7th Tackle: Winning Knights defy NRL investigation
Newcastle’s unlikely three-match winning streak is even more meritorious than it appears on the surface.
An Integrity Unit investigation had cast a shadow over the club since midway through last month.
We can reveal investigators visited Newcastle around four weeks ago, to speak with around a dozen players face-to-face.
The NRL even rented a hotel room to conduct the interviews, with players shuffled through one-by-one for their interviews. We’re told the questions related to information gathered during the course of Jarrod Mullen’s anti-doping case.
The NRL wanted to know whether other Knights players were treated by the same physiotherapist who gave Mullen the banned substance.
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There were also questions about the team’s Mad Monday celebrations last season.
A source close to the players tells us they were only given limited notice about the interviews and that the RLPA arranged for them to be represented by a lawyer.
Both Newcastle and the NRL this week confirmed the investigation had taken place – and had found no case to answer.
“This operation has now been concluded without the club or any players being breached,” an NRL spokesman said.
The all-clear was received almost two weeks ago, no doubt to the relief of the competition’s surprise packets.