AFL & NRL to start testing blood

[dse1969]

Someone may know the exact date that cycling started testing blood. It is interesting to see in the Aus media the big deal made out of the NRL & AFL (our two biggest sports) finally getting with the program & testing for EPO Cera, HGH etc. I think there will be a few surprises in store!
Does the English Premier League, Italian Serie A or La Liga use blood testing for EPO Cera or HGH?
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,26866002-5018866,00.html

 

[Ferminal]

A few years too late.

 

[Night Rider]

I’m pretty sure the NRL has been testing randomly for a few years now, maybe they mean it’s being stepped up a notch or it’s going to be more targeted. The Super 14 rugby union has been testing for quite some time and any level above that is tested.

AFL’s policy has been a farce until now.

 

[auscyclefan94]

I’m pretty sure the NRL has been testing randomly for a few years now, maybe they mean it’s being stepped up a notch or it’s going to be more targeted. The Super 14 rugby union has been testing for quite some time and any level above that is tested.

AFL’s policy has been a farce until now.

100% agreed.

having a 3 strike system in the AFL is a joke. Cyclists are persucuted when a big name positive comes up but when a big race is won by an aussie you don't hear about it. Supposedly I have heard a number of players are in the teens for being on a 2nd strike.

 

[rgmerk]

100% agreed.

having a 3 strike system in the AFL is a joke. Cyclists are persucuted when a big name positive comes up but when a big race is won by an aussie you don't hear about it. Supposedly I have heard a number of players are in the teens for being on a 2nd strike.

Auscyclefan, the three strikes policy is for recreational drugs, not performance-enhancing substances, and players are tested year-round for it.

Frankly, I think this aspect of the AFL's drugs policy is inappropriate - who cares if sportspeople enjoy the occasional out-of-competition snort of Columbian marching powder as long as it doesn't provide them with any assistance in winning.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Auscyclefan, the three strikes policy is for recreational drugs, not performance-enhancing substances, and players are tested year-round for it.

Frankly, I think this aspect of the AFL's drugs policy is inappropriate - who cares if sportspeople enjoy the occasional out-of-competition snort of Columbian marching powder as long as it doesn't provide them with any assistance in winning.

I don't think it's right to have people who are role models who are part of football clubs getting paid better salaries than people who run the country, to snort drugs. I personally think that our AFL players are spoilt brats especially for the amount they do and the priveledges they get/have. They don't train half as hard as other athletes and get paid bucket loads in sponsorships.

 

[Galic Ho]

I’m pretty sure the NRL has been testing randomly for a few years now, maybe they mean it’s being stepped up a notch or it’s going to be more targeted. The Super 14 rugby union has been testing for quite some time and any level above that is tested.

AFL’s policy has been a farce until now.

It still will be. All the teams in the NRL had testing. All of them. All in house. Andrew Johns, take his drug abuse. Everyone who had an ear to the ground in Newcastle knew he had issues. Protected species. Take the Broncos is Brisbane. Same thing. There have been some very heavy rumours flying out of the grapevine. Todd Carney and his shocking behaviour in Canberra. We never heard the worst and most of the fans can tell you some nasty stories that were deliberately kept out of the press. As for the AFL. Subiaco and the Weagles attitude ruined the best team in the AFL. A dynasty. Now nothing but two finals appearances and one GF win. The Melbourne teams are not any better.

Unless an independent body is given the authority to go in and test people and hold them accountable then nothing big will come of this. Only the small guys will be caught. Considering the number of footy players from all codes who have either assaulted someone, behaved like a drunken ruffian, sexually assaulted someone, or worse, repeated their caveman behaviour (Brendan Fevola) it is no surprise to find players have tested positive already for minor PEDs. Bigger drugs are certainly used. Footy players indiscretions indicate they are not bright. If they get caught for the offences I listed how many will be caught out on a serious anti-doping program? A lot.

Hence I think it will all be kept hush, hush and only troublesome players who need to be let go will ever officially test positive. Footy clubs protect the bottom line...the dollar signs. It is system wide indoctrination and will not change. You protect the assets that matter. Teams will run their own drug programs and unless you're a tool, or very unlucky, you won't get caught if you're on the juice.

