has anyone heard any news on the Gareth Hock situation?

[DaveO]

I wouldn't be surprised if Wigan employed Hock in a 'community role' doing the training camps and stuff like that as well as 'educating people about drugs'.

That is against the rules. The club can't employ him at all. The only thing the club can do is pack him off on a rehabilitation program and it can't do anything else with him such as have him helping in a club shop, or some sort of community role.

I think this is quite right because until his two years are up and he has proved he is clean he isn't in any position to educate anybody. What can he say at the moment? I made the mistake of getting caught?

Once (if) he beats the drugs then he might have something to say people may want to listen to.

Dave

[DaveO]

He is not now under contract has he can not play.
Wigan will pay him some kind of wage that amounts to him being able to keep up with his outgoings (+burger sales).
I do believe if he keeps to his side of the agreement he will play for us again and that would require Wigan to have or be doing things to help him. Just what I've been told off several people, guess we will have to wait and see if he plays for us again.

Err why? They can pay for him to go on rehab but that is it. I find the idea Wigan would pay him any sort of wage to cover his outgoings a bit bizarre.

If Wigan did nothing and he took exception to that so signed with another club then it would be good riddance IMO because it is Hock who owes the club some loyalty, not the other way around.

Dave

[cpwigan]

The last payment Hock received from Wigan RLFC was in July and his next one will at the earliest be 2011.

[OAMJSONA]

2 year ban up held today

[eccywarrior]

can gareth hock still play rugby for likes of st judes ect?

[cpwigan]

I don't think so Eccy

[eccywarrior]

i dont know why cp as its amateur and according to wep and observer hes only banned from proffesional sports

[cpwigan]

In effect when you are banned for example sine die you are banned from all levels and I think that applies in this case too rightly or wrongly.

[medlocke]

whats to say he would even want ot come back and play rugby in 2 year, his catering enterprise might take off and see him own a string of vans around the Wigan leigh area.

[DaveO]

i dont know why cp as its amateur and according to wep and observer hes only banned from proffesional sports

The RFL rules say if a player is banned by another sporting body such as BARLA then the RFL will enforce the ban.

So if an amateur player got banned he could not come and play for an RFL side while the ban was in force.

So I'd expect the same thing to work the other way. I am sure BARLA won't play professional RL players who have picked up a ban.

Organisations such as BARLA will be affiliated to UK Sport just as the RFL are and so will honour any such bans just as any other sport would do. If Hock was a good cricketer he could mot go and play for Lancashire for a couple of years for this reason.

In any case when you think about it, doesn't it sound rather ludicrous that ANY amateur club would want to play someone serving a ban for drugs?

Dave