Knights in spin with several players implicated in Wicks drug scandal
LES KENNEDY AND ADRIAN PROSZENKO
December 20, 2009
EXCLUSIVE
A NUMBER of Newcastle Knights first-graders have allegedly been caught on police phone taps or surveillance seeking to purchase or buying drugs from teammate Danny Wicks.
The players are expected to be identified when police unveil in court the extent of evidence gathered in an eight-month covert operation into a northern-NSW-based drug trafficking ring – with links to the Gladiators motorcycle gang – which culminated in Wicks’s arrest on Wednesday.
When 24-year-old Wicks faced Newcastle Local Court that day, police alleged other players were implicated but did not reveal how many or identify them.
However, The Sun-Herald has learned that detectives plan to interview a number of players and are considering laying charges.
‘‘These are extremely serious allegations,’’ Knights chief executive Steve Burraston said last night. ‘‘There is a police investigation under way and in no way would we intend to hinder that investigation with speculation. ‘‘We are unaware of these new allegations. However, if police come to us with the evidence you’re suggesting, it will be dealt with in the appropriate manner.’’
Wicks’s former housemate, Knights forward Chris Houston, was named as a potential witness in the case, but is not suspected of any wrongdoing. He and all other Knights players have been ordered by the club not to have any contact with Wicks until his case is resolved.
Even if charges are not laid, the airing of phone intercept recordings which will identify players will be potentially damaging enough to force the Knights to cancel their contracts for contravening anti-drug guidelines, a senior police source told The Sun-Herald.
Another officer said the drug allegations that will be aired in the Wicks case could cost the Knights any success in the 2010 season.
‘‘The joke is – and it is a true joke – they are odds on to get the wooden spoon, but you can’t lay bets on which team will finish last,’’ the officer said.
Betting agency TAB Sportsbet was preparing to unveil its wooden spoon and premiership markets for the 2010 NRL season this morning. The Knights, who made the finals this year for the first time since 2006, were going to be posted at $26 to win the title. They were set to be installed as a $15 chance to win the wooden spoon.
It’s believed the agency will suspend betting following the latest revelations. The NRL has the power to dock competition points should a club bring the game into disrepute.
‘‘With the testing we’ve done and the way we do it – in recovery sessions, in rehabilitation sessions, in training sessions and game day, over and above what’s required in the NRL – I’d be very surprised if these allegations are true,’’ Burraston said.
Wicks’s arrest followed an incident in the Newcastle suburb of Merewether last month, in which a woman in Wicks’s company was charged with possession of a small quantity of amphetamine and cocaine.
The Wicks drama comes just two years after legendary Newcastle halfback Andrew Johns revealed that he had taken drugs during his playing career.The potential loss of players or competition points would have a catastrophic effect on the club.
However, Burraston was confident the Knights could survive the ordeal.
''We don't fear this at all,'' Burraston said.
''We believe we have the policies and procedures in place to handle anything that may come out of this situation.
''If this does turn out to be correct, we have the will to take the correct and appropriate action.
''At this stage we're not aware of any of this and I wouldn't like to speculate or interfere with the ongoing police investigation.''
Wicks, who has yet to enter a plea, and was released on $30,000 bail on Friday, was one of five people arrested in raids in Newcastle and Grafton on Wednesday, including his 22-year-old brother Brett and Brett's defacto wife Tristen Davenport, 25.
The couple, who did not enter any pleas when they faced Grafton Local Court that day, have been charged with 10 drug-related offences, while Wicks faces four charges of supplying amphetamines, two charges of supplying ecstasy, one charge of possessing cocaine and one of possessing amphetamines.
NRL chief executive David Gallop said he was unaware of the latest developments in the Wicks saga.
''Neither the police nor the club have suggested that to us,'' Gallop said last night.
''It is a serious allegation and we must leave it in the hands of the police at this stage.''
Wicks, who has been stood down indefinitely by the club and must report daily to his local police station, will face court again on February 3.
Also arrested in Newcastle with Wicks was Steven Stefanovski, 29, who police alleged in court supplied 28 grams of amphetamines to Wicks last month as undercover police looked on. When released on bail on Friday he was ordered by the court not to associate with Wicks or any other co-accused.
