Xerri to fight for future
Cronulla centre Bronson Xerri will fight to have his four-year ban reduced when he fronts an NRL anti-doping tribunal
Cronulla centre Bronson Xerri is likely to face an anti-doping tribunal before the grand final after notifying the NRL that he wants to fight a four-year ban for breaching the game’s doping protocols.
Xerri failed a drug test in November last year but was only notified of his results in late-May, just before the restart of the competition from the COVID-19 break.
He remains on Cronulla’s payroll and will continue to be paid until the anti-doping panel renders a final decision on his future. The Sharks will receive salary cap dispensation once a final verdict is reached in the case.
Xerri faces an uphill battle to convince the panel that his ban should be reduced after he tested positive for testosterone, resulting in him receiving a provisional four-year suspension.
His lawyer Ramy Qutami is believed to have informed the NRL of the centre’s plans late on Wednesday, having been given a 24-hour extension as he weighed up whether to fight the initial ban.
It shapes as a busy month or so for the anti-doping tribunal – former Sharks hooker James Segeyaro has also opted to front the panel after testing positive to LGD 4033, better known as Ligandrol.
Segeyaro is arguing that he ingested Ligandrol via the blender he shared with his housemate in Brisbane. Xerri is likely to offer a more regulation defence for his actions.
He was tested a matter of weeks after undergoing shoulder surgery and it is understood he suffered a series of setbacks as he attempted to regain full strength.
While he was out of action at the time, Xerri’s only hope for leniency would be to show the panel how the substance got into his system and prove to them that he was not doing it for the purpose of cheating.
Ignorance and stupidity cannot be used as an excuse. The anti-doping code makes it clear that athletes are responsible for what enters their body.
Nor does the success or failure of the prohibited substance matter. It is sufficient that it was simply used. Xerri’s career could hinge on the outcome, although at the age of 19, he is young enough to make it back on the field even if he incurs a four-year ban.
However, he stands a better chance of picking up where he left off if he can have the ban reduced to two years, or potentially less. He will be asked to provide submissions to a panel headed by former high court judge, the honourable Ian Callinan AC QC.
The panel will also include a qualified medical practitioner and a prominent citizen, including a former athlete who has excelled in retirement.
More Coverage
The doping disaster which saw NRL star tackle billion dollar industry
Ten years after his career almost ended prematurely, Raiders star Hudson Young has launched his own supplements company to ensure rising athletes don’t make the same mistake as him.
Storm’s Last Dance? Bellamy plots GF revenge before poaching raid
In what could be his final year in Melbourne, Craig Bellamy has the Storm primed for revenge after last year’s grand final loss. And it may be his last chance before the club is raided by cashed-up rivals.