In light of recent activity, I thought this was rather apt.

=redSORRY MATE, NO COPYRIGHTED LINKS.

CHEERS,

ABP.


Give it a watch.

Search for the 'Andrew Johns Interview' on a well known video clips website.

Rather apt for what happened in recent days.

That ok?

Thought that was quite an interesting point made on Rugby League Extra in regards to Hock, if the test comes back positive, instead of firing him keep him involved with club in the community department working with youngsters, educating them on the perils of drug taking. Plus we could keep him more on the straight and narrow, that way when his ban is up we'd be able to reintroduce him into the team.

What makes you think the club is capable of doing that? I get the impression the club has been very accommodating to Hock over the years from reading other posts on here and Mikes site and he still blew it.

Can you imagine if he was employed in that capacity and he did this again?

I think if/when test B is positive he has blown his chances with the club. I'd be surprised if he hasn't.

Dacve

Perhaps this is the big wake up call that Gareth needed, yes I know the lads had a lot of chances, but I honestly believe that if the club releases him if the second test comes back positive, which there well within there rights to do. I think it's highly unlikely he'll return when ever his ban is up.

A test every week, done on a draw basis so nobody knows who will be required to give a sample, should be deterrent enough. Just knowing that one player will DEFINITELY be tested must make them realise there is a very real risk of being caught. If you knew that there was a police trap for drink driving on a particular road, would you take the chance?

Kid 1 to Kid 2

[size=75"Go and see Gaz, he'll sort you out"![/size

Yes we do the A and B test and the employee is supervised all the time till a sample is produced like i said we only test for the recreational drugs. There is also a full written chain of accountability from when the sample is taken to when it reaches the lab it can be accounted for. It has to be very strict as ultimately it could be someones job on the line.

The whole system of testing in Rugby League needs to be changed.

In the NRL for instance ,this comes from a player, they get tested every 2 weeks and every day during origin week if in the squads.

This NRL player hasn't been tested for 2 years over here in Superleague and that could lead to temptation could it not?

What about joey johns were did his results go?? Swept under the carpet mi thinks!!

A couple of facts.....

[iQ Is there any other way for benzoylecgonine to be in your body other than the use of cocaine?

A Benzoylecgonine is one of several metabolic products of cocaine. It is formed from the hydrolysis of cocaine and is a very specific marker for the presence of that drug. If, however, benzoylecgonine

is found in the urine, it is not evidence of illicit cocaine use.

There are at least two other ways that cocaine can get into a persons system. One way is from medical administration. Cocaine is a component of a topical anesthetic used by ear, nose, and throat specialists. These physicians should always tell their patients that they have used a cocaine-containing anesthetic and warn them that they could have a positive drug test for up to 48 hours after the use of the anesthetic.

Another, less obvious route of ingestion is drinking mate de coca, a coca leaf tea, which is also sold in health food stores as Health Inca tea. We reported a case in which a person drank some of the tea as part of a meal in a Bolivian restaurant in the United States. (1) The next day he had a positive drug screen. Although the imported tea is supposed to be de-cocainized, some may still contain cocaine in small amounts.

--Daniel M. Baer, MD

Professor Emeritus

Department of Pathology [/i

also....
[i
Benzoylecgonine is one of the metabolites of cocaine. When you consume cocaine, the drug gets hydrolyzed. During the process of hydrolysis of cocaine within your body, benzoylecgonine is produced. Benzoylecgonine is the critical component whose presence is indicative of the intake of cocaine in a drug test. In spite of this fact its true and widely accepted fact that if benzoylecgonine is detected in urine, it does not indicate any illegal use of cocaine because of the fact that there are a couple of other factors that contribute to the detection of benzoylecgonine in system.
Get to know the 2 ways which in turn paves way for benzoylecgonine detection in system and keep away from them before going for a drug test. First factor that contributes to the presence of benzoylecgonine in system is direct medical administration. If you have had a consultation/surgery with a ear nose throat specialist and if he had given you a topical anesthetic that contains cocaine, then it’s very likely that benzoylecgonine can be detected in you system. In such cases, the doctor warns you of the possibility of the detection of benzoylecgonine in system since the anesthetic that he administered contain cocaine as a constituent. From the time the anesthetic was administered till the completion of 48 hours, there is every possibility that you would test positive for cocaine if you take a drug test within that time frame. Remember this fact and if ever you have the topical drug administered on you, don’t think of going for a drug test in the succeeding 48 hour time frame.
Another rare possibility is the likelihood of cocaine being present in coca leaf tea, mate de coca. These are available for sale in pharmacies as Health Inca Tea. If ever you drink the tea and sit for a drug test, there is a possibility that cocaine was an ingredient of the tea would have got hydrolyzed. This in turn releases benzoylecgonine as a metabolite and detection of the same is indicative of the presence of cocaine in you. So make sure that you keep away from this tea when you intend to pass a drug test.
With a clear understanding on what are the possibilities that could result in the detection of benzoylecgonine in system, make sure that you keep away from them and from the direct intake of cocaine and pass your drug test with ease[/i

So Hock allegedly went tripping on Tea while on a trip to Bolivia.....

