National Rugby League side Cronulla Chair Damian Keogh "estimates the financial toll of the 17-month doping investigation centred on the Sharks has reached" A$4M ($3.8M), according to Chris Barrett of the SYDNEY MORNING HERALD.
Anxiety "has heightened further among players, staff and officials at the struggling NRL team since the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority issued show-cause notices to 34 past and present players from AFL club Essendon last week." The consequences "have affected players as well as the club."
At least one on-the-market Cronulla player is understood "to be frustrated that other teams will not engage in contract talks with him or his management because of the ongoing saga despite his claim he was not involved." The ramifications for the club of the ASADA probe "are staggering" -- a A$1M fine "dished out by the NRL, legal costs and other lost revenue including the Sharks' failure to land a major front-of-jersey sponsor." Despite the financial strain, Keogh insists the ASADA scandal "has not left them on the ropes." Their "lifeline is the Woolooware Bay residential and retail project on a 10-hectare site adjacent to Remondis Stadium," a property development that recorded sales of A$100M on its first day on the market in February and will ultimately contain 600 apartments (SMH, 6/16). In Sydney, Michael Carayannis reported Cronulla player Paul Gallen "has hit out at the NRL, saying they have done 'basically nothing' for Cronulla players and that his teammates were suffering with mental health issues" after ASADA's investigation into the club.
A candid Gallen "also revealed that the investigation had taken a personal toll and prevented him from having his third child with wife Anne." Gallen: "The NRL has had the biggest [mental health concern] in history right under its nose and basically done nothing about it. That's very, very frustrating for me because what I have seen some young guys go through the past 17 or 18 months has been disgraceful" (SMH, 6/16).
BOMBERS: In Melbourne, Caroline Wilson reported Australian Football League club presidents "have expressed serious disenchantment with Essendon" and its Chair Paul Little, "increasingly enraged that Little’s latest round of legal manoeuvring is holding the game to ransom." Rival clubs "are considering bringing forward a crisis meeting of all 18 clubs in a bid to bring some closure to the drugs saga."
West Coast Chair Alan Cransberg "echoed the private and public thoughts of 10 club bosses contacted on Monday." He said, "I just think it’s a bloody pity that we’re going to have at least another 18 months of this circus." While Little "expressed appreciation at support from the AFL community, that view was not reciprocated." Geelong President Colin Carter said, "When Paul Little says he has the support of the AFL community, he shouldn’t assume he’s talking about us" (THE AGE, 6/16).
