Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga says he will sack any Australian player caught using cocaine

KANGAROOS coach Mal Meninga has called for life bans under a beefed-up NRL drugs policy and warned he will sack any Australian player caught using cocaine.

Mal Meninga won’t accept any excuses. (AAP Image/Paul Miller)

KANGAROOS coach Mal Meninga has called for life bans under a beefed-up NRL drugs policy and warned he will sack any Australian player caught using cocaine.

Meninga urged the NRL to ramp-up their fight against illicit drugs, insisting there were “no excuses” for rugby league’s biggest stars to be dabbling in drugs.

Meninga also backed New Zealand’s axing of Kevin Proctor and Jesse Bromwich for the World Cup, outlining a similar zero-tolerance stance on drugs for his Kangaroos regime.

Under the NRL’s illicit drugs policy, players who return one positive test are ordered to undergo counselling, with a second strike resulting in a 12-match ban.

But under Meninga’s plan, a first-time drug offender would be fined and banned for three months. A second drug-related indiscretion would see the player’s NRL contract torn up.

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Mal Meninga won’t accept any excuses. (AAP Image/Paul Miller)

“If you’ve brought the game into disrepute, you should cop the consequences,” Meninga told The Courier-Mail.

“Call me harsh, call me old-fashioned, but the game needs a stronger stance. The NRL’s drugs policy is too lenient because players keep doing it.

“We need a real deterrent. The first offence is you don’t play the game for 12 weeks and if you do it again, you should be deregistered.

“If a player can’t do the right thing by the game, armed with all the education the NRL provides, they shouldn’t be in our game.

“As soon as a player signs a contract with the National Rugby League, they are accountable for their behaviour. That’s where we need to take this.

“It’s a generalisation to say all NRL players don’t behave. It’s probably 1 per cent of the game that steps out of line, but if they do, the game should come down harshly on them.

“Players can’t claim to be in the dark. They understand the risks they take, they know the harmful effects it has on the game so don’t get into drugs — simple as that.

“There are no excuses in my eyes.”

Proctor, who has resigned as Titans captain, will front the Gold Coast board on Wednesday night following allegations he and Bromwich used cocaine after the Anzac Test last Friday night.

The pair have been stripped of Kiwi jumpers for the end-of-season World Cup and Meninga says any Kangaroos player caught using drugs will face a similar fate.

Meninga has already taken a hard line stance on disciplinary standards, overlooking Andrew Fifita and Semi Radradra for last year’s Four Nations over off-field dramas.

Proctor mistake will serve as an example. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

“Taking drugs is against the Kangaroos’ core value systems,” Meninga said.

“If any player transgresses (by using drugs), they will give someone else an opportunity to play for Australia.

“Once you put the Australian jersey on, you accept a role-model status for rugby league.

“The Kangaroos players I’ve brought in, I’ve made it clear, if you want to wear this jersey, you have to make sure you do the right thing and do everything you can to protect the game.

“Taking drugs is illegal. Society says you can’t do it, so why should we tolerate it in our game? It’s time individuals took responsibility for doing the right thing.”