Was the claim that Newton had 'recently served a 20 month suspension for drug use' correct at the time it was published?

I'm no legal eagle and defer to your greater knowledge in this area.

Of course it was incorrect & therefore Newton was entitled to an apology since at that time he hadn't served a suspension for drug use.
The TV Times was confusing him with another former Bradford Hooker, Ryan Hudson, who did serve a suspension for failing a drugs test prior to joining the Bulls, I believe.

Probably not but if he is found to be a drug cheat I'd be interested to hear how the false claim, quickly apologised for, has tarnished his reputation.

If it's recreational and not performance enhancing who cares?

Hock shouldn't have been banned and neither should Newton if it's recreational.

The two-year suspensions are about right IMO. Depriving a player of their potential livelihood forever is too much, but there must be a deterrent.

Newton certainly wasn't on anything performance enhancing whilst at the Bulls.

Well, if he was he should ask for his money back.

The neanderthal inbreds don't like it up em do they?

Got a good 11 page thread from simply indicating if found guilty the club have to take some responsibility for failing to control their players.

Carnage ensued. Abuse, falling over themselves to brush it under the carpet, severe gnashing of teeth (one bit his tongue at one point) and then billy the kid got involved.

Bless their 7 fingered gloves.

Dont you ever stop to think what you could be doing now, if you had taken any notice of your teachers

Other forums sure seem to be a little more pedantic and tetchy than this one, and many seem to have no sense of humour or reality.

Personally I think anyone displaying clear signs of nervousness and twitching fingers would warrant futher investigation.

if you turned up to do your job pumped full off smack would this be acceptable ?

Don't be ridiculous. Of course they don't have 7 fingers.

They only have 3. Pointer, and thumb pinky.

Did Newton play a game whilst he was off his tats?

I don't take drugs but do drink alcohol nearly every day at work, normally in the morning but occasionally at other times.

Given that long term high volume heroin use is likely to have a severe detrimental effect on performance at work, it clearly wouldn't be acceptable.

You'd be surprised however how many recreational drug users manage to keep their drug use secret from their employers without it having any impact on their ability to do their jobs. How many people do you think do a bit of coke or weed on a weekend and go into work with it still in their systems for example?

you a beer taster?

I think the RFL could probably do better. I'm led to believe that SL clubs can go for years without having a blood test performed on their players. This is required to test for things like growth hormone apparently.

I wonder if the RFL talks the talk ok but could do a bit better at walking the walk.

I've been sniffing glue at my desk all morning.

Rugby league is the third most tested sport in the country behind soccer and athletics. If other sports tested as frequently and in the volume that RL does then they would be taking their share of the bad headlines. Professional boxing for example does not have a co-ordinated world-wide testing programme, with each governing or sanctioning body responsible for their own.

The findings at Bath last year certainly showed that if some clubs in other sports turned over a few rocks they could be in for a nasty surprise or two - at least in our sport it is the governing body rooting it out.

Looks like you picked a bad day to quit too G1.

Quite. When we catch a drugs cheat I don't consider it bad news for our sport. I consider it good news for our sport. We're actively catching the cheats.

Obviously we're doing well in comparison to many other sports. We shouldn't be resting on our laurels though. If blood tests are only done every few years then I'd say that could be improved, do you agree?

Going by what the RFL spokesman said on Boots"n"all last night we do Blood tests every year and the numbers are increasing again this season.

It's a cost issue Sam, plain and simple.

If there was a bottomless pot of money available through UK Sport or WADA then I'd be in full agreement - blood testing is the way forward.

That doesn't really say much as it could mean only one club a year is blood tested. From what I hear this needs to improve as it can be years between tests.




I thought as much, how much more is it for the blood tests? Is it really that expensive?