Brian Carney was stunned to hear his former team-mate Terry Newton has failed a drugs test.
Newton's former team-mate says lessons must be learned
Brian Carney was stunned by the news that his former team-mate Terry Newton has failed a drugs test.
Newton, currently playing for Wakefield, has been provisionally suspended by the UK Anti-Doping Agency after testing positive for a prohibited substance in November 2009.
The hooker, who played for the Wildcats in their weekend victory over Leeds, was tested during pre-season training in November and after failing that test, further investigations are under way.
Carney played alongside Newton for both Wigan and Great Britain and after hearing of the news in the Boots 'n' All studio he admitted it was a great shock.
He said: "Terry Newton's a very close friend of mine and his family are close friends of mine and I'm stunned by this.
"We've got to believe that it's true and it is a blow. It's a very bad mistake by Terry and a poor error, poor judgment.
"He's put himself in a terrible situation, his family in a terrible situation and his club Wakefield - I know he has enjoyed being there - he's put them in a terrible situation.
"It's stunned me really."
Wrong
The news comes just months after Wigan second row Gareth Hock was given a two-year ban from rugby league after testing positive for cocaine.
It has not been announced whether Newton has tested positive for performance-enhancing or recreational substances, but Carney says lessons must be learned by rugby league's top players.
He continued: "There's something seriously wrong when a player of Terry's age and experience hasn't learned a lesson from what's gone before.
"He knows Gareth Hock and he saw what happened when Gareth got tested positive.
"If Terry's found guilty - and there's a lot of procedure to go through yet - I have strong opinions on people that take drugs.
"There's a debate between performance enhancing and recreational. My opinion is I would find it easier to lose a game playing against somebody that was taking recreational drugs as opposed to somebody on performance-enhancing drugs.
"There are rules in place and if Terry's guilty he will suffer the consequences. I'd still stand by him as a friend, absolutely.
"But I will not condone what he's done if he's found guilty of it."
Questions
The news will raise further questions about whether or not drugs are a widespread problem in rugby league.
And Carney admits he has suspicions that there might be a few other players that are grateful that they have not been tested themselves.
He added: "When Gareth Hock tested positive I thought at the same time there would be people looking and saying 'there but for the grace of God go I'.
"I won't sit here and say there's nobody else looking at this and saying 'maybe I'd better watch what I'm doing now' or 'I'd better get my act together.
"How many times does it have to happen and to how many high-profile players?
"Sometimes you see it happen to players in the Championship and they haven't got as much to lose. It's not their careers, their professions or their living.
"At Super League level it's your earnings. The majority of your earnings are gone straight away. If that doesn't deter you, I don't know what will."
