NRL news: RLPA slams NRL target testing Knights stars Kalyn Ponga and Kurt Mann
Players union boss Clint Newton has labelled the NRL’s target-testing of Knights stars Kalyn Ponga and Kurt Mann as an “unmatched” breach of confidence and abuse of process.
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The players union has warned that they may abandon the game’s illicit drug testing policy after claiming that the target testing of Newcastle pair Kalyn Ponga and Kurt Mann was an unmatched breach of confidence and abuse of process.
Ponga and Mann were targeted for drug testing by the NRL integrity unit after footage emerged at the weekend of the pair leaving a toilet cubicle together at a Newcastle hotel.
The NRL integrity unit launched an investigation into the incident and used the illicit testing policy to target the pair for testing.
The results of the tests are expected to remain confidential under the game’s rug testing regime but Rugby League Players Association chief executive Clint Newton warned the very process of conducting the tests had been an abuse of the existing regime.
“I have seen a lot of game firsts in the last few weeks and I think this is one of them, where I think is an unmatched breach of confidence and an irrefutable abuse of the clear process set out in the NRL’s testing policy,” Newton said.
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“This is an outdated policy when we have been banging on about wanting to review this policy for nearly a decade.
“This was meant to be reviewed since 2015. It continually gets kicked down the road. Maybe it is time to kick the policy out the door, particularly if it is going to be used in this way.
“Serious questions need to be asked about how this has unfolded and why a video of this nature, which has potentially been recorded illegally, has been enough evidence to warrant target testing.
“Is that the new threshold? This is just ridiculous on all levels.
“This is meant to be done on a confidential basis and it hasn’t. So therefore you have to now start asking serious questions about the trust and confidence in the integrity unit’s process here.
“It is unnecessary. No doubt the players have put themselves in a position that there is a level of judgment towards the players. But now there isn’t a presumption of innocence because they have effectively target-tested them.
“This is fantasy land. I thought we were operating in the human being business.
“Apparently we are not.”
Ponga and Mann were recorded on Saturday night only hours after the Knights loss to Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium. Ponga was sidelined as he recovered from a series of concussions while Mann was unavailable for the game due to a soft tissue injury.
News Corp revealed the pair were out celebrating Ponga’s purchase of a new home earlier that day. It is understood they watched the game at home and were only at the hotel in question for 30 minutes.
Earlier on Wednesday, NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo was asked whether he was concerned that drugs may have been involved.
“No.it’s not a concern for that drugs were maybe involved,” Abdo said.
“They (The integrity unit) will do everything they deem reasonable to protect the game and protect the players and stakeholders.
“They have a policy and will adhere to that policy. I would never describe anything we do as a box ticking exercise.
“I think if we have information we need to act on it and do it professionally.”
Abdo insisted the players were not being pre-judged.
“There’s no active breach, no-one is saying they’ve breached the rules,” he said.
“Clearly there’s been a lot of talk and a lot of media publicity around the incident. Our job is to get all the facts and make a determination, and not to pre-judge anything.”
Newton confirmed the RLPA had been in contact with the players and were serious about revolting against the illicit testing regime.
“Absolutely we can,” he said. “We enter into a policy over and above our obligations with Sports Integrity Australia. We need to bring it back to what is the purpose of the policy because I don’t think we are aligned at all.
“Players are the only stakeholder in the game that is prepared to opt into this. They understand the importance of it but based on how this has unfolded, we need to seriously question whether we want to participate in it.”
Knights stars drug tested after toilet cubicle drama
Knights stars Kalyn Ponga and Kurt Mann have been target-tested for illicit drugs by the NRL in the wake of their infamous “toilet cubicle” video.
Testing agents employed by the NRL were sent to Newcastle on Monday where Ponga and Mann were required to provide a urine sample.
As revealed on NRL360 on Fox League on Tuesday, the duo risk being banned under the NRL’s threestrike policy if they return a positive sample. The severity of any penalty depends on whether a positive sample is a first, second or third offence.
It’s been reported that Ponga was feeling ill, leading to Mann aiding his captain inside the cubicle.
Knights’ boss exposes lack of leadership at club
New Knights head of football Peter Parr has taken aim at the playing group saying there has been a “lack of leadership” as he tries to repair the club’s woes on and off the field.
News Corp can reveal the Knights will not strip Kalyn Ponga of the captaincy and will back the Maroons custodian to lead Newcastle out of their season of despair, which suffered another ruction with the toilet-cubicle revelations on Monday.
It can also be revealed Parr will read the riot act to the entire NRL squad following revelations players are turning up to training late and not wearing appropriate club uniform at all times.
The Knights who were still trying to deal with the fallout from the Ponga and Kurt Mann bathroom video were faced with another off-field problem on Tuesday when outside backs Enari Tuala and Bradman Best were stood-down for “not meeting team standards”.
The pair were axed from the NRL after being late for the team bus in Brisbane on Sunday. They will play NSW Cup this weekend.
“They were late for the team bus on Sunday morning,” Parr said. “They weren’t late by a long-period of time. They didn’t meet the standards necessary.”
