James Segeyaro is likely to face an NRL anti-doping tribunal in coming weeks. His ability to play rugby league again will be on the line after Sports Integrity Australia recommended that Segeyaro receive a four-year ban for returning a positive test to LGD 4033, better known as Ligandrol.
The NRL anti-doping tribunal has the power to reduce that sanction in certain circumstances. Among those circumstances is if there is no significant fault or negligence by the athlete concerned.
In that situation, the sanction can vary from a reprimand to a maximum of two years out of the sport.
This is where things get interesting for Segeyaro. The former Brisbane and Cronulla hooker tested positive for Ligandrol — the same substance that has sidelined swimmer Shayna Jack — late last year.
Since then, he and his legal team have been getting their ducks in a row as they attempt to clarify how the substance found its way into Segeyaro’s system. Segeyaro, 29, believes he ingested Ligandrol via the blender he shared with his housemate in Brisbane. The cynics out there would suggest Segeyaro is clutching at straws.
Yet Weekend Read has seen the statement provided to Sports Integrity Australia, formerly the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Agency, by Segeyaro’s former housemate. It describes in great detail how and why the flatmate got his hands on LGD 4033.
He says after he moved into the apartment that he eventually shared with Segeyaro, he was exhausted and had lost about 10-15kg due to injuries he had suffered while working in the Australian Defence Force.
“I had not been training and felt really unhealthy for about a month and not eating right,” he said in his statement.
“So to get back to trying to feel better and train I needed to try something to get back my appetite. A guy I knew at the gym told me about this LGD.
“He said that the LGD should work for me and help me out.”
He said he started using Ligandrol two or three times a week, at first taking a scoop of the powder directly into his mouth before he became repulsed by the taste. He then started mixing it with other substances.
“I would mix this in a blender I bought for that purpose to mix all my pre-workout drinks and supplements,” he said.
The blender was purchased from JB Hi-FI for $99.
“The drinks I made up varied each time from when it was either before training or after training or I would even make up a smoothie,” he said.
“I would add the water to the blender container and then either the protein powder, or whatever supplement I was taking at the time, and then also fruit every now and then.
“I would add the LGD 4033 in last. I would then blend the ingredients for about 20-30 seconds. All the powders would be pretty much dissolved after mixing it in the blender.”
As well as LGD 4033, he also said he used protein, C4 — pre-workout, L-tryptophan and acetyl-L-Carnitine. Crucially, he distanced Segeyaro from any use of Ligandrol.
“I did know James was a rugby league player who played for the Brisbane Broncos, but I did not know him personally until he moved into my apartment,” he said.
“As James was sharing my apartment he was free to use the blender as he wished. I know he did use it from time to time as I could hear it going, but I had no idea how much he used it when I was not at home.
“I used the LGD 4033 for my own use and did not share it with anyone else including James. When James was overseas he phoned me and told me that he had tested positive to Ligandrol (this was some time at the start of October 2019).
“He said ASADA did a test on him and that’s what was found. I did not know what Ligandrol was so I Googled it the same time as I was talking to James.
“That‘s when I released Ligandrol was LGD 4033. I told James I had been taking that. He asked me how and I told him it was through the blender.
“I told James I wanted to help him out, as I felt accountable as I brought him into my house and now he has lost his job.”
As for the blender, he says he threw it out.
“The metal blade was getting a bit old and rusty and after the impact of James testing positive I did not want it around anymore,” he said.
While he may not have the blender, he has supplied SIA with an invoice for the appliance at the centre of the drama.
He has also supplied SIA with an invoice for his purchase of LGD from a company called Redback SARMS Australia. The bottle cost $85.
Segeyaro’s future hangs on the testimony of a man he met only a matter of weeks after joining the Broncos. A four-year sentence would be the death knell on his career. Two years or less would at least leave him with some hope.
Harawira-Naera signs
Corey Harawira-Naera was finally confirmed as a Canberra player on Friday morning. His move to the nation’s capital has given coach Ricky Stuart more ammunition and created a question mark over the immediate playing future of Curtis Scott.
Harawira-Naera is likely to slot into one of the edge back-row spots, opposite Elliott Whitehead. With John Bateman closing in on a return from a shoulder problem, the Raiders suddenly have a surfeit of edge backrowers.
It means Stuart could look to play Bateman in the centres, a position he has filled in the past for both club and country. That, in turn, is likely to put a squeeze on the centre positions and could make it hard for Scott to force his way back into the starting side.
Scott’s form has suffered this season due to a court hearing that has shadowed him since January.
His previous club Melbourne is paying part of his wage this year and next.
It means Scott is an attractive proposition should he decide to cut his losses and put himself back on the market.
Meanwhile, Harawira-Naera’s signing at the Raiders has been more than a month in the making, although discussions reached the pointy end in recent weeks.
Those close to Harawira-Naera insist that he has learned a thing or two from the dramas at the Bulldogs and Canberra is the best place for him to rebuild his career.
Generous Panthers
Interim Warriors coach Todd Payten didn’t miss some of his rival clubs this week as he spoke about their reluctance to loan players to the embattled Aucklanders.
Payten didn’t name names, but it is understood the Warriors have been particularly frustrated with North Queensland, Parramatta and St George Illawarra.
There have been some clubs who have gone out of their way to lend the Warriors a helping hand and their recruitment guru Peter O’Sullivan wanted to send some praise their way.
Penrith coach Ivan Cleary and head of football Matt Cameron have bent over backwards to help the Warriors, allowing Jack Hetherington to extend his loan deal with the club.
The Sydney Roosters have also done what they can, allowing the Warriors to borrow Poasa Faamausili for a period this season.
“We couldn’t be more appreciative of Matt Cameron and Ivan Cleary and the way they have gone about it,” O’Sullivan said.
“They have promised us that Jack can stay with us for another month. It shows you the loan system can work and we couldn’t be more grateful to Penrith.”
Jennings to stay an Eel
Michael Jennings appeared on the radar of rival clubs earlier this week. But no sooner had he appeared, he was gone.
Jennings had an option in his deal with the Eels for next season but has now had his contract extended until the end of 2022.
The 32-year-old has been in vintage form for the high-flying Eels and they clearly believe he has another two years in him.
readb@newsltd.com.au
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