The details may come out, or they may not - they don't always where Gareth is concerned, except for his really, really big foul-ups, when there is no way to conceal them. But to an extent, you're already hiding behind that.

What you've got to ask yourself is do you think the England managers would have done what they'd done if Gareth was completely innocent?

Seriously? Do you think they'd have taken such drastic action a week before the World Cup, and publicised it the way they have, if there was absolutely nothing in it? Or indeed if it was something fairly minor?

And you can apply this more or less throughout his career. Gareth cocks up, people try to defend him through misguided loyalty - some even get bolshy about it, trying to spread the blame to other parties, insisting 'the truth will come out, etc'. Except the only truth that usually comes out is Gareth was a naughty boy. Again.

He now represents your club, so you feel understandably miffed that the first thing he does of note is get in trouble in the England camp. But this is why Wigan sold him. You can only tolerate so much from a wayward child.

The details will come out, Marwan Koukash has confirmed that Hock will issue a statement and his version of events today. The fact England didnt do this in the first instance shows just how poor the management set-up. We are 3 days away from the first game of a World Cup, rather than hiding behind a "serious breach of discipline" comment which will get supporters, press etc speculating and detract from what we should all be talking about, they should have sought immediate legal advice and issued a statement this morning detailing the exact reasons for their decision. Everyone can then move on and there is no obscurity.

Unless Gareth Hock has been taking drugs, going out on the p*ss or fighting I am struggling to see what warrants immediate explusion from the squad and a serious breach of team discipline. Then you have to ask if he has been fighting/out on the p*ss there must have been more than him involved.

The sooner we know what has gone on the better.

It's probably worth noting that the statement from the RFL is "serious breaches of team discipline", ie [iplural[/i. So reading between the lines this looks like a last straw dismissal to me.
The RFL have already said they won't make any more statements on the matter, so we'll only have Hock's version this afternoon sometime.
Although no doubt the gossip will continue for a while (especially if we're hammered on Saturday).

I believe its just Hock.

We'll all be interested to know, because yes, it has badly affected the build-up to prestigious tournament, and heads should roll.

But understand, from a Wigan fan's POV, this is a very old story. The last time Gareth was in trouble at Wigan, we had people whispering all kinds of calumny about everyone from the head coach to the kit-man, in order to exonerate the guy. And this was AFTER Wigan had stood by him during the drugs scandal - so loyalty to a favourite player can run so deep that at some point it may become irrational.

By all means try to widen the blame - others must have been involved, etc - but even if that's true, it doesn't negate Gareth's responsibility, and won't necessarily mean that he wasn't the instigator, the ringleader, the worst of the bunch, call it what you will. He's the one who's been kicked out. Nobody else. Which is a pretty damning indictment.

By the way, it wouldn't surprise me at all if the England management were in some way culpable. They are pretty useless themselves. The mere selection of Hock was the first big error they made, at least with regard to matters of team discipline.

Don’t get me wrong, if when the details are released and Gareth Hock is guilty of a major indiscretion then I and I assume the majority of other Salford fans will condemn him and be seeking questions from our own owner and management as to how they propose to avoid such instances happening at Salford. I would however hope that should there be any issues with Gareth Hock whether it be drugs, alcohol or anger related Salford and the RFL assist him as best they can to help him in order to avoid a scenario we had with the late Terry Newton.

The blame should only be widened as far as it needs to, if other players have been involved and are guilty of the same breaches as Gareth Hock then they rightly should be publically named and punished as well. I think it all stinks of poor management from McNamara to be honest and I wouldn’t be surprised if reports are correct that the Wigan element of the England camp are unhappy and disgruntled at the manner in which Hock has been removed from the squad. If he thinks he is bringing the squad closer together doing this, McNamara could have potentially done the complete opposite and created a divide/rift. It could and should have been handled far more professional.

Bear in mind we also heard this when Hock was kicked out at Wigan - that all the players were really upset.

If so, it didn't show in public.

Gareth has a small minority of quite vocal supporters who will promote any bit of guff to try and create the impression that he is a guy more sinned against than sinning.

This is koukash (SP) twitter comment:He added: "I once went out with lads for a few drinks, overslept in the morning, missed work, got fined but not sacked from my job."


Might shed a bit of light on what's happened

If he had a brain a Hock autobiography would be an interesting read!

Awaits the "I am not a bad boy" story in the Daily Mirror.

No doubt it's Shaun Wane's fault again!

So we can't criticise Hock without all the facts but McNamara and others involved could and should have handled it more professionally. Right.

I dont get your point at all. How can you criticise somebody without knowing what they have done? Obviously McNamara and others are fully aware of what has gone on and have come to the conclusion he shouldnt play for England during the World Cup. I have no issue with that, but I do have an issue with how they have gone about it all. We are 3 days away from a World Cup, is there any need for issuing a statement to the media like they did? I dont think there is. By all means drop Gareth Hock and dont play him throughout the tournament, report he's injured if you like but I fail to understand what has been gained by all this unnecessary speculation and attention. It could and should have been handled a lot better.

sorry but we do know whats happened, he got ed after a match and didn't turn up the next day. Players have been sacked for less. we heard the same when he got dumped from wigan "we don't know the full story" blah blah.

Unfortunately (from the point of view of England's prep for Saturday) it looks like this story will widen to other players.

This tweet from a BBC sports reporter, apparently his interview will air on BBC NW Today at 1:30

#EXCLUSIVE Gareth Hock told me feels unfairly treated by England.Says wasn't alone in breaking the rules.Interview on @BBCNWT & BBC outlets