NRL premiers Cronulla want to introduce mandatory hair follicle tests for their players to detect illicit drug use from next season.
In the most powerful crackdown on drug use in Australian sport, up to 50 Sharks players would face testing four times a season.
Hair follicle tests can identify any drug use within 90 days and would involve rookies from Holden Cup to first-grade superstars.
Sharks coach Shane Flanagan and CEO Lyall Gorman are in talks with the NRL integrity unit, the players’ union and lawyers in a bid to start before the 2018 season.
“We want to do this as a club,” Flanagan said, “Not just as a statement about our culture but for the welfare of every player.”
The Sharks have been embroiled in a number of drug controversies in recent years including the peptides scandal which engulfed their 2011 squad, their
chairman Damian Keogh being caught in possession of cocaine and superstar fullback Ben Barba twice testing positive to illicit substances.
The testing would cost the club an estimated $40,000 a year. It is unclear if Sharks employees outside of the players would be subjected to the tests.
Flanagan has spoken to a number of his players about the plan.
“The players are all on board,” he said, “Importantly it’s across the board and we include all the Holden Cup boys from 18 years of age and upwards. It’s a good age to get the message out there.
“They would be tested four times every year so there would be no window for any players to use drugs from the moment they sign to play for our club.
“There are lots of legalities but we are working through that and obviously there are more discussions to have with the RLPA and the NRL.
“But it’s something our welfare department and our CEO are very keen on introducing. We want to be leaders in this area.”
Other sports in Australia, including the AFL, and overseas conduct random hair follicle tests.
The penalties vary depending on each code’s illicit drug policy. A first offence in rugby league results in a warning and counselling.
A second offence is an automatic 12-week suspension which Sharks star Barba chose not to accept before heading off to French rugby union.
“It’s common knowledge we’ve had our issues,” Flanagan said, “but this is something to ensure we eradicate the problem.
“That if you want to play rugby league for the Cronulla Sharks, you cannot do drugs.”
Sacked Sydney Roosters star Shaun Kenny-Dowall recently underwent a hair follicle test to prove he did not use the cocaine he was allegedly caught in possession with last month at the Ivy nightclub.
The NRL’s drug testing policies are under discussion as part of the RLPA’s negotiations for their collective bargaining agreement.
Former South Sydney chief John Lee first raised the prospect of follicle testing two years ago when Rabbitohs players Dylan Walker and Aaron Gray were fortunate to escape with their lives after dabbling with prescription drugs.
The NRL declined to comment on hair testing while the matter is being discussed in the CBA negotiations. But it is understood chief operating officer Nick Weeks has told the RLPA he is not opposed to the concept.
Weeks believes hair testing could be used, in the first instance, to determine the extent of the issue rather than to punish players. The NRL would then determine how hair testing should be used going forward.
In a crackdown on drug use across all sport, the World Anti Doping Agency has considered the introduction of hair follicle testing.
Even the world’s fastest man, Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt, supported the idea.
“I think that any way you can crack down on drug use in sports, I have no problem with it,” he recently said.
RLPA boss Ian Prendergast is not so sure.
“It could encroach significantly on the players’ privacy and civil liberties.” he said. “Maybe if it was a whole of game approach we’d be more open to discussions about it.
“It’s been raised in our current negotiations,” he said. The NRL has also been canvassing the views of the clubs.
“We expressed some concerns in relation to the current policy in relation to counselling and ongoing support. At the moment we’re more interested in addressing the current policy and taking a more sophisticated all-round approach.”
