- Sydney Roosters stars reportedly subjected to target tests
- Four players were wrongly accused of drug use
- Those players reportedly had to undergo drug testing.
The NRL has reportedly tested four Roosters stars wrongly accused of taking illicit substances the night before a game.
Roosters players Terrell May, Brandon Smith, Joseph Suaali’i, Naufahu Whyte, Spencer Leniu and Zach Dockar-Clay appeared in a live video May posted to streaming platform Twitch, featuring footage from just over one hour long.
May was giving away Roosters items to subscribers. However, a heavily edited version of the video went viral, attracting a number of potentially defamatory comments from fans who falsely claimed that some of the players were taking drugs.
Some football fans falsely accused players of taking drugs while off camera in the footage, which has been examined by Daily Mail Australia and shows no evidence of any illegal activity.
Daily Mail Australia does not infer that any person depicted in the video has acted illegally or breached any NRL rules.
NRL reportedly trial four Sydney Roosters stars
Brandon Smith (center) was one of four players wrongly accused after an edited video went viral on social media this week.
The video was an open and happy forum with fans, with the players happily chatting with their followers, sending greetings and giving away merchandise to lucky followers.
The Roosters later criticized the accusation and launched a staunch defense of their players. But Sydney Morning Herald reports that all four stars were scrutinized by the NRL following the episode.
A furious Clint Newton criticized the “abhorrent abuse of power” exercised by the NRL.
“It is an abhorrent abuse of power,” the head of the Rugby League Players’ Association said. ‘The players opt for this policy. If this is the way it will be implemented, we will seriously consider flying it. This is not the way it is intended to be used.’
The NRL has the power to target trial players if it has information relating to possible drug use; however, it depends on the time of year the alleged incident occurred.
Smith, along with former teammates Cameron Munster and Chris Lewis were not tested following their white powder scandal in 2021 because the incident occurred during the off-season, although the trio received a one-match suspension and a total fine of $49,000.
RLPA boss Clint Newton called the NRL’s move an “abhorrent abuse of power”.
Dally M medalist Kalyn Ponga and her Newcastle team-mate Kurt Mann were put on a shooting test in 2022 after a video emerged of them leaving a pub toilet cubicle together. The results of those tests remain confidential.
The most recent example of a targeted test is that of Sharks star Braydon Trindall, who was tested three days after failing a roadside test for illicit drugs and alcohol following their win over North Queensland in the seventh round.
The SMH adds that the NRL has no say over who or when clubs are attacked, and the process is carried out by an independent pathology laboratory.
NRL policy also states that “it should be impossible for an individual player to know how many tests he or she may face” and “the timing of each testing session varies so that players cannot discern any pattern as to when tests will be conducted.” place’.
But Newton demands clarification on the policy.
“Someone in the NRL needs to explain what the threshold of an objective test is because that’s what it was,” he said. “Anyone who says otherwise can also change his name to Pinocchio.”