Zak sacked!

Does this mean sacked but will still keep his registration?
Or sacked we no longer want anything to do with him even though we might get some cash back from another club?

The timing on this announcement is interesting after the Wigan rumours. Cas could have sacked him at any point but appear to have made efforts to keep him on side, including, so it is rumoured, helping him find gainful employment. Yet having held back from any announcement or action and before the RFL / UK Anti-Doping agency have made any public announcement. They've sacked him. Very Interesting.

On the day they release FPN too.........

Wigan would be crazy to offer Hardaker anything solid at this stage. There is a very high risk he never comes back anywhere near as good as last year, especially given 2 years completely away from the game.

The announcement was clearly a slip up by Powell.

Regarding keeping the registration, on talk sport last night they said if Cas had suspended him they could keep it, but if he is sacked then they can’t.

Hence looks like Wigan are gunna get Zak on the cheap. I’d imagine somehow someway Cas would get some compensation but seems they’ve blown their bargaining power.

Wane commented on Hardaker in the YEP and sounds utterly deluded. The only way Hardaker will change is if he takes a ban as a real wake-up call, not because of what any club can do to help him.

Wane obviously thinks threats of physical violence will straighten out Hardaker. He's apparently not been to the Warwick.

Quite.

He's had his 'chance'.

He had a 'chance' after assaulting a student.

He had a 'chance' at Penrith but didn't make the grade.

He had another 'chance' by Cas signing him up for a fresh start - which he ruined with his drugs offence.

So now its Wigan and their 'holier than thou' attitude. Betty Ford Clinic they are not.

How many more young fans get a 'Hardaker 1' shirt - only 12 months down the track to be told that he doesn't play for their team anymore.

'Why not Dad?'


You can't educate rubber.

Can't stand Wane. His comments are ignorant at best. 'we look after our players'... yes and of course neither Leeds or Cas do. He should be keeping his mouth shut (which I know he finds difficult) and go nowhere near Hardaker until after his ban, it's sending the wrong message. In fact if any of Zack's management team have been talking to another club the RFL should lengthen his ban for good measure.

Does anyone come back to RL a better player? Ever?

Compare that to McDermott, who when asked about Hardaker’s availability essentially said that it should not be a news story and we should be talking about players who actually can play (his interview is available on RL with JD on most well known social media sites).

This should be the approach of everyone when discussing a player who can’t play for the foreseeable future.

It's like Wane is turning a blind pie to all Hardaker's past discretions

14 month ban confirmed.

So come out of it pretty well then hasnt he, so will be at Wigan next year on a big earner. This is why people like him never learn as he has ended up coming out of it in a better position.

big earning contract at Wigan ? I wonder if wigan have him on probation for first year at a lesser salary ? if he keeps his Nose clean they will pay him higher?

I would guess he will be on much less than he was on at Cas and like you say on some sort of probation period that covers Wigan in the event of him going off the rails.
The downside is what effect he has on his team mates and where they stand with the morals of it all.
But if what has been said is true that taking substances is rife then maybe the players at Wigan would be happy to take him as long as they are winning.
It worked for Cas, almost.

Interesting that Dr Chris Brookes gave evidence to support Hardakers stance that his other illnesses played a role in him getting drunk and then taking coke with his mates.... it's not something he does regularly, no sir, never... it was a mixture of an emotional anniversary and his illnesses... the poor lad...
Dr Brookes was of course giving evidence in his role as England RL doctor and not in his role at Wigan... his affiliation with Hardakers next employer had nothing to do with his supporing testimony, no sir, never...

Scandalous

This stinks. He’s been made out to be the victim which he, himself, probably believes. Give it 2-3 years, he’ll be in big trouble again for some reason or another.

TBH I don't have a problem with the ban. He's only got a ten year or so career, and he's lost a whole season of income. On top of that missing out on a GF and potentially costing his team their first ever Championship is a huge black mark to carry round as well. He could have gone down as a legend at Cas, and very near top of the tree at Leeds as well. Now his reputation at both clubs is in tatters.

Regardless, whether he comes back anywhere near as good as he was is down to him. I actually hope he does, RL can't afford to lose quality players, which he is.

All this RL needs its star players etc is BS imo.
RL needs his players to behave first & foremost & then at the very least learn from their mistakes.
If you continiously offend & then still get caught like ZH has you deserve to be punished this victim card has worn very thin.
Imo he's very lucky again & it wont be long before he does something else.

Spot on. Gets a year out the game and comes back on a big contract playing for a bigger club.

Allegedly him and a pal drank 7 pints each, and a litre of vodka and whiskey. That was before taking the drugs. Taking the drugs out the equation ,that amount of alcohol in the lead up to the biggest game in the history of cas Tigers is staggering.
If as appears cas terminated his contract and received no fee from Wigan that is strange. Why not keep him and sell him, when his ban is finished. I like Powell as a coach and he seems a decent man, he certainly deserved better from hardaker. At face value Wigan have snapped up a bargain buy. Time will tell, surely he won’t screw up again?!!!