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  1. #1
    Star Player Titan4Life's Avatar
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    Default Douglas ready to move forward

    Douglas ready to move forward
    Neil Cadigan
    Tue 25th November, 03:45PM




    Gold Coast Titans front-rower Luke Douglas felt he was in reasonably good shape when he returned to training yesterday but admits he struggled with his first training day with the squad.

    Douglas, who the previous day completed the ASADA enforced ban for unknowingly taking banned substances, has been training hard away from the group under a program set by Titans strength and conditioning coach Dan Ferris and consultant Tim Gabett who are happy with his fitness level.

    “I pushed myself pretty hard, maybe too hard,” said Douglas who had been training early morning where possible for the previous month but had an afternoon field session of mostly running after a weights session on return.

    “I was in bed early last night but it was really good to be back with the boys and sort of draw a line in the sand and move forward.

    “It will take me a couple of weeks to catch up, I knew that.”

    It ended an extremely difficult period for Douglas however the 28-year-old prop, who holds the NRL successive appearance record at 215, is focussed on putting the ban behind him and having a successful 2015 season.

    “It’s obviously been a very tough period, first watching the boys play the last three rounds and not being part the great win against Canterbury to finish the season, and then when they returned to training which was a bit of a fresh start at TSS with new coaches and teammates,” Douglas said.

    “I pride myself on doing the right thing and having a good lifestyle and being a role model. But despite believing I had done nothing wrong, my reputation has been tarnished to an extent. That’s been the hardest thing to accept.

    “But I can’t change that now and I just want to rebuild respect in how I conduct myself on the field and in the community, which is important to me.

    “I’ve really appreciated the support I’ve had the past few months from teammates, mates, family and supporters of the game. It has meant a lot to me.”

    Teammates warmly welcomed Douglas back into the fold at 10am Monday and he was back today for a 7am start today.

    “All I can do is put the ban behind me, and the appearance record, and work as hard as I can on my game, which I’ve always tried to do,” Douglas said.

    “It’s an important year for the Titans. This is my 10th season in the NRL and I’ve only played two finals games, both with Cronulla, so I don’t need any more motivation than that to leave no stone unturned in ensuring 2015 in a big season for the club.”
    #iwillneverwalkaway

  2. #2
    Administrator DIEHARD's Avatar
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    Default Luke Douglas says he hit rock bottom during his doping suspens

    Gold Coast Titans prop Luke Douglas says he hit rock bottom during his doping suspension

    This previously indestructible battering ram was exhausted. The career he had worked so hard for was suddenly under threat.

    Douglas was one of the 17 past and present Cronulla players who were thrust into the spotlight during the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority’s investigation into the club’s 2011 supplements program.

    It was a situation Douglas never expected to find himself in.

    The boy from Yamba on the north coast of NSW had created NRL history this year when he played his 215th consecutive game.

    But it all ended in 36 hours of mayhem.

    THE DECISION
    At 8.45am on August 22, Douglas informed the Gold Coast Titans he would be *accepting – reluctantly – ASADA’s offer, just 15 minutes before the deadline.

    An 18-month investigation had resulted in the players being offered backdated suspensions that would effectively see most of them miss just three matches.

    The catch was they had just hours to accept it. And they had to admit to taking banned substances.

    “It was hard to understand exactly what was going on,” Douglas said.

    “There was no way I was taking the deal at first. I had no reason to believe I’d done anything wrong but put trust in others.

    “We could challenge it but it might be two or three years down the track before you get your day in court and if you get an infraction notice the NRL can stand you down immediately.

    “I wasn’t going to take the deal ... a lot of the boys were saying they couldn’t handle it any more and wanted it to be over.

    “When I walked down and started cleaning out my locker I felt like a little baby. I was upset, crying.

    “I went home (Yamba) for a while and I’m pretty proud of what I’ve been able to achieve and love getting out in the community but it wasn’t until a month after that I felt comfortable going out.

    “I didn’t really want to show my face at Coles or anything. I was hiding away.”

    THE INSULT
    Douglas’ suspension was tough to stomach.

    The reliable prop had played an astonishing 215 consecutive NRL games since debuting for the Sharks in 2006, eclipsing journeyman Jason Taylor’s previous record of 194 in Round 1 this year.

    He has accepted his streak is over but a question during the ASADA interviewing process hit this shy character hard.

    “One bloke said to me ‘you did your medial (knee) and that’s a six-week injury. How did you come back to play the next Friday against the Broncos?’,” he said.

    “It felt like they were implying I’d taken drugs to get back on the field ... nothing was further from the truth.

    “I spent that whole week in the physio room and took the ice machine home and iced it all week.

    “I probably shouldn’t have played but we had no-one at the time. I was heavily strapped, got through it and it wasn’t until a couple of months later that I was 100 per cent.

    “That struck a nerve with me.

    “People are going to speculate that I only played those games because of all this stuff. I hate the fact people will think that.

    “The program was there for not much longer than a month before the doctor knocked it on the head.”

    THE SECRET BATTLE
    While there was the undoubted stress of doping allegations hanging over his head, Douglas was also fighting another battle.

    His mother Trish suffered a stroke in November 2012 while on a flight to England to watch her son Kane play for the Wallabies.

    The stroke was caused by an inoperable malignant melanoma surrounding an artery in her leg. She struggled to talk following the stroke and needed constant help.

    Douglas flew to Sydney at every opportunity to spend time by her hospital bedside with his father Chris.

    Trish Douglas died in Yamba on May 13 last year, the day after Luke’s 27th birthday, and her funeral was attended by more than 700 people including the entire Titans squad.

    “She couldn’t speak after the stroke. I’d say ‘Love you Mum’ and you could tell she wanted to say something back but she couldn’t,” he said.

    “We had to get her home from England so we got on a plane and every half-hour we’d have to get her up to get moving and make sure she was OK.

    “We had to carry her to the toilet. It was hard doing these sorts of things for your mum.

    “I’d do it again but I was so drained by the end of it.

    “Then this stuff started coming out that I had no idea about. I hit rock bottom.”

    While Douglas was battling personally, he didn’t let on to his teammates, continuing to turn up every week and do what he does best.

    “He was rock-solid throughout it,” co-captain Nate Myles said.

    “His ability to stay professional is phenomenal.

    “Even with everything going on with his mum, I don’t think he could have handled it any better. He was amazing.”

    THE FUTURE
    Douglas returned to the training paddock this week after his ban expired.

    He refuses to be critical of the NRL or Cronulla like some of his ex-teammates and has instead shifted his focus to the future. He will be more careful about any supplement he takes in the future and advises others to as well.

    He will marry fiancee Adele McGhee in February and she believes Douglas will come out of this experience stronger.

    “The only times he expressed his emotions to me was when he made a decision to take the offer,” McGhee (pictured with Douglas) said.

    “He was really strong through the ordeal. He’s had to deal with so much and try and maintain a positive attitude until the reality surfaced of the severity of it all.

    “If anything, he showed a lot of strength through the ordeal.

    “The pressure’s off him in a way. He should be proud of his record.”

    Douglas will be there in Round 1 next year ready to pick up where he left off and with two years of pain behind him he can set his sights on marching towards 300 NRL games.

    “I’m not going to point fingers. All I know is the Titans have been awesome for me,” he said.

    “All the boys, Carty (John Cartwright), Searley (Michael Searle) and Neil (Henry) have been great.

    “My family’s been good and I couldn’t have done it without them. Adele and her family have been awesome too.

    “I hope the perception amongst the community isn’t that we’re drug cheats.

    “It was tough but it’s over with now and we can move on.”

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