Cronulla Sharks star Todd Carney opens up on 'lame' drugs rumours

CRONULLA star Todd Carney this morning opened up about the nightmare he faced in dealing with rumours linking him to drug use.

CRONULLA star Todd Carney this morning opened up about the nightmare he faced in dealing with rumours linking him to recreational drug use.

The NSW State of Origin halfback revealed:

•         THE rumours only had a minor impact on his playing ability;

•         MOTHER Leanne was told of the rumours by an unidentified person over the phone;

•         HE is determined not to let the situation destabilise his team's charge towards the finals; and

•         HE has no idea who started the stinging accusations.

Ahead of his team's clash with Newcastle on Monday night at Hunter Stadium, Carney labelled the rumours "stupid" and "lame".

"I was quite shocked for someone to make up something like that," Carney said.

"I Tweeted the other week that surely they can think of something a lot better. It was just stupid because I hadn't been tested in that time. I hadn't been tested since February and it was just wrong. And as [coach Shane Flanagan] Flano said it was disgraceful.

"It was a bit of a bother, not too much from my side. It's more when you get phone calls from close friends, and I can deal with those, but then when sponsors start calling it starts interfering with the club.

"Enough was enough. It's been going on for a while now as most people know. Hopefully it is dead and buried.

"To get a phone call late at night from my mum, because she had a phone call from someone, I don't even know how they would have got her number, to tell her, that's the worst bit when it gets your family involved.

"I kept it from her because I knew it wasn't true and I didn't want her to worry about it."

Dealing with the rumours since State of Origin Game II, Carney said he decided to put a halt to rumours once club sponsors, friends and family began getting involved.

He said he spoke to several officials at the Sharks, including Flanagan, football operations manager Darren Mooney and agent David Riolo before deciding to confront the rumours head on.

"I rang a lot of people to find out what I should do and their response was just to leave it and let it go, but then it would go away for a week and then it would come back," he said.

"I knew it was never true and so did the club. The club rang me straight away when they first heard it and I was honest and straight forward straight away. I'm glad it's hopefully over."

Carney first confronted the rumours on Twitter on July 26, posting "Surely people could come up with a better rumor than what I'm hearing at the moment. It's almost as good as pigs can fly #enwhatsnextimpregnant".

In the wake of Carney's match-winning display in his side's 45-4 crushing of the Warriors on Sunday, Flanagan issued an impromptu plea for the "scandalous" rumours to cease.

"There's been a lot of rumour and speculation going on about Todd in his last six weeks since Origin," he said.

"It's been totally unfair, it's been incorrect and it's scandalous that it's gone on."

"It's affecting him, his family and sponsors of the club so it's not fair.

"The way Todd played today, to score two tries and kick all those goals, is a credit to his mental toughness and his attitude."