By his own admission he has been doing the drugs for months. It was the first time he got caught, not his first offence.



Unfortunately there is no "World Anti GBH" organisation in sport but there is a Word Anti Doping Agency the rules of which the RFL are signed up to.

There is an anomaly but just because several RL players who have been convicted of GBH or similar are still running round in the game does not mean Hock should get a lesser punishment.

It's the lack of punishment for those doing the violence that is the problem and for that you can blame the clubs as much as the RFL. The clubs will simply not sack these players for fear of spoiling their chances in the competition and frankly it stinks but it has got nothing to do with Hock's situation.

Dave

At sea or working offshore we are subjetc to random alcohol and drug testing , failing these tests results in dismissal even if the drugs etc were taken during your leave period.

We know the rules before signing on. Much like Hock.

Actually if said hypothetical accountant were to be caught by police in possession of Cocaine or with it in his system (suspected drunk and disorderly or DUI are 2 possible situations where they could be tested) then this person would be charged, gain a criminal record and lose their job probably struggling to regain it. They may also lose their licence to be an accountant as all have to be registered to a particular board. Not sure what this is for accountants if I wasn't only making a point on RLFans and was doing something more important i'd take the time to ask my uncle.

Also while I am off for summer from university I am working in an M&S warehouse. In there we have random drug screens (not been subject to them myself but I know they happen) and if anything is found it's instant dismissal so actually if anything 2 years is lenient.

Thing is you can get a job in another warehouse, Hock is banned from all sport for two years.

I was thinking whilst watching Ben Cockayne head hunting against wigan a couple of weeks ago that it is a little unfair. (I dont condone Hock in the slightest, the guy knew the rules, and decided to break them) but having watched the video of cockayne kicking seven colours of poop out of some bloke in a street he keeps his job, Hock took coke, injured no-one but himself and is banned

but then as someone has said if the was an anti GBH body we would have very few professional sportsman

That is actually more strict than the WADA rules as regards Cocaine. Cocaine is only banned in-competition. Had Hock stopped taking it before the season started or had be been tested pre-season out of compeition he would not have been banned.

You only get banned if you test positive out of competition for performance enhancing drugs such as steroids and not stimulants which is the bracket Cocaine comes under.

Hock's mistake was to continue to take the stuff during the playing season which IMO makes it even more stupid because he just could not lay off for that period.

Dave

Dave Allen was at Widnes when he got caught, but the situation was a little different in that he had a 2 year ban and only had 12 months left on his contract, so therefore just became a free agent.

Nothing was said from our side or passed when the ban was up and he signed for Oldham.

Likewise we signed Jamie Bloem all those years ago when his ban was up from Doncaster. So history suggests that they don't stay employed by their club, however this I'm sure is solely down to the club.

i would be sacked on the spot if i was to be caught with or had taken drugs. Plus i would not consider 25 as being a kid, and i consider anyone who gives into peer presure as perfectic, let alone a 25 year old professional, who obviously has bad judgment of "friends"

people talk about him working in the community and i work in a community development deaprtment myself and many schools and organisations working with children will not want a player who has been caught using drugs in their establishment.

I see what people are saying about educating kids and this would be possible maybe with wigans own youngsters as this is a private organisation, but state schools would be very wary and would argue they have their own drug education schemes, taught by people who haven't taken them. If you agree with that education or not, it isn't seen as appropriate. he would be ok with regards that its not on his criminal record and would pass a CRB check, but with the public knowledge of his "mistake" he would find it difficult doing this job.

if wigan were to set up a drug presentation at the club, with Gaz hock as speaker invited schools to come, then this would be more sensible as it is not on the public schools property and it would be by invite.

as regards to whether we should keep, its a sad fact that many forget after time out orginial offences, eg ryan hudson....hardly anyone mensions his "poor judgment" some years back, so even though it mybe frawned apon at first i think most would forget about hocks distamina after a while and wigan keeping hold of him wouldn't be a issue. I hate people who think taking drugs is just a bit of fun, and personal i would punish it hashly, however i do beleive after you've served your time you should be alowed a second chance. Whether he keeps himself up to scratch will be another matter, 2 years away from professional sport isn't easy to get back into.

It's the same where I work. I work for a company where one division works on railways lines, and it's set in black and white. They can and often do random testing for drugs and alcohol, any hint and you're out. Zero tolerance, and it's written into everyone's contract.
This is the law for rail working but it's has been extended company wide as we also work in general construction.

There have been a couple of dismissals that I know of in the 2 1/2 years I've been here. One for alcohol and one for cocaine.

He has made a big mistake and will have to deal with it.

He's a great player who I really like but IMO wigan will and should release him from his contract.

He will have to do what we all do and get a job for next 2 years.

I honestly hope he does return in 2 years time and shows everyone that he's clean and still top player.

are you sure about this? i was under the impression that's why "the elite" england squad had to make their wherabouts known so they could be tested whenever WADA wanted in or out of season, could be wrong, not 100% sure.
have you got a link that backs this up?