feel free to contact Fozz, pwn or I and we'll answer your inquiries.

Would inserting the word "alleged" help smooth things over. For example "alleged" **** cheats Cronulla or "alleged" ****** cap cheats Cronulla......?

In saying, dark times for Cronulla. All this speculation is really beginning to impact on the integrity of the competition and I wonder how much the NRL are willing to tolerate before they decide to penalise the Sharks?

The NRL have been sitting on their hands for far too long in regards to the Sharks appalling mis-management / "alleged" underhanded dealings........if they make / are allowed to play in the finals, it will be an absolute failing on the NRL's integrity.

 

[Morkel]

Gotta say, in regards to the doping anyway, there is a very slight chance that they legit thought it was all above board. They're be stupid to think so, but I don't think we can rule out that possibility. Consider this:

* Apparently the players & coaching staff were all huddled together on an oval, with a secret plan to seek the use of peptides. Even if they thought it was legal, there's a fair case to answer that, in a results-based competitive sport, you wouldn't want anyone knowing of any secret-squirrel advantages you had. Keep it secret and the advantage is yours and yours alone.

* Remember the mysterious letter that Dank supposedly produced, seemingly from ASADA, 'confirming' that the drugs in question were not illegal? Whether it was a forgery or not, it could well have been enough to convince the club it was all legal.

* So Dank was apparently working for free. But there were secret books behind a performance unit. Flanagan could well have been going above-and-beyond, using fund-raisers to raise money that the club didn't have, in order to purchase these peptides (Dank takes a cut of course). The reason it had to be secret? Everyone knew the club was bleeding money, they were almost bankrupt what, four times? If the club knew that extra money was being raised, it would have directed it where the club felt it was more vital.

Yes, they'd have to be bumbling fools to all believe that, but remember this club hasn't has a CEO for how many years? Flanno going out, using his own time to raise money so that the players can enjoy just a fraction of the R&D budgets of other clubs, sounds like a pretty staunch coach. If this is all the case, you have to feel at least partially sorry for the people involved.

It of course doesn't change the fact that they should have sought their own assurances of the substances being legal (same with the players having the same responsibility), and that when it all came to light they should have just come clean, admit they'd been duped, and cop what was coming to them.

 

[Harry Sack]

Gotta say, in regards to the doping anyway, there is a very slight chance that they legit thought it was all above board. They're be stupid to think so, but I don't think we can rule out that possibility. Consider this:

* Apparently the players & coaching staff were all huddled together on an oval, with a secret plan to seek the use of peptides. Even if they thought it was legal, there's a fair case to answer that, in a results-based competitive sport, you wouldn't want anyone knowing of any secret-squirrel advantages you had. Keep it secret and the advantage is yours and yours alone.

* Remember the mysterious letter that Dank supposedly produced, seemingly from ASADA, 'confirming' that the drugs in question were not illegal? Whether it was a forgery or not, it could well have been enough to convince the club it was all legal.

* So Dank was apparently working for free. But there were secret books behind a performance unit. Flanagan could well have been going above-and-beyond, using fund-raisers to raise money that the club didn't have, in order to purchase these peptides (Dank takes a cut of course). The reason it had to be secret? Everyone knew the club was bleeding money, they were almost bankrupt what, four times? If the club knew that extra money was being raised, it would have directed it where the club felt it was more vital.

Yes, they'd have to be bumbling fools to all believe that, but remember this club hasn't has a CEO for how many years? Flanno going out, using his own time to raise money so that the players can enjoy just a fraction of the R&D budgets of other clubs, sounds like a pretty staunch coach. If this is all the case, you have to feel at least partially sorry for the people involved.

It of course doesn't change the fact that they should have sought their own assurances of the substances being legal (same with the players having the same responsibility), and that when it all came to light they should have just come clean, admit they'd been duped, and cop what was coming to them.

Gun post and a particularly poignant comment. If they had been duped, don't make it worse by playing the innocent card.

 

[Dexter]

The Rugby league world will soon see just how scummy Paul Gallen truly is.

A NSW "hero" ........what a joke!

Another NSW Immortal in the making:tongue_smilie:

 

[Broncoman]

Not really related to the topic but Paul Gallen is a great player and is one of the NRL's best forwards and anyone who doesn't think so is deluded.

 

[Porthoz]

Not really related to the topic but Paul Gallen is a great player and is one of the NRL's best forwards and anyone who doesn't think so is deluded.

I wouldn't make too many bold statements without knowing the outcome of this ASADA investigation. We don't know how Gallen's going to come out of it...

 

[Dexter]

He became a great player when he suddenly started doing things others couldn't, like playing 80 mins at prop in Origin. When athletes anywhere start outperforming their peers alarm bells sound.

 

[Mr Fourex]

He became a great player when he suddenly started doing things others couldn't, like playing 80 mins at prop in Origin. When athletes anywhere start outperforming their peers alarm bells sound.

Bingo !!!

 

[Huge]

Exactly when did that happen, the suddenly bit ? Some evidence would be nice. I thought his numbers were always high from the first time he stepped on a field. Props used to play eighty minutes for decades, hardly new. Even in tests or origins