Flanagan refuses to answer ASADA questions

The whole supplements issue should never have happened,if a CEO had been in place fulltime .Indeed the whole incident was a bad look for rugby league,so is any offield anti social incident. However it was dragged out publicly for two years.Players even those not involved at Cronulla ATT (eg Ben Ross) were named almost at the outset.So much for innocent until guilty.Even the good Doctor's name (who was completely innocent ) was tarnished. Every day in the D.T a story about Flanagan and the players and club was written (at times slovenly) by Wilson,Massoud and Hooper condemning individuals and the board .It continues to this day. You can be a high profile person DUI and cause an accident and get SFA publicity by comparison.Being DUI puts many peoples' lives at risk,yet people treat it as "just a mistake".The irony, one of these journos happens to have DUI twice and preaches to all and sundry about the Sharks..DUI is a crime fullstop. Statement of facts was spelt out by the NRL both for Flanagan and the players .The infraction notices were made a public issue.The TV cameraman who stalked Flanagan's home and the grounds made it a public issue.The issue of penalties by ASADA and the admission by that august body, that it was not deliberate,was clearly enunciated.ASADA has moved on,others have not. The person who should take the brunt of the criticism is the guy who brought Dank to the club and introduced the program for" legal " supplements,when ATT the club had no full time CEO.And he has received due penalty. Flanagan paid a penalty because the buck stops with him.He got 12 months,public humiliation and had to attend a special course on management.He has learnt a bitter lesson,care to detail. Now I don't know what more people expect of Flanagan and the players in addition to the public lashings,but the continual baying for more blood is wearing thin .You commit intentionally or accidentally an act,pay the penalty and get on with life.It's two years sheesh.These guys have to live, till the day they lose oxygen with the publicity. The Sharks' media man Wills made it perfectly clear to the journos at the press conference only matters pertaining to 2015 were on the menu.The goose wet behind the ears journo, decided otherwise.He received the death stare.As Gorman says the past has been well learnt,we must now look to the future.

Of course nobody expects the apologies to the individuals concerned to be publicly made. But a public apology in general and full statement of the facts is required because he has a responsibility to the game. The clubs sponsorship dollars and reputations are impacted by the actions of anybody who represents the NRL. He has had a major part in a course of action that has dragged the entire game through the mud and put the livelihoods of many people at risk. He can't just have a beer with Kade Snowdon or any other player impacted and tell him "I'm sorry mate, have another schooner" and think that's OK. What has happened is absolutely the business of everybody involved in league, including the fans.

Well, whether the NRL punishment was appropriate is another matter I'm not going to debate here. My points are simple. Did Flanagan know what was going on? I believe the answer is yes, based on logic and analysis of the facts presented so far. The Schultz defence he used "I know nothing", is laughable. Has Flanagan taken responsibility for his actions?He won't even admit he did anything wrong, so the answer is no. For the record, I don't think he set out to cheat. I think he thought he was giving his team an edge. However, once you know what you have done is not allowed then admit it, take responsibility and then you can move on. Should the media question him until he provides full disclosure of what happened? Absolutely.

I have absolutely no doubt in the world that all the apologising he needed to do was done and done where it should have been done.. privately..why do the media or you,need to be a witness...if those players who were directly tarnished by the coachs neglect of duty are satisfied with how Flanno has responded..and not one has publicly come out and slammed him personally,including guys like Douglas,Snowden and Smith who have moved on suggests that remorse has been shown and accepted,everything else has either been satisfied as required by the NRL or none of our business

"In fact the NRL, who have seen more information than the rest of us, suspended him" The NRL was who i was talking about, not the sharks and that's where your point is flawed.... The NRL, who as you say know more than anyone have given him the green light to coach again. I trust their judgement.... They wouldn't let someone back in that could cause further harm to the players or the game.

This weeks special is the "Slammin Sam" boys.Club x is offering a 2 for 1 deal and a free Mr KY for those who are 2015 signed up members. Just use the code - Souths* 2014.

HE put suppose in front of Flanagan genuinely knowing nothing about it? Are you saying that is as likely as the players being machines built in Russia?

