Terry Newton was a pantomime villain, probably the only one similar in RL at the minute is his arch nemesis Sean Long. He was a player the fans loved to hate, while fans of whichever team he played for loved him for his wholehearted efforts whenever taking to the pitch, his uncompromising style of play often crossed the boundaries of legality - just ask Long or Lee Gilmour - and his pushing of his own limitations ultimately lead to his cheating by using HGH in an ill-founded attempt to prolong his career.

Whatever your opinions on the drugs he took (my own that anyone who cheats deserves to be banned from playing again), there are few doubts he saw the foolishness of his actions when accepting his ban. He revealed a lot about himself in the months after the ban - the fears that other players were overtaking him that drove him to take HGH; the loathing he had for drugs following the addicition and death of his sister; the diginity in his response to being asked to "name & shame" other players taking HGH; his determination to educate youngsters in the game as to the folly of taking banned substances.

There will be much speculation as to the reasons he took his own life. Maybe seeing his former club Wigan reach the Grand Final & the celebrations associated with that struck him as to what he had thrown away; maybe the dichotomy of his actions against his stand against drugs was just too much; maybe it had nothing to do with rugby at all. People will cry and wring their hands and scream the RFL should have done more. Maybe they should - but who knows what they actually offered him? Players will come out of the woodwork and offer their sympathies & soundbites, but how many called him or text him after his ban? Fans will fill internet message boards with RIP's & "what a shames", but how many of these were building gallows for him in February?

The real tragedies from Terry Newton's suicide are for his family left behind. My thoughts & prayers are with his family & real friends. I never knew him or even met him but I can still express sorrow at a loss for those who loved him. The lessons to be learnt for all are of a life & career wasted & tainted by fear, selfishness & greed. The shame are of the players who will have breathed a sigh of relief at the news yesterday, knowing that the man who could have exposed their own failings and cheatings has more than likely taken their secrets to his grave...

What a player and a big loss to the game.

excellent post.

Apparently according to Barrie Mac and Terry o’Connor he was not left and ignored, he was supported by all who new him Terry O’connor even spoke to him the day before his death and discussed a project they had in the pipeline.

Again this reinforces the point, what could the RFL do ?
If a bloke can talk to his mates and plan things then calmly go and kill himself leaving behind his own Kids and a very good network of friends what can anyone do?

Barry Mcdermot said “it’s only a game” and it is…. but unfortunately for Terry Newton it appeared to be much much more than that.

I have no doubts at all about the support, friendship & help offered by Terry O & Barrie Mac amongst other real friends of his. My point was aimed at those players who distanced themselves from him after his ban and will now come out with false platitudes - I don't know who they and suspect many on this forum will not, but they will & I hope they are able to live with the knowledge that they abandoned him in his time of need...

I can understand why the question needs to be asked but I'm sorry, I don't see how the RFL can be even partly culpable for this. He broke the rules and was handed an appropriate punishment. From what I saw, he was full of remorse for what he did and took his punishment with little or no complaint e.g. he didn't make them test the B sample. Really sad story on every conceiveable level.

As this is a RL Forum, and as posting condolences in these circumstances makes me, on a personal level, feel a bit empty, I'll close by saying what a fantastic RL player he was. Whatever people say about Terry Newton, everyone can agree with that.

Why? No one forced him to take drugs. If you're fired/suspended from a job for doing drugs do you get support? No and rightly so.

I've heard the final straw came when his wife left him

I found the quote from Peter Hood the Bradford chairman rather curiousTerry was the ultimate professional during his time at the club and it was a privilege to have known him as a friend and colleague."

Surely the timelines of his positive test (Nov 09) suggests that he was perhaps doing this when he was still with Bradford? My own speculation of course, but thought it was a rather odd quote.

Sad loss of life all the same.

I think he meant his commitment and attitude to training and playing through the pain barrier many times for club and country. He played at the top level for over a decade before touching the HGH, so I suppose for the largest part of his career, it's a pretty fair and accurate statement.

Terry said himself in an interview that he only started to use HGH in june 09 to speed up his recovery from injury. But carried on using it afterwards.

New contracts tend to start in November so chances are he was training at Wakey when tested. Hood's statement also read that he would be willing to call into schools or junior RL clubs in his own personal time (admittedly as is the expectation on all professionals, but as we know ourselves it doesn't always happen...) despite living in Wigan during his time at Bradford.

very shocking news...a truly sad story...RIP Terry Newton.

www.independent.co.uk/sport/gene ... 91336.html

www.independent.co.uk/sport/gene ... 91336.html