I work for a company that does drug testing in the work place.

Charges vary, for a 1 off test it's about £90. Then goes down on a sliding scale with the cheapest being to test 11 or more people £55 per person. On the grand scheme of things, not particularly expensive.

The testing is done in a controlled environment with an A and B sample and a strict chain of custody in sending that sample to the laboratory for confirmation.

We test for illegal drugs and some prescription drugs that can be abused.

The imortant thing is that we don't test from a zero level, we work to guidelines for levels of drugs in the system. For example a person who tests positive for cannabis may sometimes claim it is from passive smoking and that they never took the joint. This is completely impossible because we are testing for a specific raised level.

Not sure if it is the same for sport testing but would imagine it similar.

The key thing is that the toxicology lab will be able to tell from the levels of drug in the system whether Hock took cocaine or was drinking some Bolivian herbal tea.

Although it should not suprise me.....this still came as a suprise when i saw it on teletext earlier this week.


The season just gets more depressing by the day.


I sure hope there is some good news on the horizon.

all of it, to be honest

In the past we have had a few that have partaken of the drink, their drug of choice.

My Dad speaks of 'Darkie' Bennett from the past ( 1930's), who had to be almost blotto to turn out for Wigan.

I myself have seen Billy Boston playing after a few pints, regularly.

My main example being at Odsal.

In the very early 1960's, players used to visit the pub at the top of the hill before playing. Billy walked down, and was attacked by some old dear calling him a 'black so and so', and weilding an umbrella.

My reason for posting is not to attack Hock, for me he should get [i'sine die'[/i it's just to show some history of the game, and to also show that our players do need to be coached in the correct way of doing things.

Drugs seem to be rife in our society. We must crack down on this 100%.

THat does smack (excuse the pun) a little of hipocracy, if your gonna dish out a life ban to hock after you sing the praises of "2 pints" boston, they are all substances in the end!

it may have been cultural and acceptable, it doesn't make it right though does it? if you follow those rules hock should get a pat on the back for his current behaviour after all "every one's at it nowadays"

i feel your arguement is totally flawed, sorry but i really do!

cant be that ££££ for drugs test cause my works drug test all year round an they have the results with in 5 minutes , i have freinds who smoke cannabis like bob marley an when i had my last test at work i was bricking it cause i forgot about passive smoking i dont even smoke never mind that , but the test was all clear , the rfl keep saying players are educated all year round well its not getting through is it it was nt long ago when young danny langtree from st.helens tested for cocaine so its creeping in cause i can put money on it they wont be the last

Does this put a cloud over the other players? I mean, what are the chances he's not just doing this on his own in his front room? (if he did it, obviously...)

its same as H&S / CDM laws etc. Why people cant take responsibility for their actions is beyond me. Don't like to say it cos I think he is a fantastic player, but he should be banned for 2 years and should never be even considered as a Wigan signing ever again if he does come back to rugby league. Our once proud club has been a laughing stock since 2005 and we need to be as professional as some of the other clubs in SL.

It certainly does raise questions.

It's not un-reasonable to assume someone else in the team knew of his 'out-of-work' activities. One would assume Hock's best mates are in the Wigan team currently.

However, he may of kept himself to himself - not told anyone about the drug use. Or maybe the night he allegedly did it he was drunk? The only person who know's the answer's is Hock himself. ATM we're speculating, as am I with this post.

Punish Gaz Hock accordingly, sack him and give him a 2year ban if found guilty but IMO it's not right to put a cloud over the other players - for all we know the may not even be involved.

I see the defending of the indefensible is continuing

Give over.

He is bang to rights.

Please do tell which other clubs in SL do we need to be as professional as?

I am not defending just informing people of what Hock has been found to have tested for.

As far as i am concerned, if he is guilty he should be banned from sport for life and be hung drawn and quartered for bringing the name of Wigan RLFC down to this level.

I could have saved you time & effort. Observe:

Tested for - COCAINE

Outcome - GUILTY