My take on it is that the testing process is less robust now with 17-a-side than it was when it was 15-a-side.

When drugs testing was first brought in, under the two subs rule, you got two players from each side. Now, with two more players per team, it is still two from each team pulled out for the test.

Doesn't that make it statistically LESS likley to be tested now, than when compared to the original system ?

Maybe the RFL should publish the list of how many times each individual player have been tested each season, then we'll see who'd been skipping tests or missing out ....

The NRL testing is no different to here, clubs do their own tests and will keep them quiet if it's in their interests to do so e.g. Andrew Johns.

I've been told by a reliable source about one current SL player who was put on sick leave for two weeks after he failed an internal drugs test, the alternative was risk being caught by external testers and hit with a 2 year ban.

I think people are very naive to think that there isn't a drug problem in Rugby League. It's called playing the system. The two week windows the players have in the off season is ideal time to get on the juice. I've heard loads of stories about players bunking off or avoiding a test or playing innocence. I even heard a story about one who went into a chemist and asked which medicines contained ephidrine cos he was a pro-RL player and they were banned in RL. He then goes into another chemist down the road and bought the medicines that he was told were banned!

Then there is the cost element. Who actually pays for the drug testers? Are they from Sport England? If the RFL were genuinely concerned about the problem they would pass the onus onto the clubs to carry out their own independent drug testing, I'm sure that would carry some weight especially if it meant fines and points deductions for breaches - obviously it won't happen but they should take leaf out of the RU's book and fine teams. They are too scared to address the important tangibles like disclipine and drug taking and about with the smoke / mirrors / subjectivitiy / bull, call it what you like, in playing to the tune of Sky.

RL in the UK probably has the worst record for drugs offences in sports over the past 10 years - I'd like to substantiate that but I don't think I would be far off, certainly top 3 at least.

So following that theory through football must have the best (or one of) because players don’t fail, or hardly ever fail drugs tests!!!!

Do you really believe football does not have a drug problem???

Sport (not just RL) reflects society, and although some would like to believe otherwise, drugs, especially recreational ones like coke, Ket, etc etc are rife.......especially in the ages from teens through to 30's.

I'm not saying there isn't one in football. I can tell you for a fact that the drug testers for the FA do not know where they are supposed to be going each day and clubs are not tipped off. There is a lot more at stake for footballers because of the money they are on so I'd guess they are a bit more cuter when it comes to when they choose to have a blow out.

l disagree that footballer have more at stake though! Yes they earn more money, but that is all relative.......its still their job, be it football or rugby......and you could argue that footballers would be better placed to deal with a 2 year ban, as most will have very healthy bank accounts, the same can not be said for many other sports!

I'd like to see you try … the comparative figures for positive tests shouldn't be too hard to find. Perhaps some sort of search engine search under "drug bans by sport, 1999-2009" – something like that?

all these are ergogenic aids (aids that enhance performance), creatine and protein supplementation are allowed by WADA so don't think Dunneman is referring to these aids.

The only person who has come out and said that this isn't the case in rugby league is Andrew Dunneman....when did he become the oracle and f he is correct, is it possible things have changed in the years since he retired?

Hardly ideal in terms of helping him perform better, is it? Or are there super drugs which are able to cover the whole year from just a two week course?



Does the story about a player deliberately buying medicine that he knows contains ephedrine ring true to you? To me it sounds like bull5hit. It doesn't make sense for the player to do that and it's difficult to imagine how someone could witness that unless they were stalking the player.



I'm surmising from those questions that you don't know the answers to these questions. Why don't you ask your sources who know who all the drug taking players are? Surely when they can get such potentially damaging information so easily getting the basic info about how the drug testing system operates financially will be a snip for them?



I'm sure if they did that then there'd be even more claims of cover-ups than there already is.

In UK Sport's published figures for 2007/8 RL was easily the sport with the most failed drug tests. We had 14 while the next highest was football with 6.

Does that suggest that we are the worst offenders or the most stringent when it comes to testing and punishing players?

Cycling?

LOL

They're called pro hormones. Or designer steroids.

They're basically steroids with red tape meaning they can't be immediatly banned.

Go into any sports supplement store and you'll find them.

The messed up thing is these are far harsher on your body than real steroids yet anyone can buy them without knowing what they are.

They have an extremly short half life so if you know when a test is you can do a quick cyclke and it'll be out of your system.

They are orals not injectables (you can't just buy injectables from a supplement store) so results are harsh and fast.

The best Pro hormone was 1-ad. Theres a gland which tells your body to produce testosterone and this basically told that gland to dump out loads more testosterone than it normally does.

Because of the 2 step conversion is wasn't methylated so wasn't liver toxic and you don't experience shut down because you aren't injecting or taking orally synthetic hormones.

It was the safest one.

George bush banned it though