Titans must stay strong and suspend players facing drug charges

THE Gold Coast Titans must stay strong and suspend players facing drug charges.

Even if the club ends up in court having to defend its actions it is imperative the Titans continue to keep the accused players away from the frontline until this matter is sorted out.

The players should not be seen in the club’s playing ranks until the court decides whether they are guilty or innocent.

If guilty they should be sacked immediately.

Rugby league has lived with and thrived on controversy for more than a century and has an incredible capacity to feed off the bushfires which regularly scorch its landscape.

But we are not talking about chicken wing tackles or gouging incidents here.

These are accusations made by police after a six-month investigation.

And it is not as if it is an isolated player facing the heat.

The game cannot afford for a team to take the field with around a quarter of its players facing drug charges.

No sport should ever accept that. The players pleas to play must be ignored.

If the removed players want to challenge the suspensions in court then let them.

But the game must fiercely defend its right to protect its image.

What a dreadful look it is for the code for players to be facing court on the first day of the season.

Standing a player down while he is facing court charges is not an assumption or accusation of guilt.

It is simply an acceptance the club’s image is at stake and the matter must be sorted out before things can proceed.