An NRL player on the Gold Coast has become Australia’s first sportsman to be officially banned for the use of cannabis.
The Queensland Rugby League, more commonly known as the QRL, has banned William Morunga of the Gold Coast Vikings from participating in games, training, and banned from coaching, management positions, and all NRL related positions.
The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority collected a sample from Morunga in-competition on June 16.
The particular sample that was taken, “returned an adverse analytical finding for a metabolite of cannabis”.
Morunga is now the first Australian case that has involved a professional athlete committing a third anti-doping violation which under the World Anti-Doping Code usually invokes a lifetime ban.
Morunga, who was in strife once the result came out, had previously received two bans on separate occasions for having cannabis in his presence for New Zealand touch.
His first violation, following a test on March 5, 2005 resulted in a two-month ban and his second, following a test on March 4, 2006, resulted in a two-year ban.
Morunga’s ban started on September 14.