What's the Buzz - Australia's best sports gossip with The Sunday Telegraph's Phil Rothfield

THE NRL and ASADA have known about a major drug problem in the sport for more than 15 years. Don't miss Australia's best sports gossip.

Wayne Bennett

THE NRL and ASADA have known about a major drug problem in the sport for more than 15 years.

This newspaper splashed it over the front page of the sports section in a headline point-size impossible to miss.

'A POLL THAT WILL ROCK RUGBY LEAGUE TO ITS FOUNDATIONS'

Adam Hawse and Cameron Bell conducted the poll of 100 NRL stars in June 1998. Not the usual anonymous survey but one where the players actually put their names forward. It found that 25 per cent of the players were convinced performance-enhancing drugs were in widespread use across the code.

“In a survey that will send shock waves through the sport, nearly one in three players regularly use body building drugs,” it was reported.

At the time, former Balmain Tigers stalwart Neil Whittaker was chief executive of the NRL, not long after the Super League war.

Testing in those days was hardly consistent with 22 of the 100 players admitting that they hadn’t been tested in more than 12 months.

Others such as Panthers forward Matt Adamson revealed he had been tested 10 times in one season.

It’s a shame the NRL and ASADA didn’t take it more seriously when the alarm bells were ringing all those years ago.

It’s not a bad starting point to have so many players admitting to a problem.

Players  such as league Immortal Andrew Johns used party drugs for much of his career and got away with it.Just a handful of players were caught in those days, including Robbie O’Davis, Wayne Richards and Rodney Howe.

A few years later, Andrew Walker, Craig Field and Kevin McGuinness were done for party drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy.

In those days, anabolic steroids were all the rage and no one had ever heard of peptides.

We almost certainly wouldn’t have this current ASADA scandal to deal with if the game and the drug testing agency had been more vigilant back then.

RENEE'S A DALLY M KNOCKOUT

Renee Gartner

SHE is the daughter of a Manly rugby league legend who mixes the glamour and style of fashion with the power and punch of boxing.

Meet Renee Gartner, daughter of Russel, who is showing off the stunning outfit she will be wearing to Tuesday night’s Dally M Awards.

The former Gold Coast Titans media director and television sports commentator has now turned her hand (or fists) to boxing.

Renee took up boxing a year ago and won her first state amateur boxing title last weekend — the NSW welterweight. It was only her second competition.

She will be doing her next fight in November at the NSW Open Titles at Richmond.

She is a fanatical Manly fan and was MC at Anthony Watmough’s wedding.

Her dad didn’t get to see her fight last weekend but plans to watch the next one.

PANTHERS, DOGS SHOW THAT FOOTY PLAYERS REALLY DO HAVE A HEART

THIS time of year we’re normally reading about footy players disgracing themselves on Mad Monday or end-of-season trips.

A lot of the great work NRL stars do often gets lost in the backwash. Both Bulldogs and Panthers players have spent time in recent weeks with some seriously ill young fans.

We’ll start with the Panthers. brooke Fretwell, 14, is fighting cancer. The Panthers found out about it through an email from her godfather. Ten players turned up to Westmead Children’s Hospital and gathered around her bed.

“It’s been a little while since Brooke has smiled that much,” said Joe Verzi, her godfather.

"The players were absolutely fantastic. Please let people know. I can’t commend them enough. Some of the players have even made inquiries about coming back to see her.”

The Bulldogs have a long relationship with Camp Quality.Nathaniel Micallef is just two. He was diagnosed in March this year with Ewings Sarcoma (a childhood cancer of the bone).

the Bulldogs invited his family to the final game of the season and into the dressing sheds afterwards.

The players treated him like one of their own.

In another week when drugs have dominated the headlines in the sports pages, we can’t get enough of the feel-good yarns that these guys have provided.

130925 S Gary Ablett

SAINT: SUPERSTAR Gary Ablett is a wonderful advertisement for the AFL. His Brownlow Medal acceptance speech was all style and so humble. The runner-up Joel Selwood was outstanding, too. Let’s hope the NRL boys deliver as well at the Dally Ms on Tuesday night.

SINNER: ANY suggestions the Cronulla Sharks should be relocated to Queensland are absurd. Membership, sponsorship, hospitality, merchandise and crowds all increased this year to record levels. And unlike many of their rivals, there has been no need to get a cash advance from the NRL.

Growth will be the key to any club’s long-term survival. The club is guaranteed $28 million from development sales in the next five years and $500,000-a-year from shopping centre rental. They are safer than a Todd Carney kick from in front.

BOSS IN EARL’s COURT
Dave Smith has  joined Twitter and picked up thousands of followers in his first few days. One of the  players he started following immediately was banned Canberra Raiders winger Sandor Earl.

