- <LI class="byline first ">By Steve Gee <LI class="source ">From: The Daily Telegraph<LI class="date-and-time ">December 18, 2009 12:00AM
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Feeling the heat...Newcastle Knights prop Danny is taken from Newcastle Police Station by his solicitor after posting bail yesterday after being arrested on drug charges. Picture: Liam Driver
Source: The Daily Telegraph
NEWCASTLE players will be interrogated by club officials over allegations disgraced prop Danny Wicks supplied drugs to teammates.
Knights players will face a grilling from coach Rick Stone, CEO Steve Burraston and chairman Rob Tew over the next 48 hours.
And the court has prohibited Wicks, 24, from contacting Newcastle forward and former housemate Chris Houston, who will be quizzed by Burraston today.
As the Knights reel from the arrest of Wicks, who was charged with six counts of supplying a prohibited drug and two of drug possession, Stone said players will be individually quizzed.
The former St George Illawarra player has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Police are also expected to interview several of Wicks' teammates.
Stone, who learned of Wicks' arrest along with his players after a Wednesday morning training session, said the squad was addressed before training yesterday.
"We have had a chat with the players this morning and there will be a full investigation," Stone said. "We're shattered, given where we've come from the last couple of years, the work we do in the community and the goodwill we've built up. It's really, really disappointing."
Wicks' arrest follows his community award last year for his work in drug awareness campaigns at schools. Stone said there was not much more clubs and the NRL could do to educate players.
"It's an individual thing," he said. "I don't want to say too much more. I'm very, very disappointed with what's going on."
Stone said it was too early to tell how the drama would affect the club's 2010 premiership campaign. Knights players yesterday maintained their silence, with only front-rower Ben Cross willing to comment on allegations Wicks supplied teammates with drugs.
Cross said he had never seen drugs at the club or been offered any. "Not to my knowledge [have any drugs been around]," Cross said.
The former Melbourne Storm prop said the players had not discussed court allegations suggesting Wicks may have supplied teammates with drugs. "We trained together and it was mentioned by us. We have pretty much put a bubble around ourselves," he said.
Newcastle captain Kurt Gidley, who was playing golf in the Jack Newton charity event at Cypress Lakes golf course in Cessnock yesterday, was unavailable for comment. Knights board member and former premiership-winning captain Paul Harragon was also reluctant to comment.
"The bottom line is I'm on the board and only [chairman] Rob Tew and [CEO] Steve Burraston can talk on this matter," Harragon said yesterday. "I can't say anything."
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...ions-reverberate/story-e6frexnr-1225811559062
