Drugs are drugs, And when you are someone who kids look up to any kind of lapse with regards to taking them should be punished Harshly.

My 5 year old Worships the ground Anthony Thackeray walks on atm, and is at the stage where thats who he want's to be when he's older. Now if players in that position get caught out doing something like drugs then they should be dealt with in as strong a sense as possible. If not then our kids see them get away with it, and it becomes something almost acceptable to them.

Let hock rot for the rest of his ban, When he comes back he will either be a better person for it or he will revert back to his bad habits. If that happens it should result in a lifetime Ban.

And anyone in a Pro Sport caught taking drugs ( Either Performance enhancing or recreational ) should be punished at every opportunity and with the maximum ban possible. Its the only way to deter players and kids alike from following in their footsteps.

no he would'nt.....he'd have got his hands slapped and probably a fine for possession

Punishing a sportsman who takes a recreational drug in the same way you punish a sportsman who takes a performance enhancing drugs makes absolutely zero sense.

Hock took an illegal drug and should have been reported to the relevant authorities, only a punishment of bringing the sport into disrepute should have to be considered.

Where's Gareth Raynor's two year ban? Chev Walker's? Ben Cockayne's? Ryan Bailey's? The list of people breaking the laws of the land is too long, it seems nonsensical that an offence that doesn't directly harm another human being and has no criminal penalty results in a two year ban from earning a living, but beating people up in the streets and ripping people off gets absolutely zero punishment from the sport.

Excellent point actually

Whether or not they were performance enhancing, he was found to have taken a class A controlled substance. That, for me, is far more serious than somebody who has "taken a chance" with HgH.

b*ll*xs....

one is cheating the sport the other is just cheating himself

As a few people have already said HGH is classed as a 'performance enhancing drug' when you are a professional rugby league player.

Therefore taking it is classified as cheating.


Having a toot on a Friday night wont make you play rugby league any better... in fact if anything it can impair your performance.

he knew what would happen to him if caught, so he must take the punishment. its DRUGS what ever form he took it.

So are many other things, but players don't get two year bans for taking Ibuprofen or having a pint do they?

I've no doubt that he knew the potential consequences of his actions, and I have no sympathy for that, but the rules make no sense and should be changed.

Or we could move away from the currently illogical stance on drugs and make them legal instead.....

..

I'm baffled that coke isn't considered performance enhancing. It's a powerful anaesthetic and increases stamina.

You would have to do a line just before kick off though... it doesnt last that long



So I'm told

Playing devils advocate here...

If recreational drugs effect your mental state and you then take the field and cause a serious injury to a player due to the mental effects that drug has had over the time you have been taking it I guess that could be a good reason to stick to a two year ban which would (if the player stays clean) hopefully sort the players head out. Similar to why drugs and driving is a bad idea I guess.

Yes but who's shooting up right before kickoff?
Ill openly admit ive taken to a footy field right after a session on MDMA back in the day, it didn't really do me any favours.

Paul Cooke got a 3 month ban after moving to Rovers over an approach to another club.
Gareth Hock took illegal drugs and was caught to the detriment of any kids, fans that looked upto him.

Hardly the same is it

There was still enough in his system to fail the test, so presumably enough to make a system to his mental capacity?

Im not a doctor so I dont know but it takes time to work its way through your system, same as any food etc. I would have thought the effect on the brain would be long gone though tbh

RL signs upto the drugs agreement that covers all sports and as such any and all bans are fully enforced. Hock knew the risks if he got caught and he WILL SERVE THE FULL TERM .

I would go further and a second offence on or off the field for drugs offences and the player gets a sine die.

Good point and in hindsight I think the RFL should look at each persons circumstances as different. Ok this will mean a bit of inconsistency but I’m sure it’ll lead to much better out comes than the two year bans that we have in place at the moment.

I just feel that two years is a long time in such a short professional career.

At the end of the day Gareth Hock has clearly demonstrated in the press that he’s done wrong and I feel that this is lesson learnt for him. Its so easy to get into the drug Habit because I’ve seen it happen to people in front of my very eyes!

We should be helping and not punishing. There’s a fine line between the two.

Very true

As with any sport, Rugby League needs to decide if it is to punish players for cheating on the pitch or breaking the 'law of the land'. If the list of players above don't receive further retribution from the RL authorities, it would seem harsh on Hock to be punished for two years for an offence that pretty much everybody agrees was not cheating the rules of the sport

I agree that Hock is an @rse for putting his (relatively) short career in jeopardy through taking class A drugs - but he is no more of an @rse than Bailey's, Cockayne's and Walker's of this world who brawl on the streets

Just out of interest, what do the Rugby League authorities do as regards monitoring a players activities during their ban? Are they subject to testing throughout their ban, and if so what are the consequences if they fail a test during that ban?

I think as long as Rovers compensated Hull FC with the appropriate money loses then the Paul Cooke ban on the pitch was harsh. Rugby players should have the free will to play wherever the want in the world. Anything to do with off field activities should stay off field unless its something to do with taking performance enhancing drugs of course or breaking the spirit of the salary cap.

If approaching another club is against the Salary cap then god help us all. Imagine if you was unhappy in work and you started approaching other workplaces?

I think the issues surrounding Hock's ban are too much of an issue within the sport for them to be lenient with Hock.

No