Remember the Brett Stewart incident. Poster boy for the NRL in 2009. A trip to Manly for a team outing pre-season, one team mate inappropriately hits on a sponsors daughter and then smacks the father when pulled into line and the other gets so wasted he cannot remember what he did. He sexually assaulted a 17 year old. Compare to Greg Bird. A season before he was the NRL poster boy. He was a Sharks player. His assault incident was savaged throughout the media. He was fried. The Telegraph allowed hundreds of abusive comments on their site but with Stewart he was protected and no comments allowed. There is a boys club in Aussie footy codes and some people are protected and others are not. This mentality is generic and can be applied to any scenario or unsavoury behaviour. It will be the same with heavy performance enhancing drug testing. What is worse is the media already know a lot and have kept quiet...especially those damn Mexicans and their love of AFL players.

 

[craig1985]

You do have a point, I men Greg Inglis the Melbourne Storm fringe player will get busted, ala the UCI's Biological Passport, but Greg Inglis the fringe the NRL superstar who without Inglis, Melbourne Storm will struggle to make the Grand Final or even the Finals and give more ammo to the douches who think there should not be an NRL team in Melbourne.

I'm implying anything, but I do find it interesting that some AFL players can run up to a half marathon in a game week in week out, and for their size. I have heard a few stories but it is just hearsay.

 

[rgmerk]

I don't think it's right to have people who are role models who are part of football clubs getting paid better salaries than people who run the country, to snort drugs.

If there's one thing that following professional cycling should teach you, it's that the idea that elite athletes should necessarily be viewed as role models is a terrible one.

I don't have children yet, but if one day one of them puts a poster of a sportsperson of any stripe up on their wall I'm going to sit down and point out that good athletes may or may not be good people, despite the BS that may come from the athlete's PR camp.

And, frankly, using recreational drugs on an occasional basis is not that high on the list of things I'm worried about those future kids copying from football players. The appalling attitude towards women that persists in both footy codes is far, far, far more worrying to me.

 

[Galic Ho]

You do have a point, I men Greg Inglis the Melbourne Storm fringe player will get busted, ala the UCI's Biological Passport, but Greg Inglis the fringe the NRL superstar who without Inglis, Melbourne Storm will struggle to make the Grand Final or even the Finals and give more ammo to the douches who think there should not be an NRL team in Melbourne.

I'm implying anything, but I do find it interesting that some AFL players can run up to a half marathon in a game week in week out, and for their size. I have heard a few stories but it is just hearsay.

That is the problem. Hearsay. We all know Carney is scum. We didn't need to hear the stories to know it was true. Same with Joey. Great footballer, who had issues off the field. I agree with Aussiecyclefan94, these guys (footballers) cannot be publicly applauded and behave like morons off the field. That means no recreational drugs. Big Dell did two years. Two years at 33 year of age. That is a killer for most people. For what, a line of blow! EPO users get less. That is Super 14s. Switch over to AFL and they don't notify anyone until you test positive a second time. No press time, no media releases that a player from a team has been busted. Look at Warnie. One year ban for a diuretic. A weight loss pill he took for nothing more than self gratification...vanity.

The AFL 3 strike system protects people. Do the big bosses expect any reasonable person to believe that if a star player randomly tests positive once, the system that relies on that man's success will just hand him over and allow him to test positive, not once, but on two more occasions? Then there is the social cost of recreational drugs. The name recreational is wrong. Ben Cousins OD in the US. Another player OD in Vegas in an off season team vacation three years back. He was a Weagle as well. Look what happens when you have a lax team etiquette protocol. Cousins is booted for a year and you loose a guy like Chris Judd. The Weagles have Big Cox and Daniel Kerr left. They are nerfed. I bet they regret it. They are in the bottom half of the comp three years after being in the top 3 with back to back finals.

