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OT: ASADA and Drugs in NRL

Gronk

Moderator
Staff member
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73,555

parra pete

Referee
Messages
20,534
Do the crime, do the time. If any players is guilty..HAMMER THEM
Pleading ignorance doesn't change the facts
 

Forty20

First Grade
Messages
7,677
EXCLUSIVE: PARRAMATTA has become the seventh NRL team to be hauled into ASADA's investigation, with two current Eels players wanted for interview.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal the pair - recruited from Cronulla and Manly over the past two seasons - are among the 31 players who received interview notices last month.

The development came as ASADA chief Aurora Andruska backflipped on her snap decision to cancel interviews with Sharks players this week, following a stern phone call from NRL boss Dave Smith.

After a lengthy conversation with Andruska, Smith last night emerged with assurances that interviews would now begin next Monday - five days after they were originally scheduled to start.

The Parramatta twist throws further intrigue into the handling of the case, given the Eels weren't named in the explosive Australian Crime Commission (ACC) report as one of the six clubs with implicated players.

The Daily Telegraph can confirm Parramatta are not being investigated for systemic doping issues, with the two individuals wanted for questioning over treatment they received while playing for the former clubs. There is no suggestion the two Eels players ASADA want to interview were taking banned substances.

It's understood three of the clubs named in the report - North Queensland, Canberra and Newcastle - were only mentioned because they also carry certain players from the trio of outfits that once engaged biochemist Stephen Dank.

The investigation's central character worked at Manly, Cronulla and Penrith, but the Sharks are the only club under a systemic cloud, with 10 current players wanted for interview.

However, ASADA has strong reason to believe other players received additional treatment from Dank or his associates beyond the watch of their club doctors.

Parramatta had already been receiving advice from lawyers, because their trainer Trent Elkin supervised Dank at Cronulla and has been interviewed by ASADA.

Dank has denied administering banned substances to NRL players.

It's understood Elkin's lawyer - former ARL chairman Colin Love - is also acting for one of the two Eels players in the firing line.

When contacted last night, Parramatta CEO Ken Edwards declined to comment. But across town at League Central, Smith was on the front foot to vent his dismay at the further delays directly to Andruska.
Just 24 hours before their scheduled interviews were due to start, Cronulla players were told to wait another two or three weeks.

"That was what occurred, but I've since had a long conversation with ASADA and I've been assured that interviews with the players will begin in the next few days," Smith said last night.

"We've got to be mindful of the pressures on the players and the only way to (relieve that) is to get these interviews started, and I've been assured that they will."

Smith last night phoned interim Sharks CEO Bruno Cullen to inform him of ASADA's latest change of heart.

Clicky

I know you hate speculation Twiz but the DT aren't exactly putting any effort into protecting the identities of the Parramatta players potentially involved.
 

bartman

Immortal
Messages
41,022
Or both...

No surprises here imo, was waiting for them to be linked due to their presence at clubs that have been linked to the investigation for months.
 

Stagger eel

Moderator
Staff member
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65,417
The thing is, if the report is correct than 1 of those signings will have no case to answer... Just remember we have 2 ex manly players in our books.
 

Etu Uaisele

Juniors
Messages
809
Well 2 of 3 clubs were already named anyway but if we're going to cop some scrutiñy than clubs like the and GC should be in the same boat.

Yes but even though the clubs were named did they go as far as officially saying " the players recruited from manly / sharks in whatever timeframe " or is that outing just reserved for our guys ?
 

natheel

Coach
Messages
12,137
I'm not worried. At this point it's just interviews. We all had a thought this would happen as we have ex shark and manly players in our side. But it sucks how we are the only club where in an article our players are virtually named and shamed
 

Eels Dude

Coach
Messages
19,065
This is what angers me, the parra players have virtually been identified whilst the other 29 or so in which most are playing at clubs that employed dank have not been identified....

Geez the media love us as much as the refs

C'mon Stagger you're clutching at straws. It's been well reported there's 13 current Sharks players being investigated and those are the 13 that were at the club in 2011 and are still there now. Put two and two together and you can identify those players. Same way you can do the same and work out which two Eels players this article refers to. Which is all you have done now.

You must have missed the other 2,356 articles about the drug scandal have not only named individual names, but pretty much mentioned every club but ours in the scope of things.
 

Stagger eel

Moderator
Staff member
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65,417
C'mon Stagger you're clutching at straws. It's been well reported there's 13 current Sharks players being investigated and those are the 13 that were at the club in 2011 and are still there now. Put two and two together and you can identify those players. Same way you can do the same and work out which two Eels players this article refers to. Which is all you have done now.

You must have missed the other 2,356 articles about the drug scandal have not only named individual names, but pretty much mentioned every club but ours in the scope of things.

I take exception to the first sentence of that article which is aimed to hit you between the eyes and drag our clubs name through all the shit it's not until you look further into the article where it clears our club from any wrong doing... It's a typical tabloid piece of journalism.
 

Gary Gutful

Post Whore
Messages
51,727
I take exception to the first sentence of that article which is aimed to hit you between the eyes and drag our clubs name through all the shit it's not until you look further into the article where it clears our club from any wrong doing... It's a typical tabloid piece of journalism.

Yep - It's pretty standard practice for most tabloid newspapers to write articles in this way. However, it is hardly a sign of any media bias against us as you previously suggested.

If anything the DT have been reasonably good to us this year given that Ricky writes for them.
 

Twizzle

Administrator
Staff member
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150,753
Clicky

I know you hate speculation Twiz but the DT aren't exactly putting any effort into protecting the identities of the Parramatta players potentially involved.

DT are nice blokes aren't they

Its not really a matter of what I like, its about defamation and libel and in some cases its about legal advice that we are given. Thats why we may seem a bit heavy handed sometimes but we are here for the long haul.
 

Y2Eel

First Grade
Messages
8,176
C'mon Stagger you're clutching at straws. It's been well reported there's 13 current Sharks players being investigated and those are the 13 that were at the club in 2011 and are still there now. Put two and two together and you can identify those players. Same way you can do the same and work out which two Eels players this article refers to. Which is all you have done now.

You must have missed the other 2,356 articles about the drug scandal have not only named individual names, but pretty much mentioned every club but ours in the scope of things.

It is only ten shark players also asada has postponed the interviews..
 

Forty20

First Grade
Messages
7,677
DT are nice blokes aren't they

Its not really a matter of what I like, its about defamation and libel and in some cases its about legal advice that we are given. Thats why we may seem a bit heavy handed sometimes but we are here for the long haul.

I totally understand why you take such measures Twiz...just in this particular circumstance the DT has left very little to imagination, having all but named names (really, really poor form but it is the DT).
 

Eels Dude

Coach
Messages
19,065
It is only ten shark players also asada has postponed the interviews..

Postponed eh... it's looking more and more like they've got very little to go on. It wouldn't surprise me if there's no suspensions at all and everyone involved in this report comes out looking like a complete fool.
 

Suitman

Post Whore
Messages
54,917
It is only ten shark players also asada has postponed the interviews..

Apparently, David Smith wasn't happy about the postponement, had a word to ASADA and the interviews will be beginning on Monday.

Suity
 

hineyrulz

Post Whore
Messages
148,327
Apparently, David Smith wasn't happy about the postponement, had a word to ASADA and the interviews will be beginning on Monday.

Suity
No he went above ASADA's head and went to the pollies instead, and gave it to them. Couldn't imagine Gallop doing that.
 

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