SPOTTED

THE great Ken Arthurson made a rare trip from the Gold Coast to the football on Friday night to watch Manly’s stirring semi-final victory over the Rabbitohs. Interestingly, he chose to sit in a private suite with majority shareholders Rick and Scott Penn, not with Quantum or football club officials.

South Sydney’s part-owner Peter Holmes a Court also returned from overseas for the big game.

FOOTY SHOW REVIVAL

THE 2013 Dally M Comeback of the Year award goes to The Footy Show. Executive producer Glenn Pallister has turned a stale old show into must-watch television with the right mixture of fun, footy, and brilliant interviews such as Sandor Earl and Sonny Bill Williams.

BLAKE’S FIGHT NIGHT

BLAKE Ferguson is now certain to fight on the undercard of Anthony Mundine v Shane Mosley at the Sydney Entertainment centre on October 23. ”He goes all right and dad will be in his corner,” Mundine said.
Match makers are in the process on finding him an opponent.

TIME WARP

GOT a quiet Sunday afternoon with nothing to do? Head out to Leichhardt Oval to watch the Sharks’ NSW Cup team in their grand final qualifier against the North Sydney Bears. It’s a 3pm kick-off, like the good old days.

A GRAND GESTURE
AMELIA Telford is an incredibly talented young  woman from northern NSW who is passionate about climate change.

She has just returned from climbing the Himalayas as part of her role as the Indigenous Engagement Co-ordinator for the Australian Youth Climate Coalition. She is also Storm centre Will Chambers’ first cousin. Amelia has been nominated for the NRL’s Learn Earn Legend Award which is part of the 2013 One Community Awards on September 30, kicking off NRL grand final week.

*****

WESTS' BRAND HOT PROPERTY

IN another boost for the Wests Tigers, property tycoon Harry Triguboff  has renewed his sponsorship with the struggling club.

Triguboff has become one of league’s longest and most loyal sponsors, renewing his deal for 12 months. CEO Grant Mayer is a commercial expert who is making a big difference at the Tigers.

Wayne Bennett

BENNY'S A SHINING KNIGHT

WAYNE Bennett is going nowhere according to Nathan Tinkler’s right-hand man, Troy Palmer.

The boss of Hunter Sports Group describes reports that the super coach will leave the Knights as “pure, utter rubbish and absolute bulls…”

I also spoke to Palmer on Friday about Tinkler’s commitment to the club given his recent financial struggles.

“Nathan is absolutely committed to the Knights long term,” he said.

“He’s doing this for Newcastle. The town hasn’t been this excited for more than a decade.

“His commitment is rock-solid.”

Sandor and Karl

SNEAK PEAK AT SANDOR TAPES

PHILLIP Ronald Gould was so concerned about the Sandor Earl interview on Channel Nine that he drove into the network the day before to catch a sneak preview.

Penrith came out of the interview poorly, with Earl confirming the club had paid the bills for his peptides and that he had been introduced to sport scientist Stephen Dank while he was at Panthers training. If Earl gets four years, it’s a disgrace. He deserves six months for naivety.

Kangaroos

KANGAROOS SPLIT DOWN STATE LINES

THERE is very strong mail that a number of NSW players are not keen on playing for the Kangaroos in the upcoming World Cup.

Why? Because they don’t get on with the Queensland players following a falling out last year.

This is potentially the biggest interstate split in the Aussie team since Terry Fearnley’s ill-fated New Zealand tour in 1985.

SMASH REPAIRS FOR KINGS STAR

IT’S been a forgettable week for Sydney Kings basketball skipper Ben Madgen.

On Thursday, he brought Sydney traffic to a standstill on his way to training at my old school, Trinity Grammar.

A car ran up the back of Madgen’s vehicle in peak hour on Old Canterbury Road, creating a massive traffic jam.

Damage was so bad the car was towed away and the captain was late for training.

NO BENJI BUT TIGERS A HIT

WHO needs Benji Marshall?

The Wests Tigers put season tickets and 2014 membership on sale last  week and transactions were up eight per cent year on year.

It’s not bad for a team that ran 15th and is moving to ANZ Stadium next year.

We’re also hearing Braith Anasta is determined to have one more season at the Tigers to help out with a young roster.

A-GRADE START TO A SUPER SEASON

A-LEAGUE players and clubs are leading the way when it comes to media accessibility. Every club has committed to sending its entire squad to Sydney over the past month and spent three hours at the Fox Sports studios putting together promotions for the host broadcaster.

Sydney FC and Perth Glory are the final two clubs to go through tomorrow and we hear there is some very funny material.