Sharks ASADA case: Wayne Bennett says Shane Flanagan is to blame for the crisis at Cronulla
NEWCASTLE coach Wayne Bennett has taken aim at suspended Sharks coach Shane Flanagan and his staff, accusing them of being responsible for the fate of the 17 Cronulla players caught up in the ASADA drugs scandal.
The controversy directly impacted Bennett’s Knights today with the club losing key forwards Jeremy Smith and Kade Snowden for the rest of the season after the former Sharks pair accepted guilty pleas along with 15 former teammates for taking banned substances.
Bennett says he feels great sympathy for the banned players, blaming Flanagan and his staff for breaching their duty of care back in 2011.
“Obviously, there was a series of incidents that happened at Cronulla in 2011 that were not player driven, which were coach driven, coaching staff driven,” Bennett said.
“They (the players) got extremely bad advice and they are paying a price for that now which in many ways is unfair.
“But at the same time, it’s the code that we work under, WADA, ASADA, and the drugs, in their opinion, are certainly performance-enhancing.
“They (the players) had their duty of care breached as far as I’m concerned. I feel great sympathy for them.”
Bennett claimed players naturally put their faith in coaches and the staff to do the right thing.
“The people they trust more than anybody else in their lives and in what they do is their coaches and their staff,” Bennett said.
“They were told it wasn’t performance-enhancing. That’s been a constant since this has all happened and their trust has been breached and as a result of that, these men are now paying a price for it.”
Asked does the blame lie with Flanagan and his staff, Bennett said:
“Yeah, the buck stops within the group that told them this was okay to do this.
“I said when this all broke that clubs do not do drugs in mass. Players do not do that. You’ll have individuals that go off and do it but not teams.
“I said at the time the only way that would happen is if coaches had convinced them or staff had convinced them it was okay and not performance enhancing and that’s the way it has panned out.
“There is no way you can get 15 or 17 guys in any club — you tell them exactly what is in the drug and it is performance enhancing — that they would all agree to be a part of that.
“It just wouldn’t happen in any club in this country in any code.”
Bennett has spoken to both Smith and Snowden and has no doubts they were unaware that what they were taking at the time was illegal.
“I can tell you they were assured it was to aid recovery and it was not performance enhancing and I’ve worked with those boys for three years, in Jeremy’s case four, and I trust them as much as I would trust anybody,” Bennett said.
Asked about the welfare of the two players and if they were okay with the guilty plea and the reduced suspension, Bennett said:
“Not really but they have to accept the situation and the reality of it all.”
The same goes for the Newcastle club, Bennett claimed.
“There’s been a lot of instances this year the club’s had nothing to do with but they are playing for our club so we are the face of it so we have to take the medicine like they have to take it.
“It’s disappointing but it will be resolved for them now. At least they can move on with nothing hanging over their heads at the end of the next three months.”
Bennett praised the NRL for the way they have handled the crisis.
“The NRL, to their credit, they have taken action against Cronulla. They’ve fined the club heavily, they have suspended a coach, they’ve suspended a trainer from there as well for a period of 12 months.
“Hopefully, the last part of it all now is ASADA taking action against players and hopefully, we can all move on.”
NEWCASTLE coach Wayne Bennett has taken aim at suspended Sharks coach Shane Flanagan and his staff, accusing them of being responsible for the fate of the 17 Cronulla players caught up in the ASADA drugs scandal.
The controversy directly impacted Bennett’s Knights today with the club losing key forwards Jeremy Smith and Kade Snowden for the rest of the season after the former Sharks pair accepted guilty pleas along with 15 former teammates for taking banned substances.
Bennett says he feels great sympathy for the banned players, blaming Flanagan and his staff for breaching their duty of care back in 2011.
“Obviously, there was a series of incidents that happened at Cronulla in 2011 that were not player driven, which were coach driven, coaching staff driven,” Bennett said.
“They (the players) got extremely bad advice and they are paying a price for that now which in many ways is unfair.
“But at the same time, it’s the code that we work under, WADA, ASADA, and the drugs, in their opinion, are certainly performance-enhancing.
“They (the players) had their duty of care breached as far as I’m concerned. I feel great sympathy for them.”
Bennett claimed players naturally put their faith in coaches and the staff to do the right thing.
“The people they trust more than anybody else in their lives and in what they do is their coaches and their staff,” Bennett said.
“They were told it wasn’t performance-enhancing. That’s been a constant since this has all happened and their trust has been breached and as a result of that, these men are now paying a price for it.”
Asked does the blame lie with Flanagan and his staff, Bennett said:
“Yeah, the buck stops within the group that told them this was okay to do this.
“I said when this all broke that clubs do not do drugs in mass. Players do not do that. You’ll have individuals that go off and do it but not teams.
“I said at the time the only way that would happen is if coaches had convinced them or staff had convinced them it was okay and not performance enhancing and that’s the way it has panned out.
“There is no way you can get 15 or 17 guys in any club — you tell them exactly what is in the drug and it is performance enhancing — that they would all agree to be a part of that.
“It just wouldn’t happen in any club in this country in any code.”
Bennett has spoken to both Smith and Snowden and has no doubts they were unaware that what they were taking at the time was illegal.
“I can tell you they were assured it was to aid recovery and it was not performance enhancing and I’ve worked with those boys for three years, in Jeremy’s case four, and I trust them as much as I would trust anybody,” Bennett said.
Asked about the welfare of the two players and if they were okay with the guilty plea and the reduced suspension, Bennett said:
“Not really but they have to accept the situation and the reality of it all.”
The same goes for the Newcastle club, Bennett claimed.
“There’s been a lot of instances this year the club’s had nothing to do with but they are playing for our club so we are the face of it so we have to take the medicine like they have to take it.
“It’s disappointing but it will be resolved for them now. At least they can move on with nothing hanging over their heads at the end of the next three months.”
Bennett praised the NRL for the way they have handled the crisis.
“The NRL, to their credit, they have taken action against Cronulla. They’ve fined the club heavily, they have suspended a coach, they’ve suspended a trainer from there as well for a period of 12 months.
“Hopefully, the last part of it all now is ASADA taking action against players and hopefully, we can all move on.”
