Silvertails consider controversial calf's blood

Liam

Liam

Zeb Taia's Lovechild
The Manly Sea Eagles are considering using a substance once banned by the International Olympics Committee to give the team a boost in the lead up to the 2008 finals series.
The drug in question is known as Actovegin, which is manufactured using an extract of calf's blood and was on the IOC's banned list from 2000 until it was proved several years later that the drug did not improve oxygen flow through the body.
It does however, fall under a World Anti Doping Agency ban should the drug be used intravenously.
Sea Eagles coach Des Hasler refused to discuss his team's plans to use the substance with Fairfax newspapers who uncovered the story this morning.
"I won't be talking about any of that. I'm happy to talk about the games but I don't want to talk about what we do at training," Hasler said.
It is understood that the players would inject the substance intra-muscularly under the guidance of physiologist Steve Dank who also refused to comment –
"I don't do media interviews. What the sports science department does stays in-house."
Actovegin initially came under fire when an investigation at the 2000 edition of the Tour de France revealed that the substance had been used to improve rider's stamina, similar to another banned drug EPO or erythropoietin.
A spokesman for Actovegin's manufacturer told UK newspaper in 2005 that the substance "has no direct sports use".
John Brady, NRL public affairs manager told Fairfax newspapers that he had no concerns with clubs using the substance.
"There are many supplements players can legally take from vitamins to other things and provided they fit within the WADA guidelines it is a decision for them to make on a player by player and club by club basis," he said.
Jesus Manzano, the Spanish cyclist who blew the lid on systematic doping in the sport which led to the Operacion Puerto investigation was quite certain of the benefits of using the substance. Manzano referred to the substance as the 'gas bus.'
"In the short time trials it was used in the morning, but for difficult stages where there would be a lot of attacks, it was injected the previous day," Manzano explained in his tell-all interview with Spanish newspaper AS.
"When preparing for a time trial the 'gas bus' is combined with bicarbonate, lactic acid, and a brand of caffeine that is injected in the buttocks, which by the way, really hurts."
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WWOS.
I think it's disgusting.
 
trust Manly to think to use something like that, anything to help them win a premiership they will do. But i still dont get exactly what it does.
 
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