Melbourne Storm have denied having a drug problem at the club following the party video controversy involving Cameron Munster, Brandon Smith and Chris Lewis.
The three senior players have been handed hefty fines and suspended for one match in punishments from both the Storm and NRL, after they were seen in a video partying with a white substance present last week.
According to Storm chief executive Justin Rodski, the Storm were not aware of the nature of the white substance, and the players couldn't remember what it was because they were too intoxicated.
In an interview on SEN with Kane Cornes on Wednesday, Rodski denied the Storm had a drug issue within their playing group and explained why he thought this was the case.
"We certainly don't think [there is a drug problem within the club], no," Rodski said.
"Based on the testing that has been done through the year. Based on a whole range of anecdotal pieces through our medical team. Based on the culture we have throughout our playing group we're really confident this is an isolated incident.
"The players have made a really significant and serious mistake through a series of poor decisions that they made that night and they put themselves in that position and now they are being accountable and being held accountable for it."
When Cornes suggested the white substance seen with the players was cocaine and that they hadn't owned up to what it was, Rodski said: "I appreciate the frustration around this. And as a club we share that frustration.
"There are complexities and the club is operating within an NRL framework, there is an Integrity Unit that conducts its formal investigation and sanctions the players. There is an NRL testing policy that's effectively the illicit drugs policy that has limitations around that the club has to work within.
"Given all the evidence from the findings, there is also legal scenarios around that we need to take into consideration that there was no charge, there is no arrest, the police weren't involved.
"It makes the process for the club, in dealing with this, really difficult to navigate. Clearly it's a shocking look. Clearly the players were in a compromised position. Clearly they need to be accountable for that."
