6 clubs possibly in the firing line....
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/nrl-the-focus-of-crime-commission-report-into-drugs-in-sport/story-e6frexnr-1226574495675
NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell has called on the NRL to name and shame players from the six clubs at the heart of the doping and match fixing scandal.
It follows new revelations that the Australian Crime Commission report is centred mainly on rugby league.
NRL chief executive Dave Smith yesterday reaffirmed the NRL's preference for those involved to come forward of their own accord, either in person or via a specifically designed hotline to ASADA (Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority).
Smith's move came as the The Sunday Telegraph learned last night that six clubs were central to the investigation. Pressure from senior government officials is also mounting over the scandal that has rocked Australian sport - and, in particular, the NRL.
If senior government officials, both at federal and state level, have their way then NRL clubs and the players implicated in the report could be outed as early as next week.
"The (Gillard) government wants players to come forward before the start of the season so fans can be sure that the season won't be overshadowed by this," a senior federal government source said yesterday.
But it was Premier O'Farrell, a Wests Tigers fan, who spoke for every rugby league supporter yesterday.
"If there's a code that's the problem, name it; if there is a team that's the problem, name it; if there's individuals that are specifically problems, name them, target them, investigate them, give them their moment in court and if they're found guilty, throw them out," O'Farrell said.
"This has put an enormous cloud over every sportsperson, sports administrator and team in this country, and I frankly think it's unfair."
In another explosive day for Australia's football codes, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal:
MATCH fixing and illicit drug connections within the NRL are the report's main focus - and authorities are anxious for NRL bosses to reveal the names of clubs under suspicion;
THE NRL convinced other codes to appear at last Wednesday's press conference in Canberra, even though the other sports are far less implicated in the report;
CRIME Commission chief executive officer John Lawler claimed the investigation wasn't a "beat-up" despite NSW Police suggesting there wasn't enough evidence for charges to be laid;
FRUSTRATION is also at fever pitch among the 16 NRL clubs, with club chief executives accusing the NRL of having "all care and no responsibility" over the issue.
As of last night, the NRL was still refusing to shed any light on which clubs or players were involved in the report just 25 days out from season kick-off.
"We deserve to know what imputations the report has on our club, players, staff and our fans," one experienced NRL chief executive told The Sunday Telegraph.
However, after announcing a hotline number for any player or official to call with information yesterday, Smith said he could understand that tension was mounting.
"We remain convinced that the absolute majority of players in our game are doing the right thing for sport and for rugby league," Smith said. "This is, therefore, a difficult time and we accept that there are a lot of unanswered questions and that there are a number of issues that we cannot provide certainty on.
"If any player has any doubts, then the help line may assist. The fact remains that rugby league has been a point of focus in the Australian Crime Commission investigations.
"The Crime Commission has information pertaining to a number of clubs and a number of players and our responsibility is to co-operate with authorities in further investigating that information.
"In the meantime, the more people come forward with information the closer we are to being able to get some certainty for everyone."
The Sunday Telegraph has also learned that the government was blindsided when the AFL decided to out Essendon earlier in the week over their own doping concerns, and urgently brought forward the report's release, which was originally scheduled for March.
That was a decision by federal Sports Minister Kate Lundy, who wanted to go out aggressively with the ACC's findings despite other senior government figures urging her to wait.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/nrls-dirty-half-dozen-named-by-acc/story-fndo28a5-1226574541473
THE drug and corruption scandal enveloping Australian sport has snared six National Rugby League clubs, with the revelation they are named in the Australian Crime Commission's explosive report.
Facing a backlash over the refusal to name implicated clubs and players, ACC chief executive John Lawler said he was working with the individual codes to work out if there was a way for full disclosure to take place.
But Mr Lawler told The Sunday Telegraph the release of club names would have to be within the law, which states there cannot be any adverse impact on a club or individual. While the codes were aware of the clubs involved, they were under strict legal obligations not to release the names publicly, he said.
He said there may be some scope for self-disclosure.
"I will work with the clubs over the weekend and next week to look if there is a way for those clubs to work around those legal constraints," Mr Lawler said. "There is a long way for this to play out yet.
"I am very confident in the report's findings. This is no beat-up. We have sworn testimonies. We have corroborated evidence.
"We have quite a significant amount of intelligence. We are very confident in the findings."
Mr Lawler said he was sympathetic to clubs and players that were in the right, but the purpose of the report was intended to be an "alert" to everyone to improve their safeguards against drug taking - a point he felt had been missed in the hunt for names.It also served as a trigger for players, coaches and individuals to come forward to police.
"This is about making sure that they are alert to the risks and vulnerabilities, and that they are actively doing something about it," he said.
"What's happened has happened. That needs to be investigated. But, more importantly, we should be trying to prevent this occurring."
"There may be players using substances or contemplating using substances that our alert will hopefully prevent. We also have criminals out there, that we know are doing this.
"We are not going to declare who they are but this is a way of putting the frighteners into them, so they are aware authorities are aware of them." Justice Minister Jason Clare said the commission had also given the names of individuals to NSW and Victorian police.
"I understand that people want the Australian Crime Commission to name names. And they have - they have given names to the police and the anti-doping authority," he said.
The Sunday Telegraph has confirmed that a major element of the ACC report is focused on a criminal network that had sought to expose players who had been supplied with banned substances.
According to sources close to the investigation, players were tricked into taking so called "supplements", only to be later told that they had in fact taken banned substances.
The players were then later called upon and threatened with being "outed" as drug cheats unless they agreed to fix matches or pay money. According to sources, several players had fallen victim to the bribery racket and were mostly confined to the NRL and not other codes.
