au.sports.yahoo.com/league/news/ ... rt/?cmp=fb Looks like Tim Sheens will have a job for this season after all.

au.sports.yahoo.com/league/news/ ... rt/?cmp=fb Looks like Tim Sheens will have a job for this season after all.

Maybe Flanagan will get the same deal as James Hird (Essendon coach). He got suspended for a year, the AFL assumed it was without pay then discovered he was suspended on full pay. They then cut a deal to pay him his entire salary for next year before the end of this year, so that they could say with (almost) a straight face that he won't be paid in 2014.

Seems bloody harsh on Flannigan for mine. He was at Cronulla for 11 weeks when Dank and Elkin got booted, and they were employed by management not by him. His major sin is not knowing what they were doing - there's no suggestion that he was involved. Compare that to Hird who was actively involved in a 12 month program; so much so that he was personally injecting Danks supplements. Even after he had a severe adverse reaction to one he is recorded as sending emails complaining that the club doctor wasn't giving Dank free rein.

My big question though, is if Dank and Elkin did this much damage at Cronulla in 11 weeks, how can anyone believe that Manly are innocent when Dank was there for two years? Injecting calf's blood - nah, nothing suss there...

The big difference between Manly and the Sharks is that the NRL don't want to relocate Manly - it's a stitch up.

The Sharks employed Dank for 11 weeks and then got rid once it became clear something wasn't right. There is still no proof any illegal substances were used, as confirmed in the NRL press release. Fair enough, fine the club for not having proper governance procedures in place at the time (although I still think this is harsh), and yes punish Elkin who was part of the cover up and who introduced Dank - but to punish Flannagan or the players is terrible, they've been badly mid-led and lied to about the substances they were taking - what are they supposed to do, set up their own labs to personally scientifically test every supplement provided to them by supposed medical/supplement professionals?

If this had happened at a glamour club like Manly or the Roosters, the NRL would be after Dank and his associates, not the clubs. The exoneration of Manly, despite employing Dank long term is a perfect example if this.

NRL has teeth and claws
RFL/SL has gums and powder puffs.

Although there is no correlation between the two as can be seen by the success of the relative governing bodies.

Sharks fine has been set at a level they can afford, hence suspending 40% of it. Still to hear if there will be widespread player bans, if there is the Sharks could face massive court cases from players.

There's no need for conspiracies. Flanagan was head coach and it happened under his watch. He might be a great guy but he's still responsible. If the Sharks were not a total joke and had a CEO during that period then he or she would be facing sanctions aswell.

Might seem harsh on Flanagan and Nulla now but just wait and see what WADA do to the AFL...

Call it what you want, but going on current facts in the public domain, taking Manly and Sharks in isolation with this issue, the way I see it;

Manly - Employed Dank for a whole season, but could prove they had governance procedures in place (However, as has been witnessed at Essendon, if the people in charge of the team and managing the governance procedures set up by the club were happy to hide 'unknown' substances that are being supplied, any governance procedures are irrelevant). There is no proof that any illegal substances were used.

Sharks - Employed Dank for 11 weeks, had no governance procedures in place. There is no proof that any illegal substances were used (though granted there are 2 individual players taking action against the club for injuries sustained due to the supplements programme).

So, the Sharks and Flanagan have been hammered for not having governance procedures in place 2 years ago. There is no proof any illegal substances were or were not taken during this time.

Based on the current facts, I disagree that Flanagan is responsible - if, as he claims, Elkin and Dank changed things without his knowledge/hid things from him, it should be they that are charged, and not Flanagan. Yes the club should have had governance procedures in place, but surely it's not the role of head coach to set these procedures up. For me, those culpable should be the people who hid/supplied the 'unknown' supplements, and the CEO/club for not setting up correct governance procedures (although the Sharks didn't have a CEO at this time). So, in the Sharks case, it's Elkin, Dank and whoever was running the club at the time - the problem is, the person who was running the club at the time is no longer around. It seems to me that the NRL are wanting to be seen to have punished Cronulla as a club (and rightfully so), but that they want an individual to take the blame, unfortunately, the ones who are to blame are no longer at the Sharks, so they've nailed Flanagan.

What I can't stomach is that the NRL are happy to nail Cronulla, but then take the word of Manly that their governance procedures were in place, so nothing was happening that shouldn't.

yet. ASADA have not yet released any findings of their investigations.

The Cronulla Kavanagh self report was pretty damning!

The NRL are finally learning to manipulate the media, any coincidence this action was taken at a time of year that would attract min media atention and public interest?

looks like there going to appeal it tvnz.co.nz/rugby-league-news/sha ... on-5783254

looks like there going to appeal it tvnz.co.nz/rugby-league-news/sha ... on-5783254

Still think there's no need for conspiracies - ASADA have today announced they've finished their investigations, but have not interviewed Mr Dank, the prime suspect in supplying illegal substances... They've also said that they are now having the evidence reviewed to see if there is sufficient evidence to bring charges - if they still don't know that now after a year of investigations, how on earth can they justify going public on the whole matter in the first place. Interestingly , they've also had external auditors in to find out where the information on Cronulla and it's players who are under suspicion has leaked from - low and behold the auditors have reported the leaks (of official internal ASADA documents) did not come from ASADA... Who the feck else could the leaks have come from - utterly ridiculous.



Some coincidence - and the fact it was the Sharks this whole sorry affair focused on, the club the NRL would be most keen to re-locate, with at the time, the least funds to fight any ASADA case, is of course also coincidence....

The whole thing from start to finish is a complete crock of horse dung.... Cronulla have every right to be mightily ed off. If, as I suspect, no charges are laid, it will be interesting to see the NRLs response, particularly as the club and Flanagan have been vilified by the NRL, yet manly walked away scot free, despite employing Dank for much longer. As I said at the time, Manly and Cronulla were both guilty of exactly the same, Manly just had the policies in place to hide the situation better.

We'll three players are suing the sharks so far, clearly something at cronulla stinks. They are lucky no players likely to be banned or they could be facing a group action that would close them down.

Clearly the correct governance wasn't in place and that allowed Dank to do whatever he has done - the three claimants may well have a case against the club for negligence, but Dank is the main villain here. Cronulla are no more guilty than Manly, or any other club who have allowed Dank access to their players. The naming and shaming of the Sharks is my main gripe. Innocent until proven guilty and all that... Manly employed Dank for much longer, but as they had governance policies in place, they've not been harassed like the sharks.