It appears to be over. WADA might step in and add their 2 cents to the mix, but it feels like we've reached the end. It was a few years ago now when a few people in suits thought they'd be dramatic and label this whole shambles 'the darkest day in Australian sport'. The way it ended? Well Australia, we all know you ain't no goody-two-shoes, so you must have had some darker days. Surely.

The only reason for it being the darkest day, or should I say a generally dark period of time, was that it was a shambles. It ended as a shambles as well.

The players who accepted their bans from ASADA did so because they would ultimately end up missing only a few weeks of footy. I understand that players would not want to be known as drug cheats which would have factored in to their decision to accept the ban of fight to clear their name - which Paul Gallen was pretty keen to do. I don't think many people would hold too big a grudge against any of the players involved, this wasn't some big time performance boosting, elaborate plot to build supreme athletes who would take over the NRL ... nah this was a shambles.

I'm not gonna watch Kade Snowden and think "damn that drug cheat", nor am I going to change my view of Albert Kelly as one of the best young players around. That's not going to happen. None of these players will go down in history as drug cheats, not even Paul Gallen. Gallen's legacy has been shaped around this debacle, not defined by it. I mean which players have gone on to bigger and better things since taking said drugs? There's only one player who could have been involved in the finals this season, one.

And unfortunately for Mathew Wright, he'll miss out on enjoying the benefits of a change of scenery because of what happened in the Shire. Anyone else think it's ironic that the player who was one of the youngest, most naive, willing to do what he was told has probably lost the most? Wright was a player who was just keen to make a good impression in first grade, who wouldn't do what he did? Now he's gonna miss out on finals footy and repping Samoa.

That's where I stop feeling sorry for the players. They get back dated bans for shit's sake! I'd be popping peptides left right and centre if I could accept a ban like the one they have.

This all reminds me about the upcoming New Zealand election. The players, I dunno how responsible they are in all of this while the people who hold nearly all the responsibility get all petty with each other like teenage girls. Shane Flanagan, Trent Elkin and Stephen Dank hold the responsibility, whether in three equal parts or not, they are responsible for putting these players in serious danger and risking their footy careers. But they just continue to blame each other.

Why would the Sharks want Flanagan to come back as coach? Why would you want any sniff of this dumb bit of history in your club? Move forward, bring in the young players which they are doing and build a new future without all this hanging around like a fat, ugly elephant that loves a bit of drama.

Take it with a grain of salt. The Sharks couldn't even do a good job of using performance enhancing drugs - they didn't really boost their performance, they risked the health of their players and they didn't exactly have a water tight seal on the whole process did they?

Take it with a grain of salt. The people whose job it was to stop and punish all of this couldn't even sort their shit out and make a formidable case swiftly to warn off anyone and everyone. They let it drag out for yonks, to the point where no one really cared anymore and handed down punishments which amount to pretty much nothing. How can you take an organisation that does their job with such grandstanding seriously?

Shambles. Shambles on all fronts, shambles to the point where who cares. I've got footy to watch.