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‘I had nothing to gain and everything to lose from speaking out’ – Ex-Wigan and Wakefield prop Oliver Wilkes responds to ‘whistleblower’ criticism

by
Callum Walker
February 25, 2022

Last night, rugby league was rocked by an admission from former Wigan Warriors, Leigh Centurions and Wakefield Trinity prop that he had taken drugs whilst playing the sport.

In a tell-all interview with ITV, Wilkes has gone on record to document his taking of performance-enhancing drugs.

“I used to see people who I was as good as, then all of a sudden come back after a pre-season massive. I’d never say what club, what name. And then just see ’em absolutely tear it up,” Wilkes told ITV.

“They were quite slow at the start of pre-season, just a bit heavy and then shred up a bit. I assume they’d be clean by this point and avoided being caught…”

That led Wilkes to ‘try’ the drugs himself.

“I signed for Whitehaven and I was only training two times a week, and they’d offered me alright money and I thought to myself, I was like: ‘Should I have some, see what all the fuss is about?’

“So I tried a performance enhancing drug, a banned one, and six weeks into the season I got a phone call off Wigan, to sign for Wigan. And, uh, I thought to myself: ‘Well’, I thought: ‘It worked.'”

However, following some backlash, Wilkes. has now gone on record to reveal just how daunting speaking out was but that it was absolutely necessary for his own mental wellbeing.

Wilkes posted on Facebook: “Share share share.

“Please take a look at this, not once did I say what I had taken but I did take a performance enhancing drug in my career. Only I know what that was and nobody else, UK Anti doping don’t even know if it was band when I took it. Sky can speculate what they want stating falsely it was HGH or peptides, they are wrong. I had nothing to gain and everything to lose from speaking out, however I suffer with mental health following retirement from 21 years of rugby! No contact since retiring from rugby may I add, no medical treatment for two useless shoulders, bent finger, broken bones scars! Brain scans to identify potential early onset of dementia!

“Please watch the clips and make your own mind up! I have spoken out for the benefit of the game and the lives of the future stars! Please don’t be afraid to comment and share your view! I know it’s a problem in rugby league and players will always be one step ahead! I’m not embarrassed at all I never cheated regularly over my career but I did and It helped me! Or did it just level the playing field??”