From www.nzherald.co.nz
By Ruben Wiki
The ugly world of drugs in sport reared its head this week and the most striking thing for me was the fact drug testers knocked on Frank Pritchard's door at 5am.
The Australian anti-doping agency is stepping up its fight against drugs in sports, including league, and there's even talk Frank was one of about 25 guys in Sydney who had early morning wakeup calls.
While I fully support drug testing and weeding out the cheats, I think that often, there is a fine line between doing their job and invading people's privacy.
We're told we need to be available 24/7 but this seems over the top and I believe it should take place in work hours. It's not just the players who are affected by a dawn raid, but their families go through the ordeal.
I have lost count of how many times I have been tested during my career but it must be at least 25. I'm used to it now but it can be quite an anxious time for some players and you hear horror stories of a drug tester following a player around for up to 12 hours.
They don't let you out of their sight in this time and sometimes it's not that easy to get the waterworks flowing, especially straight after a game when you've lost a bucket-load of fluids.
Sometimes it can feel like the testers are targeting you because your number might be drawn out of the hat three times in a row. I'm assured it's randomly selected but it doesn't stop you thinking the drug agency might suspect you of taking drugs when this happens.
Testers turned up to training this week after the anti-doping moves dominated news in Australia and it seems testing could become even more common.
From what I can tell, league is pretty clean and I just hope it stays that way.
I've never been tempted to use drugs and while I can understand sportsmen trying to get an edge on their opponents, I can't condone using drugs.
If players ever asked me for advice, I would say they would be wrecking their career by taking drugs, whether performance enhancing or recreational. It's just not worth it.
Today is a big day for the Warriors. It's our last home game of the season, which means it's the last home game for Awen Guttenbeil and Brent Webb.
These two will leave huge holes when they take off to the UK next season, so it would be good to send them off on the right note.
I have seen a lot of players come and go during my career and I guess I'm used to it now, but it's always a sad time.
Awen and Webby have given a lot to the Warriors and they will be missed both on and off the field.
By Ruben Wiki
The ugly world of drugs in sport reared its head this week and the most striking thing for me was the fact drug testers knocked on Frank Pritchard's door at 5am.
The Australian anti-doping agency is stepping up its fight against drugs in sports, including league, and there's even talk Frank was one of about 25 guys in Sydney who had early morning wakeup calls.
While I fully support drug testing and weeding out the cheats, I think that often, there is a fine line between doing their job and invading people's privacy.
We're told we need to be available 24/7 but this seems over the top and I believe it should take place in work hours. It's not just the players who are affected by a dawn raid, but their families go through the ordeal.
I have lost count of how many times I have been tested during my career but it must be at least 25. I'm used to it now but it can be quite an anxious time for some players and you hear horror stories of a drug tester following a player around for up to 12 hours.
They don't let you out of their sight in this time and sometimes it's not that easy to get the waterworks flowing, especially straight after a game when you've lost a bucket-load of fluids.
Sometimes it can feel like the testers are targeting you because your number might be drawn out of the hat three times in a row. I'm assured it's randomly selected but it doesn't stop you thinking the drug agency might suspect you of taking drugs when this happens.
Testers turned up to training this week after the anti-doping moves dominated news in Australia and it seems testing could become even more common.
From what I can tell, league is pretty clean and I just hope it stays that way.
I've never been tempted to use drugs and while I can understand sportsmen trying to get an edge on their opponents, I can't condone using drugs.
If players ever asked me for advice, I would say they would be wrecking their career by taking drugs, whether performance enhancing or recreational. It's just not worth it.
Today is a big day for the Warriors. It's our last home game of the season, which means it's the last home game for Awen Guttenbeil and Brent Webb.
These two will leave huge holes when they take off to the UK next season, so it would be good to send them off on the right note.
I have seen a lot of players come and go during my career and I guess I'm used to it now, but it's always a sad time.
Awen and Webby have given a lot to the Warriors and they will be missed both on and off the field.
