If someone smokes then they're probably not going to be as good as they could be. Doesn't mean they're not good enough to play at the top level though. I'd guess o'meley has been smoking since before he played SOO and for Oz

Well said. It should be incumbent upon any player employed by our club to do everything within their power to ensure optimum fitness and athletic performance. Settling for any less than this is accepting failure.

I have respect to any ex-smoker/drinker/drug abuser, I appreciate how hard it must be to quit.

However, coming purely from a fans' perspective, I want my players to be at the best they can possibly be for their performance. I regard going out with friends in the off season, or having a few celebratory drinks after winning a game, more like a treat then a habit. If a player has a smoking habit, then yes it's their choice to do so, however it is my opinion and 100% fact that it is not positive to their fitness, aerobic capacity and capability to give their best possible when it comes to playing. Therefore, I'm anti-ProRLplayer smoking!

I agree with this, some players are lucky/talented enough to be better than peers without putting as much effort in or looking after themselves (smoking).

It's a dangerous precedent to set though, could fit players be excluded from training if they know they would be still fit enough to play?

There are many instances in many sports where players have been dropped for various reasons which are know to affect their performance. But could still quite easily walk into the team and play aswell/better than others, say for example being out till 3am the night before.

It's a difficult subject to understand really.

But wtf has it got to do with you, me or any other self-righteous dick?

If the club have a zero smoking policy, then don’t sign anyone up who smokes.
If he smokes and you still sign him up, then you get what you get.

If (as someone suggested) we get rid of O’Meley ‘because he smokes’ and we end up with a none smoking player with less ability, because we cannot get a decent replacement, will you be ok with that?

Think Mick Crane often used to come on the pitch with a tab in his hand!!

If we did that maybe Horne wouldn't have got the s at our mutual ex chinese takeaway lol!!!

You seem to have missed the point by a wide margin.

All I can say is, there's no smoke without Offiah.

Exactly, thats pretty much the point. It's like saying well it's the taking part that counts "you get what you get", He'll do etc.

It's our club really so it's only to us that it should matter, as results on the pitch will, eventually, decree whether we are successful or not and survive or die. So I'd say it's pretty important.

I'm not arguing for or against it really, I'm just playing devil's advocate. In many ways it shows how amateurish our sport still is, although improving year by year.

I could just imagine GB team riders at British cycling nipping out for a fag between training and in the pub afterwards. Maybe they did years ago but then it changed, and now is a blue print for how to be an ultra sucessful sports development programme, with athletes pushed to the to the absolute maxiumum peak they can be. Their results pay tribute to this.

Now I know it wouldn't transfer over into rugby perfectly but I think we all agree our club could do with a bit more of this attitude and scientific approach. I'm hope I'm right in saying that I think the new regime is already providing this.

I really don't understand why a professional sportsman would choose to smoke. Even I'd they perform well it will limit them in some capacity.

That said as long as they are playing well I wouldn't really complain.

What a pretty ridiculous topic some of the best players in the game smoke,

Just because a player smokes dosn't hamper a players ability, think you also find that usually a player who smokes more often than not is one of the hardest trainers.

Smoking is a personal choice and considering the player in question this makes this thread even more of a joke...

The medical profession begs to differ. Smoking reduces athletic ability. That's a simple fact.

Whoa!! facts and all!

Why would anybody smoke?

I hope you're not here all week...