Sharks to lead war on drugs

AS A father of two daughters and a son over the ages of 18, Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan admits he’s frightened every time his beloved trio are out on a Saturday night.

“Like most parents, it scares me,’’ Flanagan said.

“My job as a parent is to educate them as well as I can.

“I’ve got to sit around the dinner table and educate my kids and have discussions that drugs and alcohol aren’t good for you. And in our game, it’s also not acceptable.

“It’s not wanted in the NRL and if you ( players) keep doing it, you’ll be out of the game. We’re professional sportspeople and we need to behave that way.

“It’s ( illicit drugs) in society we know. The NRL is working really hard and the clubs are working really, but we can do more.’’

Which is what the Sharks plan to do. In the wake of charges of alleged cocaine possession laid against club chairman Damien Keogh and under- 20s player Jesse Savage, Flanagan and club CEO Lyall Gorman have reacted in unprecedented fashion.

In a club- first, the Sharks have instigated talks with the NSW Police and Clubs NSW to set up a taskforce to help combat the scourge of illegal drug use within the game and in the Sutherland Shire community.

Titled Sutherland Shire Drug Reduction Committee, the taskforce would also include prominent community leaders, including politicians, parent groups, local club and pub licensees and health and welfare experts.

As he ruled out any prospect of offering Ben Barba a lifeline, while also admitting Keogh’s actions had left him “shattered” and in “disbelief”, Flanagan stated the Sharks needed to “rise above” by assisting with societal change.

“I think it’s a big wake- up call, not just for our club, but the game,’’ Flanagan said.

“We need to educate players as much as we can, but there are choices we make every day. And unfortunately some make the wrong ones in life and it’s no different in the NRL.

“We’ve got to work hard, because these individual decisions are not what we stand for at our club. We’ve got a position in this community, that puts us a little bit above, everyone else.

“We can help, we have access to a lot of other people, through sport. We’re going to take some really big steps ... and make a difference.’’

Gorman added the desire to have an impact on the NRL and their local community was far from a PR stunt.

“It’s about working together to understand this is a community issue,’’ he said.