THE Newcastle Knights are off to a shocking season start.
Yet another player has become embroiled in allegations of involvement with illegal drugs.
The drug supply charges against Chris Houston, one of the club's most promising players, are a major off-field embarrassment for the Knights, following similar charges late last year against another player, Houston's former housemate Danny Wicks.
The club had been trying to overcome the negative impact of former star Andrew Johns's 2007 admission of a long-standing drug habit. The charges against Wicks made national headlines and set those efforts back.
Knights CEO Steve Burraston had stated that the club didn't believe any more players were involved and he didn't believe his club had a drug culture.
The first of those stated beliefs has been challenged by the latest police allegations, undermining public confidence in the second.
Damage control must now be the Knights' number one priority, but the damage from the latest blow is so potentially severe on a number of fronts that containing it will be difficult.
Mr Burraston expressed confidence yesterday about the processes the club had in place and in the strong community standards espoused by the organisation.
He said supporters could continue to have faith in the club.
But the potential impact on the attitudes of fans and sponsors should not be underestimated. While Mr Burraston has told club members in an email that the organisation understands their "anger and frustration", he has also urged them to "see past this issue to all the good things our 150 players do in the community each year".
Many will, but others may not.
The repeated association of the Knights brand-name with poor off-field behaviour in general, and with illegal drugs in particular, could well force some supporters into a searching re-evaluation of their relationship with the club.
Newcastle holds its flagship sporting team close to its heart, but its tolerance and affection are being sorely tested.
Rates go up again
THE Reserve Bank, satisfied that Australia's economy is out of danger for the time being, wants to bring interest rates back to normal levels. Few could now argue with that ambition.
Rates have been at historically low "emergency" levels and, given solid consumer demand, firm or rising house prices and surging resource sector investment, it makes sense to let the price of money return to levels more in line with customary expectations.
Given its growing integration with the apparently healthy Asian economic sphere of influence and its relative immunity from the malaise still evident in the United States and Europe, Australia's economy seems likely to grow in the near future without need for special fiscal measures.
That probably means more interest rate rises are not far off.
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