Newcastle Knights five-eighth Jarrod Mullen has tested positive to an anabolic steroid and been provisionally suspended by the NRL, just weeks before the Auckland Nines pre-season tournament.
Mullen returned a positive A-sample from a test conducted after training on November 29, 2016. According to ASADA, “Mullen will not be eligible to compete in National Rugby League competition while provisionally suspended.”
The substance that came up in Mullen’s system, Drostanolone, is not only banned under the NRL’s rules, but also deemed illegal by the World Anti-Doping Authority (WADA).
“The club is obviously extremely disappointed,” CEO Matt Gidley said.
“The club has a strict governance program, the players are regularly educated and fully aware of the consequences of going outside our governance guidelines.
“From here, there is a formal process we need to follow under the guidelines.
“We need to respect the process and in the interim the club will continue to monitor Jarrod’s welfare.”
The one-time State of Origin half can have a B-sample tested in the coming weeks, with a chance to appeal the findings and subsequent decision. However, he won’t be allowed to play any kind of sport under WADA regulations, which is pretty much everything, until he is either cleared or serves his full suspension.
Mullen has rarely been spotted on the field over the past 12 months, tearing his hamstring off the bone last April, before tearing it again in November.
The Knights finished dead last in 2016 with a record-breaking season for all the wrong reasons, losing 22 games – including their last 18 in a row – and winning just one. That followed on from collecting the wooden spoon in 2015 as well.
This is the last thing the struggling club needs in the face of another disastrous NRL season.
Mullen has played 211 games for the club since his debut back in 2005, as well as that solitary match for New South Wales in 2007.
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