Not sure I want my usage of club X products to be monitored

"Suppose" there's a whole bunch of players that are actually machines built in Russia. You can write anything and put suppose in front of it

I thought you meant club x the adult toy store

The reason you should "suppose" for a minute is to try and critically analyse what has happened and see if what we have been told makes sense. To me it doesn't and the silence and avoidance of questions just make the situation look worse. I think its clear what I'm saying. Shane needs to take responsibility for his actions. "Nothing to do with me" doesn't cut it as a response to what happened. His lack of contrition is appalling considering what his failure to exercise his duty of care (the NRL's verdict, not mine) has done to the players. As to the idea that "those that know" have rehired him, so it must be OK, is no answer at all. In fact the NRL, who have seen more information than the rest of us, suspended him, rather implying that maybe he has done something wrong. It is to the Cronulla board's great shame (done, I acknowledge because they are trying to support Flanagan who has done his best for the club), that they have given him a new contract when he was suspended. That sorry saga is now still being played out and won't go away until answers are given to some of questions being asked.

I still don't know what you are trying to say.... you're entire post is based on assumption. People who actually know what happened and aren't asking hypothetical questions have allowed him to return as coach.... based on that tell me why i should "suppose for just a minute" ?

Shane Flanagan's starting position is "I did nothing wrong". Let's suppose just for a minute, that pills, creams and injections are administered in secret and Flanagan knew nothing. Firstly, why aren't those allegedly undertaking illegal behaviour being sued by the Cronulla club for acting without approval and outside of their job description? They have caused the club immense damage. Why not instigate a civil action to recover damages? Surely the club would be furious over such a dereliction of duty? Secondly, you are a player and find out some guy on the staff has given you substances that have resulted in you being banned and now you find out they didn't have approval to give you those substances. They have used you as a guinea pig. Wouldn't you want to punch their lights out and then sue them for loss of income and damage to your reputation? Since there doesn't appear to be any legal action happening, I find it very difficult to believe Flanagan's version. Not to mention the footage of Dank in the dressing room when Flanagan is present. Smoking gun and all that. Finally, of course, as coach it is his responsibility to know what is being done to his players, so regardless of whether he knew or not, ultimately he is responsible. The fact he doesn't acknowledge that is what really shows he should not be a coach because he isn't prepared to take responsibility for his actions.

The current board may not have been in charge when the drugs were administered, but they are responsible for the clubs actions since the issue was settled with ASADA's finding. And as such, they have not apologised for the club's behaviour or made any effort to explain what has happened. They have not made any public statement to apologise to the fans and especially the players. The club failed in its duty of care to look after the players.

Mitch Ross tells the Souths Dr that there are no banned substances in the ice treatments or sprays.The Souths Dr then informs the NRL that there are no banned substances in the sprays.The NRL then approves them based on what they have been told.Rather naive wouldn't you say based on the guys poor history? I bet Souths never mentioned the name Mitch Ross to the NRL! Rumour has it that someone or some agency has requested all relevant documentation i.e purchase orders,tax invoices etc.Club X has stated that there is no paper work as they were given approximately $6k worth of product to try free of charge. Mr Y has stated that he had been supplying club x from the week prior to round 8 at a cost of $1200 per-week and spent time with the players monitoring them and listening to their feedback on his products.All this whilst unregistered with the NRL. Souths were happy to work with the guy when it was on the quiet but once it was leaked to the media(by Mitch Ross looking for free publicity) Souths then looked to distance themselves from him as they know Mitch Ross is red hot.

But is yet to publicly explain his roles as head coach in one of the games biggest doping scandal.

Fair enough...but that's why journos want to ask the questions and fans want to hear what he has to say. He was head coach during a doping scandal, he's got his job back and it was the day the suspended players came back to training. "I'm only answering questions about how we're tracking for 2015" is pretty lame.

Souths went through the NRL to make sure they were kosher.

He was hounded by journos up til he was banned by the NRL.How the hell could anyone hear from him,if he was rl incommunicado.

The journos were supposedly there to discuss the 2015 season,they didn't .They kept repeating at the interview the same old questions. Even the new Chairman stated he saw nothing untoward in his responses. Like anyone who has paid a price they learn or should learn by their mistakes,and if that means changing the culture as he stated so be it. You obviously in you life have made none AR.