KfC anyone?

Those documents are an interesting read and paint all 3 participants in a pretty shameful light.

They should think themselves lucky that the original bans have been reduced after cooperation - given that all 3 have been shown to have conspired to deceive the original investigation, any subsequent cooperation should, in my opinion, not attract a reduction in the sanction that's applied.

The third high profile player to have been banned for drug use in recent memory; terrible publicity for the sport as a whole. The RFL must act decisively, to send out a clear message about our lack of tolerance. Wonder if it will?

Whilst bad news in itself, it is a shame that we didn't get to see the full weight brought to bear on Rule, who has clearly 'cut a deal' with one charge dropped.

There was a mistake in the supply of the product
There was a mistake in not checking the product against the right list(s)
There was a mistake in not checking 'personally'

All of the above are inexcusable, but stuff like that happens in life. However, when all of that comes out, for the CEO to try and cook up a story to deflect the issues, then that is a different matter. You then instantly change from being an isolated event to accusations of it being 'institutionalised' (sp?).

Rule should not be employed in sport again - he is not trustworthy. The funny (sic) thing is the lack of teeth that the governing bodies have here. In similar events in cricket involving betting, people have gone to jail!!!!

I wonder if Hull FC will face a sanction from the RFL? If this story gains enough suction, the governing body may issue a points deduction, to deflect the perception that they're 'toothless.'

why should it

player got his ban
conditioner dually sacked for his part by the club
CE resigns from his post (the only weak part he too should of been sacked too)

unless more comes to light I think all has been dealt with

What I can't understand is why Hull were so bothered about him that they tried to cover it up. I could understand the temptation (although not condone it) if it was a club's long-serving star player, but not when it's a player who has been there a month and comes with tons of off-field baggage. You would think you would just accept it wasn't a great deal and get out.

There does seem to be an acceptance that Gleeson himself was given incorrect advice, but getting it from a team-mate sounds iffy. Where did Long get it from?

Long would get it from where he has always got it from.

In relation to points raised about checking for banned substances against a list it is very basic simple process the lists are readily available to all and as TRB said that for professional sports people and organisations is inexcusable and very amateur.

As I said earlier I think more will come out in the wash and I highly doubt this will be the last we hear of this.

Just been reading the rulings of this case and apart from long no other people are mentioned at all. Obviously the interviews given remain confidential but if any others were involved you'd think they would have been mentioned and dealt with by now.

I didn't say it should - I wondered if it might.

It could be argued that an organisation is culpable for the behaviour of it's senior exec's and as such, this case is different from Hock and Newton; there was no suggestion in either of those cases that anyone at the club was involved in a cover up job, which has clearly been the case here.

I expect this one to run and run - I bet Mr Pearson is wondering what the he'll he's got himself into.

The difference TRB is that taking the drug is not illegal, just against the rules of sport, the betting scandal was and so punishable by jail sentence. That part was nothing to do with sport.

www.hullfc.com/newsarticle.aspx?n=20051 =#FF0000EDIT: viewtopic.php?p=16636338#p16636338 =#FF0000Just because it was a polite request doesn't mean it's optional. RR

www.hullfc.com/newsarticle.aspx?n=20051 =#FF0000EDIT: viewtopic.php?p=16636338#p16636338 =#FF0000Just because it was a polite request doesn't mean it's optional. RR

I think the answer to why Hull went to the extent they did is answered in your second paragraph. The report seems to suggest without specifying an actual name who asked, that the player (Long ?) was told by the conditioner the product was ok to use and this incorrect information was passed on to Gleeson (silly boy should have checked himself). Was Rule trying to cover up for the player, cover up the clubs poor signing and saving face, covering up incompetency of club staff in not carrying out a thorough check on the product, or all of the above ?
(unless you were just asking where Long obtained the product and i read your question wrong

if so maybe the shop in Wigan Gleeson originaly said he bought it?)
I also found it interesting how in Hull's official statement aside from distancing themselves as far from the old regime as possible, they seem to also make a swipe directed not just at the player and Rule but at the former chairwoman.

Agar masterminded the whole thing, along with the The Brink's-MAT robbery as well.

I get that, but IMO these are the two great taboos of sport. Perhaps the law is wrong?

In law I believe being in posession of drugs is unlawful, taking them isn't. Maybe Slugger could clarify? Obviously you'd have to be in posession of the drug to take it in the first place but don't know how that would work

Pisspoor attempt again, no where in that article does it say or suggest that Kath Hetherington knew about the drug taking or that she was involved in the following cover up. What it suggests is that during negotiations to buy the club the new owners weren't made aware of the impending investigation.

