The cheat has been allowed to do whatever he wants so far, he tells the NRL what to do, not the other way round. The maggot will get his name on the Immortals bill no doubt, probably get the NRL to name the exclusive honour after himself as well. The NRL are as weak of a sporting organisation as you can get.
Joey only used recreational drugs, wasn't caught using any PED's during his career, no problem with him being there. If they get caught using say cocaine or amphetamine during the season then that is a form of PED in my eyes. Like Naden. Should've had the book thrown at him IMO. Still laughable how the NRL found Naden's cocaine use to be "not in season", when it is extremely probable he used it within a day or 2 of the Grand Final.
On Andrew Johns - you are kidding aren't you :
Not long after the incident he released his 'tell-all' autobiography that went into further details regarding his depression and drug use while playing in the NRL.
The ARU released a press statement shortly after the controversy arose, stating that Johns' drug use was known to the ARU and was a key factor in its decision to not proceed with contractual negotiations in 2004. Brett Robinson, then high-performance unit manager, said that, as well as Johns' age and injury history, the knowledge of his drug taking had been influential in the ARU making its final decision.[15]
The guy was on drugs while he was playing. It wasn't a one time party drug episode after the season.
Have read Joey’s book and he was a self-confessed party animal suffering from bipolar disorder. But he somehow managed to maintain his performance at the highest of high levels. Joey would look at the draw and work out when he had a long week, a Friday night game, and that would be a two day bender. That’s not performance enhancing, it’s not healthy but not PE. Joey also lead a small-town battling club to two premierships, he didn’t rely on a billion dollar news Ltd machine that lied and cheated its way to success.
Yeah right - you take drugs - you play - and it doesn't help - ok - I'm glad Joey explained that. Its not even the point any way - the question is - should he have been considered an Immortal when it was Known he was taking drugs while he was playing? Other player have been excluded from the game for taking party drugs.
he was combining those drugs with copious amounts of alcohol, so he certainly wasn’t treating his body as a temple and there’s no way he was gaining any physical edge. You could argue it was a mental release for him but I think that’s a stretch. Guess it depends on your own view of greatness, is what happens when he leaves the field relevant? On it he was the best I’ve seen.
I get where you are coming from - he was an absolute great footballer - one of the best - what i' am getting at is the tag of Immortalitalty given out loosely - should it be about achievements on the field and exemplary behaviour off the field including what you give back to the game afterwards or just about your performance on the field even tough you were you were absolute dropkick.
I don’t think rugby league is a sport that ever claimed to represent tee totallers or those few humans who never made a mistake or two.