Testing needs to be like auditing. Remove the safety net and make people accountable. Not just for one sport, but for all sports. If the League gets to dish out punishment or determine guilt then they do not remain impartial, but biased. Remove it and place the power to test and then sanction in a separate body. Some of the stories of doping are scary in aussie sport. I've heard of guys getting stuff from veterinarians. I cannot wait for the day I hear of someone using high grade beaver tranquillisers and moose testosterone. That stuff will beat blood doping any day. Cause I've heard just about every other tale there is to hear for a competitive edge in syringe form.

 

[fatandfast]

I don't think it's right to have people who are role models who are part of football clubs getting paid better salaries than people who run the country, to snort drugs. I personally think that our AFL players are spoilt brats especially for the amount they do and the priveledges they get/have. They don't train half as hard as other athletes and get paid bucket loads in sponsorships.

We need more honest sportsman. I have no education,you don't care about my character or criminal record.I can ride a bike up a hill,or smash a guys skull or whack the wicket. I do blow and will sleep in any bed I am invited to...role model? We should keep the standards for sportsman as low or lower than the rest of the population. Just one drug test at a Fourtune 500 or at a top high school would bring the sky falling in if there was some kind of punishment.These clowns don't turn in a resume,they are good at a sport,no moral compass.The fans and sponsors are only strong enough for a verbal handjob. They all turn on the TV to watch and buy super high priced tickets to see the terrible men battle each other on the playing field never minding the drugs and hookers the guy left in his penthouse suite. Athletes not role models.

 

[Ferminal]

You do have a point, I men Greg Inglis the Melbourne Storm fringe player will get busted, ala the UCI's Biological Passport, but Greg Inglis the fringe the NRL superstar who without Inglis, Melbourne Storm will struggle to make the Grand Final or even the Finals and give more ammo to the douches who think there should not be an NRL team in Melbourne.

I'm implying anything, but I do find it interesting that some AFL players can run up to a half marathon in a game week in week out, and for their size. I have heard a few stories but it is just hearsay.

Don't you believe in miracles? They just train harder than every other athlete in the world

That is the problem. Hearsay. We all know Carney is scum. We didn't need to hear the stories to know it was true. Same with Joey. Great footballer, who had issues off the field. I agree with Aussiecyclefan94, these guys (footballers) cannot be publicly applauded and behave like morons off the field. That means no recreational drugs. Big Dell did two years. Two years at 33 year of age. That is a killer for most people. For what, a line of blow! EPO users get less. That is Super 14s. Switch over to AFL and they don't notify anyone until you test positive a second time. No press time, no media releases that a player from a team has been busted. Look at Warnie. One year ban for a diuretic. A weight loss pill he took for nothing more than self gratification...vanity.

The AFL 3 strike system protects people. Do the big bosses expect any reasonable person to believe that if a star player randomly tests positive once, the system that relies on that man's success will just hand him over and allow him to test positive, not once, but on two more occasions? Then there is the social cost of recreational drugs. The name recreational is wrong. Ben Cousins OD in the US. Another player OD in Vegas in an off season team vacation three years back. He was a Weagle as well. Look what happens when you have a lax team etiquette protocol. Cousins is booted for a year and you loose a guy like Chris Judd. The Weagles have Big Cox and Daniel Kerr left. They are nerfed. I bet they regret it. They are in the bottom half of the comp three years after being in the top 3 with back to back finals.

Testing needs to be like auditing. Remove the safety net and make people accountable. Not just for one sport, but for all sports. If the League gets to dish out punishment or determine guilt then they do not remain impartial, but biased. Remove it and place the power to test and then sanction in a separate body. Some of the stories of doping are scary in aussie sport. I've heard of guys getting stuff from veterinarians. I cannot wait for the day I hear of someone using high grade beaver tranquillisers and moose testosterone. That stuff will beat blood doping any day. Cause I've heard just about every other tale there is to hear for a competitive edge in syringe form.

Good old Chad "Flatline" Fletcher. The white stuff in Vegas is a bit better than the scraps he got out in Perth.

