Must say, as a Wigan fan im quite shocked and plesantly surprised at the amount of fans on here who can see the bigger picture, that Gaz has turned his life around. There is hope for Rugby League fans afterall

Completely agree, he should be allowed to play on after what he did but he didn't serve his time...

He had a BAN that had a time scale on it, he was BANNED from all sports, training or playing yet he was allowed to return to training so that he was "up to speed in a team sport". That is wrong IMO, a ban should be a ban and it stipulated that it included training. If that means he has to come back raw and untrained then so be it.

did he need rehabilitating? it is my understanding he had a bit of charlie with some mates and got caught out. hardly smacks of regular use/life shattering addiction.
he was a naughty boy, who is only sorry because he got caught. hes not an addict, hes just fallible and fancied a bit of adventure, which happened to take the form of recreational drugs, which being honest im sure most us have tried in one form or another, thats a point i make outside of any particular moral judgements on the matter. he doesnt need 'rehabilitation' he just needs to learn his lesson. Which is dont take recreational drugs if your a professional sports man as you may well be tested. Again i make that point in the abscence of a particular moral judgement, as i will neither openly condone or condemn recreational drug taking in itself. Thats a choice for informed grown ups to make on their own.
Gareth Hock has not undergone "successful rehabilitation" hes (hopefully) just grown up and applied some common sense to his particular circumstances as a professional athlete.
the man has served his time and hopefully learned the aforementioned lesson.

As you can proberly tell im VERY anti-drugs. I dont blame Wigan for the situation, theyve been told Hocks banned for 2 years and stuck by him and are now already reaping the rewards of having a very talented player back at the busieness end of the season. My problem is with the people who issued the ban, whoever that may be (RFL?). Personnelly I believe proven drugs use, where the player in question has fully known what he has took, should equal a life time ban. I dont care if youre losing your source of income, you should have thought of that being sniffing stuff up your nose. Im sure plenty of builders of plasterers are needed in Beech Hill.

. A wire fan complains about drug cheats with a profile picture of Andrew Johns. he probably has a picture of Curtis Warren on his bedroom wall.

you've got andrew johns in your avatar you clown

Gotcha.

and another.

From memory some of the reports at the time implied it was a bit more than "a bit of charlie with some mates"

I don't know Gareth and I don't know how prone to addiction he is but if you look up the definition of "rehabilitate" I think it is appropriate in his case. I think some of the conditions set by Wigan fit the term also.

Hock is not a drugs cheat as he was not using a performance enhancing drug, he was a moron for taking a class A illegal drug, he has served his ban and is now being given a second chance, which everyone deserves.

I find myself agreeing with a Rovers supporter.

I think you are missing my point, it was nothing to do with Wigan employing him, it was the media making a big point about how well he did scoring a hat trick against Wakefield, and on the radio pretty much coming across as saying that taking drugs is not a huge problem as you will always be able to play again.

In regards to another point saying about a fan sniffing coke in the toilets - if the police saw him then he would more than likely get arrested, potentially get a conviction which would lead to the sack by many companies and the normal man on the street would then find it hard to find another good job, so actually sport on the whole is very lenient with drug users.

Don`t get me wrong mate,personaly I think anybody who takes drugs is a mug.
The fact is Hock has paid the price,and therefore should be accepted into the fold,although I do agree anybody saying drugs taking is not a problem needs a reality check.

he was a silly boy,got caught,paid his dues and like so many other wrong do-ers should be allowed to rebuild his life and career.dont see how he is a cheat,it was for his recreational use not to cheat.
can't say im too fond of the player myself but he could have gone off the rails so good luck to him.

How about cheering for Ryan 'I loved it hard in prison' Bailey...?????

As far as i'm concerned, the lad has been caught, paid the price and should have the opportunity to ressurect his career just like any other individual. What the media chose to report and whatever spin they put on it is entirely up to them.

Whether you consider the ban long enough is irrelevant as the time frame's are set in conjunction with WADA or another body.

I blame Rebekah Brookes for all this idolizing of drug offenders! Are Sky genuinely interested in the development of rugby league by hyping up the return of one of many prodigal sons.

If you was being serious you would have no team

Thats if 'rumors' are true

life bans are way too strict. yes athletes who use steroids and other performance enhancing drugs are wrong but 2 year bans is a big enough punishment.

He is not a cheat, he did not take performance enhancing drugs. He took the same drugs that thousands of people people do each day in this country. I am not saying what he did is ok but he is NOT a cheat.

I am chuffed to see him back. 2 years out and he is already looking like one of the top backrowers again.

Welcome back, Mr Hock, you've done your time.

I'm a Bradford fan, but I realise that he is quality and has been missed.

Wish he played for us.

If wigan hadnt signed him, you can guarantee EVERY other team in superleague and a few NRL teams would have been asking about him

NRL teams were asking about him before he signed his 5 year deal with Wigan.

As others have said, he was stupid, he got caught, he served his ban, so what's the problem?

I think it's a bit of sour grapes on the OP's part