The issue of how and when NRL players are tested for illicit drugs is set to be thrust back into the spotlight with an independent body to rule on a new policy to detect recreational drug use.
The NRL and the Rugby League Players’ Association agreed to frame new drug-testing protocols during collective bargaining agreement negotiations earlier this month, and it could see the biggest shake-up in years to how NRL stars are tested.
The NRL will follow the AFL’s lead in accepting external advice from an independent arbiter to form their illicit drugs policy, with both the governing body and the players’ union to make representations.
The NRL has previously flagged a desire to
test players during their off-season holidays – which will be set at nine weeks for the most experienced players. The current terms only allow players to be tested when in a club environment, either at training or in the pre-season.
The NRL’s current policy involves a player being warned for a first strike, banned for 12 matches after a second offence and then deregistered for a third.
The NRL will still run the code’s illicit drugs policy, but the RLPA had agitated for a review of its parameters in the final stages of CBA talks with Australian Rugby League Commission boss Peter V’landys.
V’landys shook hands with RLPA counterpart Clint Newton on a deal to end a bitter and long-running feud over the CBA, and the long form agreement is being drawn up to be signed.
Players will have agreement rights over any NRL plan to extend the length of the season beyond 24 matches per team during the regular season.
The game’s stars had expressed fears over player burnout if the NRL wanted to add extra games, but it can only now be done so with the green light from the athletes on the field.
The minimum wage will also rise to $150,000 by 2027, part of the $1.347 billion, five-year deal tabled to the players.
“Now that it’s done and if you understand footy players, and probably sportspeople in general, that saying, ‘What’s happened on the field, stays on the field’,” RLPA general president Daly Cherry-Evans said.
“What’s happened in the boardrooms and Zoom calls, I reckon a lot of it is going to be water under the bridge.
“The product itself is the best part of rugby league and we can focus on that now as we move towards the finals. We feel as though we’ve got a deal we can be proud of, and it’s now time to promote what we think is the greatest game of all.
“There were opportunities where we could have just conceded and said, ‘Let’s end all this’. But the playing group had so much belief in what we were fighting for. As we’ve been harping on a lot of it was non-financial. That’s why there was such a big push to stand our ground.”
An independent body will determine how and when NRL players can be tested for recreational drugs as the question of whether swabbing can be done during off-season holidays comes to the fore.
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