I'm not sure I follow your line and where you link their excessive recreational habits with matchday PEDs. Or are you just using it as an example of how positives for genuine PEDs will be dealt with (i.e hush hush).

The AFL's recreational drug policy is hilarious and in itself, damaging to their reputation. A one strike policy with a couple of sacrificial lambs would make them look serious. I don't care for the whole "role model" rubbish (obviously the media does) and don't really care if Cuz is coming around with a big bag of horse chuff - but that system is rubbish. There are many players who have had 2 strikes, but why no 3? They automatically give up their lifestyle after their 2nd notice?

 

[craig1985]

The way I see it will be that a no name will get busted but no big name. Again like the UCI bio passport.

 

[42x16ss]

The way I see it will be that a no name will get busted but no big name. Again like the UCI bio passport.

I can't wait for the amount of "short-term injuries" that will turn up during the season in both codes, AFL in particular. Not that NRL is any less demanding, just that AFL needs a higher level of aerobic fitness and the distances covered are usually greater.

 

[auscyclefan94]

We need more honest sportsman. I have no education,you don't care about my character or criminal record.I can ride a bike up a hill,or smash a guys skull or whack the wicket. I do blow and will sleep in any bed I am invited to...role model? We should keep the standards for sportsman as low or lower than the rest of the population. Just one drug test at a Fourtune 500 or at a top high school would bring the sky falling in if there was some kind of punishment.These clowns don't turn in a resume,they are good at a sport,no moral compass.The fans and sponsors are only strong enough for a verbal handjob. They all turn on the TV to watch and buy super high priced tickets to see the terrible men battle each other on the playing field never minding the drugs and hookers the guy left in his penthouse suite. Athletes not role models.

Personally, PED's or recreational drugs, the guys that use it should get a ban. I know cycling has had its problems over the years but the athletes still work hard and are very disciplined and get scrutinised a lot more. The way afl players act and behave and the privledges they get is disgusting. These players also have a duty of care to their sponsors so you can't let them go around puffing drugs. The people who pay the memberships to these clubs also deserve that their players don't give the club a bad name. Why would/should they support a crack addict? Why should they support a womanizer? Why should they support a alchoholic? All the privledges they get they can at least conduct themselves better.

 

[rgmerk]

The way afl players act and behave and the privledges they get is disgusting. These players also have a duty of care to their sponsors so you can't let them go around puffing drugs. The people who pay the memberships to these clubs also deserve that their players don't give the club a bad name. Why would/should they support a crack addict? Why should they support a womanizer? Why should they support a alchoholic? All the privledges they get they can at least conduct themselves better.

Auscyclefan, AFL players are human, and they are young men, the group with by far the highest rate of recreational drug use, including the most harmful drug of all, alcohol. I strongly suspect the rates of drug use amongst AFL players are much lower than the general rates amongst men in their 20's. And this "role model" concept leads to a very, very slippery slope. Would you randomly drug test all school teachers and university lecturers? How about every parent? How about all the Year 12 kids in high school? When it comes to role models, they're a hell of a lot more direct than AFL footy players.

Yes, the uncritical idolization of a bunch of immature gits, often with little self discipline, gives me the ****s to. But drug testing just perpetuates the real problem - that AFL clubs mollycoddle their players, particularly their stars. Make them responsible for their own actions. Don't let clubs and managers act as de facto parents.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Auscyclefan, AFL players are human, and they are young men, the group with by far the highest rate of recreational drug use, including the most harmful drug of all, alcohol. I strongly suspect the rates of drug use amongst AFL players are much lower than the general rates amongst men in their 20's. And this "role model" concept leads to a very, very slippery slope. Would you randomly drug test all school teachers and university lecturers? How about every parent? How about all the Year 12 kids in high school? When it comes to role models, they're a hell of a lot more direct than AFL footy players.

Yes, the uncritical idolization of a bunch of immature gits, often with little self discipline, gives me the ****s to. But drug testing just perpetuates the real problem - that AFL clubs mollycoddle their players, particularly their stars. Make them responsible for their own actions. Don't let clubs and managers act as de facto parents.

