Here we go...

So Wigan seem to want Gareth Hock back and have asked if he can start training before his drugs ban is expired. The RFL have said that they don't have a problem with it as long as a sport barrister says so.

So I thought I'd put a poll on here and see whether people thought he should be allowed to train with Wigan before his drugs ban expires.

I'd say yes as he has served his sentence and it's been allowed in other sports before but I fancy knowing what you guys think.

Please don't post anything ridiculous that will get this locked please guys as I am not trying to start a argument I just want to know opinions.

Should he feck. He should be excluded from returning to rugby league.

No, because technically he should be a free agent right? So he shouldn't be allowed to train with any club until his ban officially ends, then any team can offer him a contract - if they want him, that is.

If only he could have convinced the RL world that he had been given it unwillingly by a member of the medical team who wasn't qualified to do so!!

Shucks!

You'd have a point if he wasn't employed by the RFL at the time. No place for drug addicts in rugby league. No place at all.

Exactly. How are we supposed to bring our kids up to be fine upstanding citizens like Joel Monaghan, Leon Pryce, Iafeta Paleaaesina, Paul Cooke, Sean Long, Tevita Leo-Latu, Willie Mason, Stuart Reardon, Ben Cockayne and Setaimata Sa, When Gareth Hock secretly put a white powder up his nose?

I don't think he should have been banned for anywhere near as long as he was. A slap on the wrist, a fine and a few match ban from the club would suffice.

I think he should be allowed to train, dont have a problem with that,

However i do not agree that a slap on the wrist would suffice, RFL need to be strong and ban to send a message that drugs, recreational or otherwise will not be tolerated in our sport.

A ban is a ban, end of story.

No. Plain and simple. Two year ban, which included training with teammates as well as playing, should mean two years!!! No loopholes, no exceptions!!

I agree. Any ban from the sport should include training with any club for the duration of the ban

Yes he should. When someone goes to jail for 4 years, they don't do 4 years. By allowing him to train it is preparing him to resume his career, no problem for mine.

i dont see training with them as a problem! if he doesnt train with them hes going to train with other teams! no doubt he goes on the steads for the 2 years he got banned anyway lol

Its a slippery slope, the next idiot who does this will be permitted to train with his old club for the duration of his ban, showing younger players and fans that this sort of behaviour is acceptable and you dont really loose out even if you're caught

Wigan have a duty of care over Gaz Hock. There is no way that he would be able to play first team football the day after his ban expires, as he would not be fit enough and could suffer serious injury.

If he is not allowed to return before the ban expires, the ban is effectively 2 years, plus time to get match fit.

That is unfair IMO and means a harsher punishment for players of team sports compared with individuals

What's unfair? He'll be getting paid from day 1 even if he's not fit enough for the first team.

So you are aware the specific conditions of his contract?

What if he is on a pay by play contract?, which would have been a sensible option in this case.

Well then its his own fault for breaking the law then! I will guarantee you he isnt on a pay per play deal, as any other lower club would have picked him up on better terms

If Wigan want to give out a warning to all the youngsters who love our game than definitely he should NOT BE ALLOWED TO TRAIN WITH THEIR TEAM. If you are sayingthis is unfair because its different for an individual as gainst a team player, then I would advise that Wigan must have coaches at the club who are capable of setting out a training plan for him to follow on his own -hey look, evan the Rovers of Hull managed to have Willie train on his own and he came back into their team with only the minimal of training along with teamates.
Lets be kind here and instead of asking on the VT ask the older passholders of Wigan what their opinion is. Somehow after seeing how some of the younger elements of your team have taken to playing lately, (dirty is the only word for it and cowardly too) then I would hope that the old Wigan (who admittedly bent the rules with 'brown envelopes' to buy anything that moved to advance their team but never used the dreaded drugs -for any reason). Go along this road and the RFL will never be able to stamp it out properly, there will always be some loophole that will be found by those that search......grannyfan Cindy

Oh, and anyone who's seen him lately knows he isn't exactly unfit! Yes he wont have played with his team mates, but he's fit enough for superleague now

All this from a team where Sean Long is on the payroll......







If my son had done what Gaz Hock had done i would be completley ashamed. If my son had done what Sean Long admits to in his book (in a certain Wigan Night club), i would never, ever talk to him again.

The fact that you condone what longy has done says more about you than Gaz Hock.

People in glass houses and all................

2 years of no RL related activity that means no training with a club. If it means he has to wait to get match fit as well then that's just unlucky isn't it. He should of considered that before putting crap up his nose.

2 years for a recreational drug is a fair punishment and he should be allowed to return. Roid use and similar things used to "cheat" should be a straight lifetime ban

as far as i am aware, when track and field athletes are banned for drug use they are effectively barred from working with qualified coaches/conditioning staff for the duration also. this is also effectively a ban on any people with recognised qualifications actively working with someone who is serving a ban.
i would love to kno what these 'other' sports are.
and no, he shouldnt be allowed to train with the squad or even on a one to one basis with the teams staff until his ban is up.
its tough sh*t.

I'd love to know how many people on this thread who are preaching holier than thou have never taken a sniff of coke, or had a pull on a joint, or dropped a tab or something similar.

The Sun newspaper ran a paragraph on "DRUG CHEAT" Gareth Hock today. Since when did taking cocaine enhance your performance? True, it was a stupid thing to do, but drugs cheat? Come on.

People are allowed to make mistakes. Hock has made his, he got banned and as far as we're aware, behaved himself. The REAL test is how he conducts himself from now on.

I agree with that (i havnt done any of those, but have drank too much and too often) and my impression of him is that he isnt a bad person, just perhaps not all that bright and easily led. I saw the drug cheat line and wasn't surprised by the lazy journalism.
I hope he does come back well (he looks more like a prop now) but the 2 year ban should last 2 years