CLUB SACKS DRUG PLAYER

CANBERRA RAIDERS centre Jason Bulgarelli's football career is in ruins
after he was sacked yesterday for allegedly being the intended
recipient of a package mailed to club offices at Bruce which contained
the drug ecstasy.

The 28-year-old former Illawarra junior representative, who joined the
Raiders in 2003 from Queensland Cup side Easts Tigers, still had a
year to run on his contract.

Bulgarelli's agent David Riolo told The Weekend Australian last night:
"Jason is innocent and will prove it by having his name cleared
through the ACT court system. He also has the right to take the case
to the NRL appeals tribunal.

"Jason also has the right to sue for wrongful dismissal."

Riolo said he had originally been informed by a senior Canberra club
official by phone that a package addressed to a "James Brow" had
arrived at Raiders HQ last Tuesday.

"I was then told somebody at the club opened the package, found some
pills before sending it off to be independently tested," Riolo said.

"The club then informed me the result of the testing came back as
meth-amphetamine.

"At first I didn't know what it was and was forced to look up the word
on the internet that the stuff was ecstasy."

When contacted last night, Raiders chief executive Simon Hawkins
confirmed the club had sacked Bulgarelli after intercepting a
suspicious package.

"On club legal advice I can't comment other than to confirm Bulgarelli
has had his contracted terminated which still had a year to run,"
Hawkins said.

"What I can also tell you is that the original allegation wasn't
treated lightly and we thought long and hard before coming up with
this decision."

Hawkins then referred all other inquiries to to ACT Police at
Belconnen.

But when contacted, a senior Belconnen police spokesman said: "There
is no person named Bulgarelli of interest to us."

Bulgarelli made his first-grade debut for the Raiders against Penrith
in round 10, 2003 and played 37 games.'