They choose to be AFL players, they choose to put themselves in the public eye, they choose to play and represent a club so they should have some responsibility of not tarnishing the image of their club and the afl itself.

We''ll agree to disagree

 

[Galic Ho]

Good old Chad "Flatline" Fletcher. The white stuff in Vegas is a bit better than the scraps he got out in Perth.

I'm not sure I follow your line and where you link their excessive recreational habits with matchday PEDs. Or are you just using it as an example of how positives for genuine PEDs will be dealt with (i.e hush hush).

The AFL's recreational drug policy is hilarious and in itself, damaging to their reputation. A one strike policy with a couple of sacrificial lambs would make them look serious. I don't care for the whole "role model" rubbish (obviously the media does) and don't really care if Cuz is coming around with a big bag of horse chuff - but that system is rubbish. There are many players who have had 2 strikes, but why no 3? They automatically give up their lifestyle after their 2nd notice?

The second part of your 2nd paragraph was where I was heading...how positives will be dealt with. It is very hard to prove, even for a researcher/academic who can put the time into a study to find solid evidence for the first part. Nothing conclusive would be proven, more a case of some do, others do not. But on an economic side, if you can afford crack in this country you can afford a strong PED program. A kilo of cocaine in Australia is apparently worth almost 4 or 5 times what it is in the US right now.

Everyone is doing it in Sydney. Ok, not everyone, but more than should be. My mate works for a top 5 accounting firm. Heck, you can figure out which one from that statement alone (accountants know and always refers to the top 4 as the "Big 4, so figure out who is next on the list) and works for the finance department. His boss brings in $300K a year. They work long hours. His boss churns through work like nobodies business. He makes it look easy doing 60 hours with little rest. Cocaine is his pickup. It allows him to function for extended periods of time. They need to. Math related finance is not always easy to do. You have to concentrate and focus. Cocaine extends you ability to do that. Oh and all the cool kids are doing it.

My mate cannot afford to do that. He doesn't earn enough. He has joked about going round to his bosses house and cocaine is lying around on the coffee table in bags. His other boss (or maybe it is the same one) married the daughter of a well known Aussie Sportsman/Personality. Hubbie and the Wifey have cocaine addictions. Serious enough to be hospitalised for an addiction. I can guarantee you look at the Black Book of Ita Buttrose nephew (big wig crack dealer in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, aka, to the rich and famous) and you will name and shame big people. Half the people in Sydney in a high end management/executive role will have some form of drug addiction. They have to get through their work.

The problem is, most people have not put two and two together and think drug abuse is a fringe problem. It isn't. Recreational drugs are very serious. Heck, you know all those cooking shows and chefs? I have another mate who moved back to Bondi. He is a chef. He left because the industry, chefs/cooks, abuse hard recreational drugs in Sydney. He went back after 18 months away from the scene. Think about that the next time you see "My Kitchen Rules" or "Master Chef." Half the guest chefs probably employ drug addicts. Further, some of the drug task forces in NSW have said the major dealing grounds are in restaurant kitchens. Store the drugs in the kitchen and hand them over to couriers. Nobody suspected a thing. The ruse is up. Sadly, most people don't listen or when they hear about such things, dismiss them as preposterous ramblings of fanatics and nay-sayers.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Don't you believe in miracles? They just train harder than every other athlete in the world

Good old Chad "Flatline" Fletcher. The white stuff in Vegas is a bit better than the scraps he got out in Perth.

I'm not sure I follow your line and where you link their excessive recreational habits with matchday PEDs. Or are you just using it as an example of how positives for genuine PEDs will be dealt with (i.e hush hush).

The AFL's recreational drug policy is hilarious and in itself, damaging to their reputation. A one strike policy with a couple of sacrificial lambs would make them look serious. I don't care for the whole "role model" rubbish (obviously the media does) and don't really care if Cuz is coming around with a big bag of horse chuff - but that system is rubbish. There are many players who have had 2 strikes, but why no 3? They automatically give up their lifestyle after their 2nd notice?

So why do you think they should get punished then for taking recreational drugs?