Rogers says the current culture is to blame at the Titans, not the city of Gold Coast itself.
Former Gold Coast star Mat Rogers says drugs were more prevalent in his time in Sydney playing for the Cronulla Sharks and NSW Waratahs than they were during his time at the Titans.
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Rogers, a hall of fame member at the Titans, says the drug scandal that engulfs the club is down to the current culture at the Titans rather than the city of Gold Coast itself.
“I’ll go on record as saying that I was around it, as in hearing stuff about it, more in Sydney than I was up here,” Rogers told The Courier Mail.
“It is not a Gold Coast thing, it is a culture thing. If you are a professional sportsman then there is a certain element of society that will get around you. You have to be strong and remember you are a professional athlete.”
Five Titans players – Greg Bird, David Taylor, Beau Falloon, Jamie Dowling and Kalifa Faifai-Loa – have all been charged with the alleged supply f cocaine in south-east Queensland, along with Queensland Reds star Karmichael Hunt and former Titan Joe Vickery.
Despite the turmoil surrounding the embattled club, Rogers is confident the Titans can bounce back from its latest set of issues after the NRL took control of the club.
“This is just sad. It is not looking great is it?” he said.
“The club administratively is at its strongest but from a player behaviour point of view it is at its lowest. They can survive. In six months’ time, they can be winning football again.
“Time heals everything. In the early days at the Titans we had a very strong culture within the club. People got comfortable.
“When things go wrong at the top, it filters down.”
The five players have been stood down by the Titans and will face a meeting with the board on Friday in an attempt to not have their contracts torn up.
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