Pom_81
Kennel Enthusiast
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2010
- Messages
- 3,380
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Quite likely.Lets guess how this will play out: Nobody will be persued as an individual and it'll all get swept under the carpet as if it never occurred. ASADA will look like a farce/toothless tiger, and everyone in 6 months will have forgotten they even existed.
I'm going to quote from my own post back when this broke (Feb 2013). I'm still thinking the same and one year of Kenting and Weidlering hasn't convinced me otherwise.
I'm going to stick my neck out here. Feel free to quote this back to me in a few months times when I've been proven badly wrong.
I really doubt this investigation will come to anything like as much as it is promising. I'm not saying that there will be no consequences, but the rhetoric out of it is suggesting that cataclysmic changes are coming and that everything will be perfect afterwards.
Thoughts:
1) If any code has anything to fear, it's the AFL more than the NRL, ARU or FFA. I'm not saying that dubious practices are any more common there than in other games, simply that they've managed their image superbly (and had a very soft drugs policy that a genius like Ben Cousins managed to always get around) and much of that is likely due to damage minimisation from the all-controlling fingers of Andrew Demetriou. Look at how Rugby League responded to the (admittedly criminal) actions of Ryan Tandy. Look at how the AFL dealt with a few "inside knowledge" betting plunges on surprise first goalscorers recently. In terms of image, they have further to fall. Much of the AFL's success is built on the back of a "superiority factor" over other codes - a nebulous concept, but one that's worth billions. Speak to an average AFL supporter and they regard Rugby League as a game played by criminals and sexual deviants whereas AFL is played by blue collar harmless larrikins. Had something like the St Kilda schoolgirl scandal happened in the NRL, it would have been "typical Rugby League" rather than a minor isolated case.
2) I doubt any players from any code will be singled out, unless they are off the scale in terms of doping. If it's as widespread as suggested, they're hardly going to suspend 15 players from each club. A club would have to be doping massively more than others, or have rogue individuals for anything much to happen.
3) Both the AFL and NRL have signed $1bn+ TV deals. Money talks and unless the scandals are utterly unavoidable, they're not going to drop a nuclear bomb on the prize investments.
4) The Dogs should have nothing to fear based on the fact Des worked with Dank at Manly. If he's not worked for the Dogs, that's surely the end of it. At best, Des would plead ignorance saying you'd trust medical professionals. At worst, he'd get some minor sanction but not the club.
5) This commission is clearly promising too much. It's confusing three very different issues - recreational drugs (a problem with drug procedures, but not to the game's integrity), performance enhancing drugs (a serious issue) and match fixing (an out and out criminal issue with ties to organised crime).
6) Match fixing is a whole different league to the other issues and one that cannot be dismissed or buried to protect TV deals. That must, and likely will, be dealt with if it's found.