That follows firebrand prop David Klemmer being suspended for one game earlier this month after an on-field run-in with a trainer.
The Knights will now await word from the NRL’s integrity unit before deciding upon what – if any – punishment will be handed down to Ponga and Mann.
Parr pointed to a widespread issue among the squad.
“There has been a lack of leadership around the playing group,” Parr said. “That’s not all on them.
“It’s a young group – just because you make someone a leader doesn’t mean they are going to grasp leadership straight away.”
Parr’s three non-negotiables during his time as Cowboys football boss were punctuality, dress standards and off-field conduct.
It is understood Knights staff have recently reported a number of infringements concerning players failing to wear the appropriate gear to training. There has also been some minor indiscretions relating to players either turning up late to training or rushing to be on time.
Mann, at the very least, is expected to be sanctioned for drinking alcohol while out of action with a soft tissue injury. The utility is due back for the final game of the season.
Parr said the situation for Ponga – who won’t play again this season because of repeated concussions – was not as clear cut
“(There was) no direction given to Kalyn that he shouldn’t drink,” Parr said. “We haven’t discussed any punishment yet. We don’t have to make any decisions on that yet. The process hasn’t been finalised.”
The one certainty is Parr will back Ponga. The duo first struck up professional ties during the full-back’s tenure at the Cowboys and Parr believes the 24-year-old can develop into the type of leader that made Johnathan Thurston a premiership-winning champion in Townsville.
The Cowboys board wanted to sack Thurston in 2010 following an off-field incident but Parr and then chairman Laurence Lancini fought to save the playmaker.
He responded by leading the Cowboys to the 2015 premiership, and Parr believes Ponga, with the support of the Knights, can spearhead a similar revival in the Steel City.
“ (Thurston) was appointed very young and had some bumps early but turned out to be one of the best leaders in the game,” Parr said.
It is understood Best and Tuala were just six minutes late and had to catch a taxi to the airport to link back up with their teammates.
TOILET CUBICLE VIDEO SENDS KNIGHTS INTO A SPIN
The Knights launched an investigation on Monday morning after a video showing Ponga and teammate Kurt Mann were filmed leaving a toilet cubicle together at the weekend. – which had been in circulation since late on Sunday – was obtained by News Corp.
Various sources close to Ponga and the club confirmed that the Newcastle superstar had told officials he was celebrating the purchase of a new home, had consumed too much alcohol and had become sick, prompting Mann to accompany him to the toilet.
The video shows the pair leaving the cubicle as a security guard from the venue reacts with surprise when he realises that one of the two men is Ponga.
It is understood the incident took place on Saturday night – Ponga purchased a home in the Newcastle beachside suburb of Merewether on Saturday afternoon after bidding $2.4 million at auction.
Later that night, the Knights were in Brisbane to play the Broncos. Ponga and Mann were not part of the travelling party because both are currently sidelined – Mann has been dealing with a quad injury.
The Knights confirmed they were investigating the video in a statement on Monday.
“The Newcastle Knights have been informed of a matter involving current players,” the statement said.
“Knights management has commenced a process to gather all the required facts. Until such time no further comment will be provided.”
The culture at the Knights was already under the microscope following a dismal year on the field and a high-profile incident last week involving forward David Klemmer and trainer Hayden Knowles.
Klemmer and Knowles engaged in an argument during Newcastle’s loss to Canterbury a fortnight ago after the former NSW and Australian prop refused to leave the field.
The club eventually stood down Klemmer for one game. Against that backdrop, the club now finds itself with an issue involving their best and highest-paid player.
Ponga recently returned to full training with the Knights but is not involved in contact work, the club and their captain having made the decision that it is in his best interests not to play again this year.
Players are generally expected to avoid alcohol while they are injured. The optics aren’t good for the Knights and their skipper. While his teammates were slogging it out in Brisbane, Ponga was apparently drinking himself into a stupor.
He was doing it in a public place at the end of a season in which the Knights have won only six games and he has made only 14 appearances.
Newcastle head of football Peter Parr arrived at the Knights to be confronted by the Klemmer situation. He now faces an even more difficult situation as he and coach Adam O’Brien decide whether to strip their fullback of the captaincy.
They have time on their side given Ponga won’t play again this year, having confirmed to Triple M Newcastle on Sunday afternoon that he could have come back for the final round but he and the club had opted to take a conservative approach with his recovery.
“I’d be sweet for the last round but doing no contact for the year, it probably would be a wise thing not to play the last round,” Ponga said.
“My season’s done. It’s a bit weird. I feel OK now. At the start I felt a bit weird, headaches and whatnot, but I feel all right now.
“It’s just hard. I feel OK. I feel fit. I want to play but I guess I’m just going through the protocols at the moment.”
Ponga admitted it was difficult to rationalise the fact that he wouldn’t play again in 2022.
“It is tough,” he said.
“I feel sweet. There’s nothing wrong with me. I can’t feel anything but I just have to trust the process that’s ahead of me.”
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