What is notable from that Hull FC statement is that Richard Agar isn't mentioned or implicated whatsoever in any way.

So now we have the UKADA documents, the SKY article and the Hull FC statement none of which intimates in any way shape or form that Richard Agar was implicated, yet you still want to have a Snyde dig!

That would be correct - in either case only Long and Gleeson were in posession (conditioner may not have touched it), and more importantly this is not a drug/substance regulated by English law, only banned by a governing body/organisation otherwise you couldn't legally buy/sell it.

The law has always been wrong as far as drugs are concerned - in my opinion ! but we may be on opposite ends of the scale as to were we stand on this one for various reason, and after reading many of your posts this is not some thing we often are, aside the teams we support

.

if I'm not mistaken what makes it worse that if he had trained harder and controlled his diet better he wouldn't of been that situation to take the said substance

let that be a lesson learned to all young future players

Gleeson possibly looking at suing Hull FC according to this

[urlhttp://www.dailystar.co.uk/rugby/view/227619/Martin-Gleeson-rocked-by-3-year-drug-ban/[/url

Click on proceed to article.

Difficult to see on what grounds - he not only didn't get clearance from the conditioner (that was another player/Long) he took Longs word for it that substance was ok to use, this he confirmed in his revised statement to UKAD, along with the fact that ultimately it is down to the individual player who consumes said substance to take full responsibillity for what he swallows. I do feel he has been nieve and paid the price, he will not be the first ot last - maybe the games governing body and clubs needs to change the current proceedure of how medication and suppliments are given to players ?

If we are talking inconsistency...

It's now nearly 3 years ago since the Drug Testing people turned up on mass at BV and Castleford. This led to the conviction or stitch up as some suggest of Terry Newton for the use of growth hormones.

The inconsistency is not his ban but the fact that as far as I'm aware this mass testing has never been repeated, certainly not at any of the "big" clubs.

Considering it in part cost a man his life and what he had left of his career the fact that since then no one else has been caught stinks. Now we are bing fobbed of with a few nobodies and a geriatric and broken centre. The stench gets ever stronger.

Hock took a genuinely illegal substance so he doesn't count. However until players at the peak of their careers are being found out then there will always be a lack of credibility because mark my words some of them are at it.

now here’s something to debate i think. i was unaware that the testers had turned up en mass at belle vue, i have no knowledge of whether this is a common practice but it would be good to point that out to those that band the name of wakefield around because of what happened with terry newton. my memory fades but i seem to remember at the time that terry newton was caught it was stated that his indiscretions with human growth hormone took place before he joined us – no matter really as it was his choice alone to take the substance.

none of us know what cost terry newton his life. we can all make assumptions. one thing is clear though, is that he took what he did, and if being caught was a component in his death then it's not the fault of the rfl/drug testing authorities that they caught him.

i don’t smell a stench in the game that nobody else has been caught (although i think there have been cases), maybe this is naivety on my part. i hope that you are wrong that “some of them are at it” but i suspect there is an element of truth in it.

my own personal stance is that the use of supplements is playing with fire. there is a massive spectrum of products on the market (just nip in to holland and barrett) which claim to help muscle growth and recovery times. are they produced uniformily in controlled environments all the time or thrown together? don't take the risk guys. there is no substitute for eating sensibly and training hard and therefore avoiding all risk. man up and eat some fruit, veg and some lean meat.

At around the time of Terry's failed tested, the drug testers said they are more likely to test young players (because they will be wanting to bulk up) and the older players (trying to prolong their careers).

Wherever there's a mix of money/profile/sport there's also the usage of performance enhancing drugs!

It's a fact, get used to it!

We'd all like to think that our players and our sport is the one that's clean but don't kid yourself because it's present in RL just as it is in RU, football, netball, hockey and every other sport including darts and snooker.

There are drugs available that WADA aren't even aware of let alone have a test for and when they eventually do find out about them it's often by mistake or via a whistleblower as with THG.

The sportsmen & women that get caught do so for a number of reasons such as being stupid and taking it too far because they're blinded by the glory brought by their new abilities. Because they don't have the funding for the substances that can't be detected and instead they run the gambit of avoiding the testers which almost always leads to being caught. Because they're given bad advice (it's all bad advice) by so called "trainers" or "conditioners". More recently the high profile cases have come to light because of a whistleblower who provides samples of a substance and names of athletes involved such as the THG and Marion Jones case.