Roy Masters

ACC report lays bare corruption threat

Roy Masters An alarming increase in the use, seizure and arrests for illicit drugs is the central finding of the Australian Crime Commission's annual report released today, with significant implications for...

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League

Team spirit: how Blues can reach Origin nirvana

Roy Masters When NSW coach Laurie Daley finalises his team after this weekend's NRL round, he will try and include as many fit players from the Blues 2012 Origin squad.

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League

ASADA wants access to mountain of ACC evidence

Roy Masters Cronulla players are likely to be still arguing with the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority this time next year, when Essendon players will have already served their suspensions.

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LEAGUE

Stars and young hopefuls growing apart

Roy Masters The recent deaths of two young players raise questions about the disconnect between an NRL team and its feeder teams, compared with the days when there was strong mentoring by senior players across...

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Show Me The Money

Wests Tigers board rift could spill on to the field

Roy Masters IF EVER the title of this column is appropriate to an issue in sport and business, it is the impasse at Wests Tigers.

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League

Daylight separates quick and dead slow

Roy Masters With the top four NRL teams threatening to break away, the challenge is to bring them back to the pack.

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LEAGUE

When it comes to money, not all clubs are equal

Roy Masters THE AFL has a future fund and the Rugby League Commission plans one, seeking $200 million in savings over the life of the new broadcasting contract.

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League

Obstruction rule needs a serious rethink

Roy Masters DANIEL Anderson's black-and-white rules on obstruction are designed to cut out any grey but will leave the NRL red-faced.

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League

Sharks feared doping before Dank left

Roy Masters An email trail linking the four sacked members of the Sharks' football department demonstrates they feared possible doping breaches at the club at least two months before May 29, 2011, when sports...

League

Boss skilled in bomb defusing

Roy Masters Challenges facing the ARLC chief are less life-threatening than others he has met.

League

Lack of Plan B compounds copycat conundrum

Roy Masters Basically, there are two ways for a rugby league team to use the ball: go through the opposition, or around them.

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Rugby League

NRL plans for worst on drugs

Roy Masters Defaulted grand final and internal draft to reinforce ranks of any club stripped of players.

League

'Why did we act? Players' lives were in jeopardy'

Roy Masters The fear that a footballer would die from injections of a banned substance, including steroids used on horses, motivated the head of the Australian Crime Commission, John Lawler, to stage the...

Senate to inquire into gambling

Roy Masters A Senate committee inquiry into gambling reform is scheduled to start on Tuesday, beginning with a submission from the head of the ACC, John Lawler.

NRL considers nightmare scenario

Roy Masters A defaulted grand final and an internal draft to reinforce the ranks of any club stripped of players because of doping sanctions are among the contingency plans the NRL has drawn up in response to...

Masters

Turning Judas on teammates only way to mitigate bans

Roy Masters NRL and AFL players guilty of doping infractions have almost no chance of escaping without sanction, and will be required to inform on a teammate or a member of a club's football department to...

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League

Hot topic: should the season kick off at night?

Roy Masters Islands in the oceans may drown and the Antarctic ice shelf melt but climate change takes on an immediate meaning for coaches when it affects the scheduling of games.

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Sport in Crisis

Potential for teams to lose their points, or forfeit on eve of grand final

Roy Masters Cronulla players suspected of drug violations likely to be still playing all season.

League

Fallout from doping probe has potential to drag on for years

Roy Masters The Cronulla players suspected of drug violations are likely to be still playing all season, while guilty members of the Sharks football department could be banned for life.

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